Braided Learning

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indigenous activism have made many non-Indigenous Canadians uncomfortably aware of how little they know about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. In Braided Learning, Susan Dion shares her approach to engaging with Indigenous histories and perspectives. Using the power of stories and artwork, Dion offers respectful ways to learn from and teach about challenging topics including settler-colonialism, treaties, the Indian Act, residential schools, and the Sixties Scoop. Informed by Indigenous pedagogy, Braided Learning draws on Indigenous knowledge to make sense of a difficult past, decode unjust conditions in the present, and work toward a more equitable future.

"This book should be in every educator's library. It serves as a model for educators to learn and teach about the history of Indigenous peoples and settler colonialism without fear or reservation. It is exactly what has been asked for over and over again."--Tracey Laverty, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Education, Saskatoon Public Schools

Susan D. Dion is a Lenape-Potawatomi scholar with Irish-Quebecois ancestry and associate vice-president of Indigenous initiatives at York University. She is widely consulted by community groups, workplaces, and institutions on methods for building more equitable, respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. She is the author of Braiding Histories: Learning from Aboriginal People’s Experiences and Perspectives.