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Glory Okeleke reflects on her Indigenous Studies class and shares her main takeaways. She learned about the Indigenous worldview, specifically the concept of our relationship with the land. This course went into depth about the issues faced by Indigenous populations in Calgary and Canada, as well as their celebratory practices. Glory discusses the four R's of Indigenous perspectives: relationship, respect, responsibility, and reciprocity. These values play a major role in Indigenous ways of knowing and being. She also emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and the interconnectedness of the secular and spiritual worlds. Overall, this class has shaped her understanding of Indigenous cultures and will inform her personal and professional relationships. Hello, my name is Glory Okeleke, and today I'm going to be sharing my reflections on Indigenous 201, a class, Indigenous Studies 201, a class which I took in the spring semester of 2024. And this is going to be a podcast that unpacks and reflect on my experience as a student and the things that I'm taking away with me from this learning experience and how I'm going to put that into practice moving forward. The first question states, what was the most interesting thing you learned in Indigenous 201 and why? I have learned a lot of interesting concepts during my time enrolled in this course, Indigenous 201, some of which have made me think deeply about certain conceptualizations and instances such a concept as our relationship with the land as human beings. An Indigenous worldview and perspective say that the land is alive and that for us to be fully alive as humans, you would need to encounter an experiential relationship with the land. We as human beings are interconnected in some degree or capacity to all other living things on this earth. I admire such ways of thinking because I never really thought about, I never really thought in such a way until my time here learning about Indigenous cultures. I also appreciate that this course, although it was only an intro level course, dove deep down into some of the nitty gritty conversations about the issues which the Indigenous populations face here in the city of Calgary and Canada in general. It also covered a good portion of the joys and celebratory practices which Indigenous peoples still sustain until today, thereby providing us students and learners with a broadly developed scope into who the Indigenous peoples are and how they lived their lives in our contemporary day and age. Yale Belanger, along with other bright Indigenous scholars, has had multiple conversations on this topic of the land being essential to Indigenous identity. In the text, Ways of Knowing, by Yale Belanger, he impacts that the land is the heart of creation. He states that in such an environment, humans are dependent on all of creation and its various entities for survival. Simply put, from a Native perspective, the earth is the source of Native identity. The mother to the children who were assigned responsibilities to act as stewards for all of creation. To me, this is a sound paragraph that demonstrates the vitality of the land we all as humans inhabit. I believe that if we as a society, comprising of those Indigenous and those who are settlers, were to see the world we live in through such ones, then I do believe our relationship with the earth and even our relationship with one another would be so much more beneficial, which will then result in a conducive atmosphere for us all to dwell in. The second question that I will then be unpacking is how did the four R's relate to you academically personally and professionally? And to this I would say, first of all, the four R's of Indigenous perspectives include relationship, respect, responsibility, and reciprocity. I have learned academically through my time enrolled in Indigenous 201 that these four R's play a major role in the Indigenous ways of knowing and being, as they underpin the values that can be applied across the identification of Indigenous perspectives. For the relational aspect of things, I learned through my time in class and also through reading some course material that Indigenous relationships and connections with living beings, non-living beings, and entities all take up a place of value in the Indigenous worldview. This relational worldview has been passed down from the previous Indigenous practices and ways of being. Relationality for the Indigenous peoples develops among them a sense of communitism and respectful individualism. To provide some context to these terms, Hart defined both of these terms in his text that can be found in Indigenous worldviews, knowledge, and research. He tagged communitism as a sense of community tied together by familial relations and the family's commitment to it. He also explained respectful individualism as a way of being where an individual enjoys great freedom and their self-expression. Gleaning from this knowledge I have gained academically, I look forward to implementing a new outtake on relationality in my personal and professional life by chiefly focusing on the people who I have already encountered, those who I am currently in the process of encountering, and those who I am yet to encounter down the road of my life path. To me, saying all these things ultimately boils down to my ability to connect with other individuals in ways that they feel seen, appreciated, and valued, even loved, when they are around me. I have pondered on this quote by Maya Angelou time and again in recent years of my life. She once said, I've learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. This is a really important value to me, sustaining relationships and creating space where people can feel seen and even cherished. There's also another saying that I have heard countless times from my home church, so much so that I have picked it up as a life mandate of mine, and it is, people are my passion. So no matter what, such values are what have helped shaped my mental structures when it comes to relationships, either personally or professionally. Respect, responsibility, and reciprocity are three other R's. I believe that respect and reciprocity are two definitions that tie into one another. When I think of respect, I think of a saying my parents always say to my older sister in front of me, on certain occasions when she had been somewhat mean to me, or had stepped out of line, they would say to her, respect is reciprocal. And in my head back then, I would respond, yeah, it totally is. If you want me to respect you, you have to respect me first. With a smirk in my head, lol. Now I do realize that back then, I had taken this out of context in a way that it would favor me. Although, I do see also that this saying holds truth in a great measure. Hart, still in Indigenous worldviews, knowledge, and