Indigenous learning on Turtle Island: A review of the literature on land‐based learning

Abstract

Land has played an integral role in Indigenous education since time immemorial. In Indigenous ways of knowing and being in the world, land is the basis of all life and therefore the foundation for all cultural and traditional teachings. Learning takes place in cooperation with the rhythms of everyday life, including land‐based activities such as hunting and gathering. This form of education is in contrast with western systems that continue to perpetuate colonialism through the erasure of Indigenous lives, cultures, and knowledge. The authors of this paper explore the meaning of land‐based learning, wise practices for its facilitation, and the barriers impeding the widespread practice of land‐based learning. The findings of this review have important implications for the revitalization and perpetuation of Indigenous knowledge, in an Indigenous way, among future generations. Land‐based learning, in its authentic form, is a powerful tool in the continuing process of decolonization. In being on the land, Indigenous and non‐Indigenous peoples are able to come together and draw strength from their ancestors, relationships, and histories in order to heal and transcend the trauma caused by past and present colonial processes.