We were fortunate to host a team from the University of Saskatchewan on our campus last week. A member of the U15 Group of Canadian research-intensive universities, the University of Saskatchewan is home to the oldest indigenous teacher education programme in the world.
Professor Vicki Squires, Kristine Dreaver-Charles, and Associate Professor Michael Cottrell, who had been travelling with a group of indigenous graduate learners, were keen to visit our campus following a study abroad programme at the University of Waikato. Michael and Kristine had also visited OP’s Dunedin campus earlier in the month.
Vicki is Associate Dean (Research, Graduate Support and International Initiatives) with research interests in post-secondary students’ wellbeing and success, governance and leadership. Kristine is a member of the Mistawasis First Nation researching and working in the areas of decolonisation in distance education, and indigenisation and internationalisation. Michael’s research and teaching include indigenous-newcomer relations, indigenous education, and international and comparative education.
All three are keen to collaborate with institutions in Aotearoa, New Zealand on enhancing the experiences of international and indigenous students, so their visit to OPAIC represented an important opportunity to build a relationship between our campuses.
The OPAIC visit kicked off with a Talking Circle led by Kristine on Thursday afternoon. Talking circles are based on the sacred tradition of sharing circles, symbolising completeness, interconnectedness, and equality. Their purpose is to create a safe environment where participants can feel comfortable sharing their ideas and experiences with others.
At the event 15 staff and guests discussed the challenges and successes around indigenisation and internationalisation in bicultural contexts such as Canada and Aotearoa. The conversations were often moving and insightful, with several of our kaiako considering how they could introduce talking circles to their classrooms to promote better listening and deeper connection and thinking.
As well as meetings with the Executive Leadership, Student Success, Learning Support and Health and Wellbeing teams, Friday’s programme also included a presentation by Michael of a case study of Indigenisation and Internationalisation Strategies within Higher Education.
Following that, Michael and Kristine took us through their experiences of decolonising the study abroad and virtual study abroad programmes which included an assessment framework based on medicine wheel teachings. Designed for indigenous and non-indigenous students to use as part of their reflective writing, the wheel incorporates Cree ways of knowing, is inclusive of standardised university assessment descriptors, and guides student self-assessment as an authentic form of assessment.
Vicki, Kristine and Michael were impressed by the strong commitment to biculturalism both here in Aotearoa, and on campus. They noted the use of karakia as a substantial acknowledgement of indigenous presence and language, the significance of the pōwhiri tradition, and the comprehensive bicultural training our staff undergo and looked forward to taking those concepts back to their colleagues in Canada. They were touched by the manaakitanga they had experienced throughout their journey and look forward to working with us in the future as we move discussions of indigeneity from local to global contexts.
We are very grateful to Vicki, Kristine and Michael for visiting our campus and engaging in two days of enriching discussion. With the University of Saskatchewan hosting The Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Annual Conference in June 2025, we hope to see our Canadian whānau again soon.
