Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit

Drawing on treaties, international law, the work of other Indigenous scholars, and especially personal experiences, Marie Battiste documents the nature of Eurocentric models of education, and their devastating impacts on Indigenous knowledge. Chronicling the negative consequences of forced assimilation, racism inherent to colonial systems of education, and the failure of current educational policies for Aboriginal populations, Battiste proposes a new model of education, arguing the preservation of Aboriginal knowledge is an Aboriginal right. Central to this process is the repositioning of Indigenous humanities, sciences, and languages as vital fields of knowledge, revitalizing a knowledge system which incorporates both Indigenous and Eurocentric thinking.


About the Author

Marie Battiste, Professor of Educational Foundations, founder and first Academic Director, Aboriginal Education Research Centre, University of Saskatchewan, is a Mi'kmaw scholar, knowledge keeper, and educator from Potlotek First Nation, Nova Scotia. She is the editor of First Nations Education: The Circle Unfolds and Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision. She is the coauthor of Protecting Indigenous Knowledge: A Global Challenge.