OCAD University’s Indigenous Learning Outcomes

RESPECT Acknowledging and respecting self as well as a diversity of peoples, communities, experiences and ways of knowing and communicating 

RELATIONSHIP Recognizing our local and global relationships to each other and the land, both historically and in the present

RECIPROCITY Fostering relationships to each other and the land that are mutual and benefit from shared knowledge

RESPONSIBILITY Ensuring we use our knowledge individually and collectively with respect, gratitude and accountability as our learning journey continues beyond the university

What are Indigenous Learning Outcomes?

Elder, residential school survivor and recipient of the Order of Canada, Garnet Angeconeb reminds us that the meaning of the word respect, when broken down into its two parts, “re-” and “-spect” means “to look again” – as in, to look at something or someone again while also being aware of the lenses through which we view, understand and experience the world.

OCAD University’s Indigenous Learning Outcomes require us to do just that as we come to know Turtle Island’s diverse First Nations, Métis and Inuit knowledges, compelling each of us to build a relationship with that knowledge by also knowing our selves, our positions and our ways of being.

The Indigenous Learning Outcomes will guide the learning that we all, as a community of students, staff and faculty, will undertake to make space for First Nations, Métis and Inuit ways of knowing, histories, cultures and art and design practices.

Recognizing the importance of art and design to all aspects of Indigenous life, and the historical role of legislation and educational institutions in particular in systematically suppressing the languages, traditions, practices and cultures of Indigenous peoples, the Indigenous Learning Outcomes will help the university to meet its responsibilities to reconciliation and engage through art and design in the healing process.

How the Indigenous Learning Outcomes came to be

The Indigenous Learning Outcomes were developed through a process that began in a circle with Elder and Medicine Man, James Carpenter in December 2018. Participants from across the University community were asked to share in this visioning session facilitated by Nadia McLaren, Educational Developer, Indigenous Learning which set the spirit of the learning outcomes into motion. The work of the visioning session then was put into the hearts, spirits and hands of an Indigenous faculty working group (Melanie Hope, Gerald McMaster, Peter Morin and Ryan Rice) who in turn put the learning journey into words.

The four organizing principles—respect, relationship, reciprocity, responsibility—emerged from the knowledge of the working group, knowledge they bring that is grounded in culture, tradition and communities. The value of these principles is also widely recognized in Indigenous education and Indigenous research (see, for example, the work of Verna J. Kirkness and Ray Barnhardt, La Donna Harris and Jacqueline Wasilewski, and Shawn Wilson). 

Elders Shirley Williams and Liz Ozawamick as well as other Indigenous community leaders provided guidance in the development of these learning outcomes.

The Indigenous Learning Outcomes were presented to the OCAD University Senate in April 2019 as part of the Wholistic Approach to Curriculum, which is intended to guide the development of Indigenous curriculum.

In February 2020, at a symposium on Indigenous Students Pathways held at OCAD U, Elder Ralph Johnson from Sioux Lookout, Ontario, blessed and shared his vision for the learning outcomes, and the OCAD U community was invited to share together in a feast to celebrate them.

How to use the Indigenous Learning Outcomes respectfully and responsibly

The Indigenous Learning Outcomes are organized as a journey guided by the four directions of an Anishnaabe medicine wheel to facilitate a process of movement and an understanding that speaks about relationships to and with everything. This wholistic approach allows us to reconsider learning outcomes in terms of the importance of process and relationship rather than just a prescribed end result or outcome—that is, the medicine wheel allows us to locate learning as a journey that doesn’t end as it comes full circle and begins again.

As we move through our journey with the Indigenous Learning Outcomes, each of us is encouraged to come to know them through our varying roles and the different lenses through which we understand and experience the world. More than just knowing them, we should strive to put the ILOs into practice in all of our interactions with students and colleagues.

The Indigenous Learning Outcomes are Indigenous knowledge. We have been given the responsibility as a community to care for that knowledge and to use it respectfully when we share it with our students and colleagues.

If you would like to know more about the Indigenous Learning Outcomes, read the full document and the related learning outcomes, please find the document linked here. If you require additional guidance in understanding how to use the ILOs and thoughtfully incorporate in your teaching and practices, please contact the Office of the Vice-President, Academic and Provost (vpap@ocadu.ca).