research, explains this concept in linear terms. He illuminates reciprocity as a belief that, as we receive from others, we must also offer to others. This reciprocity then reflects the relational worldview and the understanding that we must honor our relationships with other life and predicating from this. Hart also expands that, since all life is considered equal through the lens of Indigenous worldview, all life must be respected as we are in reciprocal relationships with them. I also think about a conversation that I had with a friend recently, or someone I could also call an acquaintance. This person had shared with me that they were not comfortable in taking things without being able to give back. And it just makes me to reflect on this concept of reciprocity. Because I believe that this person thought of giving back in much more tangible ways that they could see the impact of what they gave back to them, to people around them. And yet, I thought of it that we can give back in so much other ways. We can give back with our love, with our joy, with the ambience that we carry, and just the charisma that we sometimes bring into the room are ways that we can also give back. And I guess it's just interesting because this friend of mine was uncomfortable with taking things because he felt as though he was not giving them back. So being academically informed by Hart's philosophy, I can also say that this perspective not only educates me, but now counsels my personal and professional conduct too. As I have navigated my journey in the workforce, and still currently in the process of doing so, I am opportune to witness for myself how vital these three elements of respect, responsibility and reciprocity are. Responsibility is the last R I want to shed more light on before moving on. I believe that there comes a time in everyone's life whereby they would have to learn independently about the joys of taking on personal responsibility for their actions. I also think back to the quote that Gail Bellinger shared, and in Ways of Knowing, a text which he wrote, he stated that humans are dependent on all of creation and its various entities for survival, and therefore the earth is a source of native identity, the mother to the children who were assigned responsibilities to act as stewards for all of creation. And drawing from this, he is clearly stating that we who are inhabiting this earth are to steward it in a manner which it will be profitable to us, and even more better than we found it to those who come after us. And this element of responsibility, personal responsibility to be more particular, easily trickles down into all areas of my life, personally, academically and professionally. And in these said areas, the knowledge I attain from indigenous worldviews has illuminated and continues to illuminate to me that although perfection is not the goal, I still aspire to press onward, to live a reputable life whereby I am responsible for my actions, my speech, my conduct, and my character in general. The third question that I would unpack in this podcast is, what issues or concepts in this course has resonated with you? An aspect of indigenous knowledge and teachings that particularly resonates with me is the way of life in which indigenous peoples conduct themselves, a lens that views the secular world and the sacred spiritual world as two worlds that cannot exist apart from one another. I am a full believer in this. Yale Bellinger in Philosophy and Ways of Knowing, cites Gregory Kajit's definition of native philosophy that sheds some light on this, and here's how he frames it. He says, it is a landscape that contains the memories, the bones of ancestors, the earth, air, fire, water, and spirit from which a native culture has come and to which it continually returns. This is a concept that before learning about indigenous studies, I had already adopted in my life. I am a person of faith, I believe in God, and I also believe that one cannot fully grasp the physical without comprehending the spiritual to some degree. Upon hearing and learning about this component of indigenous knowledge and ways of being, I immediately perked up and listened attentively. The holistic worldview of the indigenous peoples is a phenomenon that I also admire. The traditions and teachings of the indigenous peoples evaluate the individual based on the wholeness of who they are as a person, that is physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally too. As these two realms exist interdependently, it heightens the awareness and consciousness of us as individuals, and as a means, it helps one to fully understand who they are, soul, body, spirit, and mind. The essence of who we are, deep down, is understood as spirit from the lens of an indigenous worldview, and this spirit, as heart, references, and indigenous worldviews, knowledge, and research is the core of who we are. It is an essence that links all things to each other and creation. This knowledge of the sacred intersecting with the secular brings about an outlook on the world and of our inner beings that is much more informed, one that I believe also leads us to a higher purpose and calling during our time here on this earth. The fourth question that I would be shedding more light on and just expanding on in this podcast is, were there any questions or challenges that arose for you regarding indigeneity and its relevance to your academic career? I don't believe that there has been any questions or challenges that has arose for me during this course. If anything, I believe that it answered some of the questions that I had, or some of the uncertainties that I would just often overlook. It helped me to get a better perspective as to who the indigenous people were, and the ways in which they conduct themselves, and the ways in which they are very tethered to your roots and your communities, and just familial connections as I've talked about in some detail in previous questions. I believe that this course has only done just so much positives for me, and for the fact that it answered my questions. I guess this can even be a perfect segue into the next question that says, how has this course developed my understanding of indigenous perspectives in ways that will be helpful to me in my life and children profession? Some of the questions or uncertainties that I did have about indigeneity and indigenous peoples and just indigenous ways of knowing and being have been answered to a degree. Now, I'm not saying that I know everything because there's still so much knowledge to be learned, and there's still so much ways to go. However, I do know that with this little start, it's not even little, with this start, I have been so enlightened, and I think about the people who I have in my life. I'm privileged to work with children as a volunteer at my church, and I do happen to be in contact and in