Pathways for remembering and recognising indigenous thought in education: philosophies of Iethi'nihsténha Ohwentsia'kékha (Land)

Abstract

In Pathways for Remembering and Recognizing Indigenous Thought in Education: Philosophies of Iethi'nihsténha Ohwentsia'kékha (Land), Sandra D. Styres invites us on a journey towards a better understanding of the ways in which Indigenous philosophies of education are informed and connected to land and language in ways that are continually regenerated and reconceptualised within a contemporary Canadian context. Styres begins by taking us to a lookout point in which the social cost of an educational system that has overlooked the validity and value of Indigenous thought is considered. Within Canada, the consequences of this denial are revealed through a growing educational divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners leading to high drop-out rates and the distressing figures of Aboriginal youth suicide which, as Styres notes, are eight times higher than non-Aboriginal population (p. 24).