Imagine My Surprise: Smudge Teaches Wholistic Lessons

Abstract

Imagine My Surprise is a poetic and metaphoric rendition of “data" col­lected during a several-year journey as an Aboriginal academic exploring the usefulness of traditional knowledge and ceremony in contemporary Western university classrooms. Through the method of autoethnographic narrative research, I am able to contextualize my own experiences given current and historical sociopolitical and cultural factors. Over the years I have selected and been spontaneously provided key informants—people who have inspired me to think deeply about my classroom practices through their critical inquiry and Elders who have counseled me as I have tried to make sense of the often difficult and painful lessons I have en­ countered. This piece, both in form and content, intentionally challenges and expands the commonly held Eurocentric notions of what constitutes academic research and discourse. I write to engage, clarify, and support teachers, healers, and scholars who struggle to make room for Aboriginal realities in all contexts. This narrative is a collection of experiences throughout my lifetime as a faculty member in various institutions across time and space.