News Archives: Tradition Meets Innovative Approaches in GPRC Indigenous Studies
Tuesday, January 9th, 2018
When GPRC alumna Lori Blum moved from her reserve in Manitoba to Grande Prairie with her husband in 2007, the transition from reserve life to city life was jarring.
“The culture shock is crazy,” explained Blum, who completed her first two years of a social work degree at the College. “When I moved here ten years ago I kind of lost connection to my culture.”
But that changed when Blum found Indigenous Studies courses at GPRC. Blum explained that participating in traditional activities like tipi-building and speaking with Indigenous knowledge-keepers during the courses helped her regenerate her heritage.
“You learn your culture, you learn your roots,” she said. “You don’t feel so lost.”
GPRC instructor Kirsten Mikkelsen has spent the past two years leading the Indigenous Studies Redesign Project, an initiative to overhaul the content, structure, and delivery modes of GPRC’s This multidimensional program blends university arts transfer courses with Business Administration and Indigenous Studies.
As the project progresses, GPRC hopes to offer multiple delivery modes of Indigenous Studies courses, including blended online, land-based and in-class learning. Honouring the millennia-old relationship between Indigenous people and the land, students are invited to participate in an outdoor land-based educational experience, where they learn about Indigenous cultures by learning survival skills, including learning how to build a fire, raise a tipi, and engage with knowledge keepers. Mikkelsen said, “The combination of online, technology-enhanced adventure learning, and learning with the land, is what the students loved.”
“I was able to go with my kids in tow, which I loved,” Blum recalled.
Although cultural traditions inspire much of the course material, Mikkelsen also incorporates modern technologies into her teaching. Students are encouraged to use mobile phones and Go-Pro cameras to create learning artifacts, and enjoy both in-person and digital (pre-recorded) visits from prestigious Indigenous scholars. Mikkelsen says interactive methods make the learning experience come to life for the students, creating a technology-enhanced land-based learning experience.
Mikkelsen encourages Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to participate in this unique learning experience. “No matter what your background is, everybody is welcome in Indigenous Studies classes,” she said.
Blum is moving on to complete her Bachelor’s degree on social work at the University of Calgary this fall, but she won’t soon forget her experiences with Indigenous Studies at GPRC. “I loved getting accredited for re-learning my culture,” she said.
According to Blum, you don’t just learn the material with Indigenous Studies: “You also find yourself.”