Trickster Chases the Tale of Education

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has sparked new discussions about reforming education to move beyond colonialist representations of history and to better reflect Indigenous worldviews in the classroom. Trickster Chases the Tale of Education considers the work of educators and Mi’kmaw community members, whose collaborative projects address the learning needs of Aboriginal people. Writing in the form of a trickster tale, Sylvia Moore contrasts Western logic and Indigenous wisdom by presenting dialogues between her own self-reflective voice and the voice of Crow, a central trickster character, in order to highlight the convergence of these two worldviews in teaching and learning. Exploring the challenges of incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being into education, this volume weaves together the voices of co-researchers, community members, and traditional Mi’kmaw story characters to creatively bring readers into the realm of Indigenous values. Through a detailed study of a community project to highlight the important connection between the Mi’kmaw and salmon, Moore reveals teachings of respect, reciprocity, and responsibility, and emphasizes the need for repairing and strengthening relationships with people and all other life. Using the power of storytelling, dreams, trickster figures and their teachings, humour, and contemplative silences, Trickster Chases the Tale of Education demonstrates the need for educators to critically examine their assumptions about the world, decolonize their thinking, and embrace Indigenous knowledge as an essential part of curriculum.

Sylvia Moore is assistant professor of Aboriginal community-based education at the Labrador Insitute, Memorial University of Newfoundland.