Madden’s de/colonizing theory of Truth and Reconciliation education critical summary

I have chosen to focus my critical summary research on decolonizing and curriculum. In high school, I was very passionate about history and studied Indigenous history. However, it was not until my arrival at Indigenous studies at the University of Regina that we began to focus on the concept of decolonization. In turn, through teaching history, I want to project this knowledge onto my students through history and inviting Indigenous teaching into my classroom. I came across an article by Madden (2019) and a quotation that caught my eye was: “One can be left wondering, ‘Is reconciliation merely the most recent rebranding of Indigenous education’ or ‘Is ‘the era of reconciliation’ simply the current historical period in which Indigenous education is unfolding?” (p.285). Reading this not only confirmed I would incorporate this into my work, but additionally something I would keep in mind when implementing the study of Indigenous knowledge and history in my classroom.

One of the key aspects of this piece that needs to be explored is how Madden replaces decolonizing with de/colonizing. De/colonizing works to examine Eurocentric views that tend to overshadow Indigenous education as a whole (Madden, 2019). Madden follows this concept by introducing four components of de/colonizing theory. Madden lists these as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s notion of reconciliation and education for reconciliation, Indigenous land-based traditions for establishing and maintaining respectful relationships, the central roles of Indigenous counter-stories in truth and reconciliation education, and critiques of the construction and enactment of reconciliation. The foregoing aid Madden in producing theory building concerning truth and reconciliation education.

Madden follows up by breaking down the components of each suggestion giving the perspective of scholars and or legal documents, followed by her suggestions. The first Madden (2019) reiterated is that it is important for all to practice reconciliation as a day to day process and that it requires everyone involved across a broad range to come together. Second, using the de/colonizing approach to land-based education, Madden (2019) suggests using several questions that provoke thoughts and feelings. In addition, and possibly the most important, is looking at Indigenous law and governance to nurture teachings to avoid stepping back into Eurocentric ways of thinking (Madden, 2019). Third, to incorporate counter stories in the study of Truth and Reconciliation such as refusal, resistance, resilience, restoring and resurgence. With each counter story, Madden includes a description of the process. In the closing the suggestions presented by Madden speak to examining scholarly critiques of Truth and Reconciliation.

In continuing with this critical summary, I will continue by researching other scholars who have studied decolonization and curriculum theory. In addition, I plan to inspect the references Madden has listed to locate similar points of view and find what she has used to support some of her findings.

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