Educating Bodies for Self-Determination: A Decolonizing Strategy

Abstract

The transformation of the effects of sexual, racial, and colonial violence on Aboriginalpeople requires unlearning ways of thinking and being. This process involves areaffirmation of Indigenous Knowledge and pedagogy. This article examines aprogram developed for urban Aboriginal women in Vancouver that focuses onrestoring the felt sense of the sacred interconnections with relations and developingan embodied spiritual pedagogy incorporating traditional teachings. The principlesfor educating bodies for self determination are remembering, reclamation, andcollective witness. These guiding principles provide a framework for a decolonizingstrategy in holistic education for Aboriginal peoples.