Abstract
In 2017, the Native Indian Teacher Education Program (NITEP) at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, continues its 43rd year of offering an Indigenous-based teacher education program (kindergarten to grade 12) that includes partnerships with Indigenous communities/organizations and other post-secondary institutes throughout British Columbia, Canada. NITEP is a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree program option for people of Indigenous ancestry, within the UBC Faculty of Education. This program has a rich history of Indigenous leadership that has shaped NITEP’s purpose, philosophy, and structure. Four values have also guided NITEP’s development and program revision over a 40-plus-year time period: (1) a sense of community/family within the student body and faculty/staff, (2) community-based relationships, (3) the importance of Indigenous knowledge systems for teacher preparation, and (4) good quality teacher preparation.
These values have become the core identity of NITEP. Throughout the years, the practices, program delivery, and program requirements have changed, but the core values/identity of this program has become even stronger. Another steadfast part of NITEP is the Indigenous trickster, Raven. The NITEP founders who were mainly Indigenous teachers chose a traditional story of the Raven and Sun to guide NITEP’s vision and purpose. This chapter is based on Indigenous Storywork principles of respect, responsibility, reverence, reciprocity, holism, interrelatedness, and synergy. Both traditional and life experience stories show how NITEP enacts the four values and its successes and challenges throughout its rich history.
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Archibald Q’um Q’um Xiiem, Ja. (2018). Raven’s Story About Indigenous Teacher Education. In: McKinley, E., Smith, L. (eds) Handbook of Indigenous Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1839-8_1-1
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Raven’s Story About Indigenous Teacher Education- Published:
- 29 January 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1839-8_1-2
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Raven’s Story About Indigenous Teacher Education- Published:
- 29 November 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1839-8_1-1