Indigenous teaching at York U embraces reciprocity, connection – ENC
January 28, 2025
A sense of place and connection to the land are vital elements of Indigenous learning at York University, says an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education who teaches Indigenous education courses at York.
John Waaseyaabin Hupfield (Anishinaabe, Wasauksing First Nation) teaches two courses in the Faculty of Education: Indigeneity and Territory in Cultural Traditions, a graduate studies class, and Place and Learning, an undergraduate educational studies course.
The courses, like much of Indigenous education, hinge on the teaching of reciprocity, what Hupfield calls “the idea of giving back.”
“Whenever you take something, you give something back. That is embedded in us through our childhoods and how we are raised.”