a close relationship with some indigenous children who have become a very huge source of joy for me. I believe just being able to relate with them on language that you're used to, that is also a part of just the indigenous identity, language that they are aware of in ways that they can feel seen and cared for, it has done a great deal for me. I go into these spaces now knowing that at least I can relate to the eight-year-old that I'm working with who's in grade five, and trying to navigate life and everything else, and so I think it just brings me so much joy being aware that this cloud of just maybe ignorance has been taking apart through some of the course material that I've been able to glean from within this course, and that is how I see that this would be helpful to me in my personal life, and in my chosen profession, I also know that I desire to get into communities and be a person who communicates in ways that these communities that are often oppressed or just left to be minority groups within the country that we inhabit, I hope to go in there and communicate with them on a level where they feel seen, heard, and valued, and so I believe that this course has also shaped my understanding and my perspective to a higher degree and measure because I know that I will take these concepts and I will even learn more things and take this with me into my future profession as I continue to do community outreach and communicate with people in ways that they feel cherished. Academically, this course has also been a great base of learning because I did share on my first day as I came into the class that this would be a course that would teach me in the way that I should go because I would be going on in my fall semester to learn more about indigenous communities and because I'm a communication student, I would be going into indigenous communities and working with my colleagues and my course mates to put together a communications plan whereby these communities can be able to benefit from, and so if anything, I feel like that is another tangible way that this course and my learnings from it will be so profitable to my life and chosen profession and just me navigating life in communications and seeing what is more substantial and meaningful to me. The last question that I will be delving into before wrapping up this podcast is question six and it says, how has the course developed your understanding of indigenous ways of knowing and being in current social and political indigenous and settler relationships? This question makes me think back to an in-class conversation we had and lecture where Dr. Beatty shared about the history of indigenous peoples and why they're called indigenous in the first place and she shared as to how indigenous scholarly theory speaks to the reality of the indigenous people who still inhabit the land that the colonizers never left, unlike other nations that were colonized such as India and Africa. Now, being of African descent myself, it just made me to think about this in a way that I never have before and to picture myself as though the colonizers who were looting and just marginalizing those who lived within Africa, if they were to have moved every person who was African out of the country and claim it as their own, this was an interesting take that I had never really seen but I believe that thinking about this particular way helped me to understand somewhat of what the indigenous people are going through. It makes me think of the indigenous populations that are in independent countries and may have moved because of just their lack of a land or a place that they can call home and they are only now regarded as indigenous in account of their descent or a geographical location and different other elements that would identify them as indigenous and I also reflect back on the GCC that Dr. Beatty also shared about in class, the geographical location, colonization and culture and how these terms ultimately are what aid the identification of the indigenous folks and it aids those who are on the outside looking in, which is myself and any other person who is considered a settler, to better understand the things that tie down the indigenous people to their identity as indigenous in the first place and I think that is such a good reminder to have that oftentimes it is these concepts such as a geographical location which is also a relationship to the land, the colonization, the history of them being snatched from their roots and just being looted of your land and also your culture which is something I believe is sometimes just minimized because I personally I've done some learning on the indigenous cultures and just the beauty that comes from it and I've talked to some indigenous persons myself and so I think the culture of indigenous people oftentimes is not as amplified as it needs to be but these three factors are the terms that aid us in identifying the indigenous folks in the community and country that we find ourselves in. I think also about the other part of this question that asks how I understand how this course has developed my understanding of indigenous ways of knowing and being in the current social and political climate that we're in. I think to the identity and population of the indigenous peoples and how such evolving identity oftentimes may need more of a different need of resource or responses to economical social and political needs in order for these indigenous people and communities to continue to harness their identity and to define themselves in a way that they feel is what identifies them best. And so I believe that these, these few sources of light and knowledge have helped me to better understand my relationship as a settler in this land that I find myself living in Canada, Calgary, this city, and it makes me a lot more conscious in the ways that I interact and engage and now moving on into what would be my day-to-day life, I want to be more cautious of the way that I interact and engage with the land. I want to be able to put into practice some of the concepts I know are very dear to the indigenous peoples and I want to acknowledge that I am myself a settler to a degree even despite coming from a country that was also colonized. I want to be able to stay open-minded to the ways that I can learn new sources of knowledge and be able to empathize and see things from a light in which would make the indigenous peoples around me know that they are not neglected by my actions and that I'm here to be a settler that seeks to learn and that seeks to have an open mind in my engagement and seeks to have an open mind in my engagement and in my interaction with them. And ultimately this is how I believe I have been developed by this course and my understanding to a degree of learning new ways of knowing and being of the indigenous peoples.
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