Director's Message
Message from the Chair of Indigenous Education, Julie S’Esmé Byrd
Boozhoo! She:koli! Kuwiinguneewal! Wachay! Tan'sî! Shiyo! Welcome!
I am honoured to serve as the Chair of Indigenous Education and as a member of our amazing Indigenous Education Academic Council (IEAC) here at Western. The Indigenous Education Program at Western University’s Faculty of Education is deeply committed to responding to the needs of students, faculty, and community members—this is your Indigenous Education Program.
The program promotes both collaborative engagement and excellence in Indigenous Education through its signature priorities including fostering innovative research, leadership, and scholarship. The program also enriches teaching and learning—within the Faculty of Education and across the university—by drawing on Indigenous methods, knowledges, pedagogies, cultures, histories, and contemporary experiences. We welcome and support Indigenous students and scholars as well as non-Indigenous students and researchers interested in Indigenous Education.
Western University and the Faculty of Education is located in Southwestern Ontario, on the Traditional territories of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Lunaapeewak and Attawandaron Peoples, and in a region that is home to eleven First Nation communities and a growing Indigenous urban population. Our core academic offering is the Master of Professional Education in the Field of Educational Leadership, Focal Area: Indigenous Education. This groundbreaking course-based graduate program leads to an MPEd degree and features community-based, experiential learning through strong relationships with First Nations communities in the region.
Additionally, we offer graduate students working on their MA/PHD, the research course Indigeneity and Decolonizing Research to develop and enhance their understanding of Indigenous Research Methodologies which intersect with social, ecological, linguistic, and political justice.
We also contribute to a mandatory Indigenous teacher education course to Western’s Teacher Education program. Indigenous Education: Toward a Decolonizing Pedagogy for Teachers course is vital to developing socially responsible, thoughtful leaders and educators.
Our key supports to Indigenous Education Program students and researchers include scholarship opportunities and designated Indigenous spaces. We are committed to advancing Indigenous education priorities which extend beyond our faculty and university to prepare our graduate and undergraduate students as they work together with their local and international communities to develop creative collaborations and expertise which will bring about exciting research and teaching that not only inspires but transforms the places we live, learn and work. Western’s Indigenous Education Program is at the forefront of an emerging wave of collaborative research and teaching on matters of direct relevance to Indigenous communities and educational institutions at all levels, deepening relations between students, staff, faculty and community members. It is also a concrete expression of the university’s commitment, housed within Western’s own Indigenous Strategic Plan, to advance Indigenous Education, and prioritize Indigenous Peoples’ scholarship, perspectives and ways of knowing.
I welcome your interest and invite you to consider our Program for your academic experience and educational journey!
