Abstract

 Reciprocal mentorship is how Indigenous students and non-Indigenous supervisors can supportively navigate their way through graduate research in higher education. Reciprocal mentorship as trans-systemic knowledge values both Indigenous and Eurocentric worldviews, whereby the student has the expertise from Indigenous community and the academic supervisor has the expertise in the academic world. Through sharing stories of their research journey within a Canadian University, Webster and Bishop offer key insights around engaging in reciprocal mentorship, navigating the two-worlds, finding a common language, and having shared values. As a result, Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and supervisors may see themselves within the stories and seek reciprocal mentorship to be successful in the academic research and educational journey and make an impact in their university and beyond.
Highlights
Indigenous students’ perception of schools, and post-secondary education in particular, may be marred by the history of residential schools in Canada
In the Indigenous renaissance, trans-systemic knowledge displaces Eurocentrism and “suggests sites of emerging change and innovation that come from Indigenous peoples animating Indigenous Knowledge (IK), as well as from Eurocentric scholars and students actualizing social justice and the human rights of Indigenous people in the academy and in schools” (Battiste, 2014, p. 84)
This article suggests that this third space can be found in reciprocal mentorship relationships between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous supervisors when they navigate their way through graduate research in higher education
Summary
Indigenous students’ perception of schools, and post-secondary education in particular, may be marred by the history of residential schools in Canada. This article suggests that this third space can be found in reciprocal mentorship relationships between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous supervisors when they navigate their way through graduate research in higher education.
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