Knowledge Centres > Aboriginal Learning > Themes
Lodged in the heart of the first peoples of these lands, within their own world views and social systems, language fosters the source of connectivity between the spiritual and physical realms. Cast within this reality, language embraces feelings and spirit and is integral to a holistic sense of being distinctive and inherent in the lands occupied by generations of Aboriginal language speakers. This theme explores the role Aboriginal languages have on learning our own knowledge, culture and literacy; and considers how our current capacities engenders our own ecologies and future potentialities.
Lead: Dr. Leona Makokis Dr. Leona Makokis is a member of Kehewin Cree Nation and has been President of the Blue Quills First Nations College since 1992. With her doctorate in Educational Leadership, Dr. Makokis has dedicated herself to supporting the growth of programs that balance traditional indigenous knowledge and language with contemporary experience.
She has received several awards recognizing her contribution and commitment to advancing indigenous education, most recently being honoured by the University of Alberta Alumni Association and Athabasca University. Her present research interests in the transmission of the Cree language as part of a SSHRC grant is leading towards articulating indigenous grounded theory.
Contact Information: Blue Quills First Nations College
Ph: (780) 645-4455 E-mail: leonam@bluequills.ca
Rep: Vincent Steinhauer E-mail: vinces@bluequills.ca
Rep: Diana Steinhauer E-mail: dianas@bluequills.ca
Dr. Leona Makokis, President P.O. Box 279 St. Paul, Alberta T0A 3A0
Fax: (780) 645-5215 Toll Free: 1-888-645-4455
By many measurements, Canadian learning institutions are failing to adapt to the needs of Aboriginal students. Naturalizing Indigenous Knowledge author Dr. Leroy Little Bear says that bringing Aboriginal culture, language and knowledge into classrooms will result in better educated Aboriginal students.
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