Toward a re-birth of the medicine wheel as a pedagogy for Native education
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1996
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Abstract
This dissertation is a demonstration of the re-birth of the Native medicine wheel. It is a pedagogy for Native education. The philosophy of the dissertation is divided into three parts. It is proposed that, by telling our stories, we de-colonize inappropriate past educational experiences and begin a process for a new education which can lead to a paradigm shift. By using my story and sharing other women's stories, I demonstrate storytelling as a healing mechanism. Once our stories are told, I move onto re-construction. The philosophy of re-construction involves telling the story of the Native medicine wheel and the ways of the people. The history of my people is found in their medicine wheel, which is a teaching method for all aspects of life for both groups and individuals. It is, most of all, a frame of reference toward growth, change, learning, teaching, and development. Thirdly, a contemporary figure well-known to many children, the Ninja Turtles, assists in demonstrating how we, as Educators, can blend traditional western educational concepts with the objectives of the Native medicine wheel. As we web our life experiences into knowledge, we begin to claim our identity and move forward in the Canadian mosaic.
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Bibliography: p. 116-125.
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Citation
English, V. (1996). Toward a re-birth of the medicine wheel as a pedagogy for Native education (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24095