Indigenous Perspectives of Turtle Island

Indigeneity in Canada and the United States refers to the many nations of Turtle Island. While Indigeneity broadly refers to the original peoples of any area of the world, this textbook focuses in particular on Turtle Island (the land upon which Toronto Metropolitan University is situated). It refers to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people.

Recognizing Indigenous models of child development and learning is essential for understanding our history and the cultural values of the diverse perspectives of Turtle Island. Given this diversity, the book does not purport to represent all perspectives; rather, it focuses on the central teachings of some nations, which will be expanded upon in future iterations of the book. Just as this book cannot fully represent all cultures, the Indigenous views on children’s thinking and learning here will never be comprehensive or generalizable to all nations of Turtle Island.

It is with great respect that I summarize some important ideas here, referring to research, traditional writings, and multimedia resources by members of Turtle Island. Meegwetch to those who have shared their wisdom in ways that make it possible for a settler like me to learn and share their teachings with students living and learning on Turtle Island today.

Fourth World Theory

It is important to understand what we mean when we use the term Indigenous in Canada. This term is broad and applied internationally to people living on their ancestral lands, which have typically been colonized by other nations (Ryser, Gilio-Whitaker & Bruce, 2017).

Fourth World theory, as explained by Ryser, Gilio-Whitaker and Bruce (2017), emerged as a new conceptual framework to root discussions of Indigeneity within Indigenous peoples through a “nation-to-nation” framework (p. 52). The theory emerged within Indigenous communities who were essentially living in “non-state” nations as a result of colonial dispossessions of their lands all over the world. Therefore, this theoretical perspective speaks to Turtle Island and African peoples, both of whom have had their ancestral lands redivided into national borders by colonial powers. The authors point to the complex foundations of the theory:

Fourth World Theory essentially states that the concepts of comparison, relational reasoning, balance between contending forces, and equality of kind (that human beings are part of all living things and not the dominant living thing) will—when applied in life and thought—ensure comity between peoples, between peoples and living nature, and with the forces of the cosmos. (p. 54)

The authors discuss the Four Directions teaching with reference to different Indigenous cultures. Here, I incorporate ideas on Turtle Island, but I will revisit this theory with reference to Indigenous Africans subsequently.

Because every culture has values embedded within it, it is important to understand some of the ways in which values differ from culture to culture to make these distinctions conscious. We all carry beliefs and values with us, but we may not analyze them or may see them as “invisible.” Part of understanding how we are different and what we bring to a learning or care environment is making such values explicit. So, underlying philosophies and beliefs are at the heart of cultural practice.

In the case of the Anishnaabek peoples, there is an important concept called Lenawendiwin, which is the understanding that all of creation is connected, and through nindinawenaganidog, all a person’s family, or relations, are connected (Ryser, Gilio-Whitaker and Bruce, 2017). This concept helps form the social structures in Anishnaabek society, and it unites people in a kinship model that involves formal teachings, specifically the Seven Grandfathers’ Teachings. These teachings are as follows:

1. Nbwaakaawin: wisdom
2. Zaagidwin: love
3. Mnaadendimowin: respect
4. Aakwade’ewin: bravery
5. Gwekwaadiziwin: honesty
6. Dbaadendiziwin: humility
7. Debwewin: truth
   (Ryser, Gilio-Whitaker and Bruce, 2017, p. 59)

It is important to understand how central such values are to Anishnaabek culture and all of the other knowledges that emanate from such values. Storytelling plays a very important role, along with important processes such as comparing ideas, drawing analogies, and remembering (Ryser, Gilio-Whitaker and Bruce, 2017). A key idea within children’s thinking and learning that is common between both Turtle Island cultures and many African Indigenous cultures is the role of community and sharing in the process, which is indeed consistent with a sociocultural approach.

Four Directions Teaching and Child Development

The Medicine Wheel

Long before the West had developed theories of children’s development or thinking, Indigenous theories and beliefs of Turtle Island guided how children were engaged to learn. Ryser, Gilio-Whitaker, and Bruce (2017) discussed the Four Directions teaching used not only across many cultures and nations of Turtle Island but also beyond it to other parts of the world.

We begin our discussion of the Four Directions teaching through the Medicine Wheel from an Anishnaabek (or Ojibwe) perspective. Generally speaking, Indigenous communities use the medicine wheel for “healing and teaching practices, and is an expression of the holistic nature of traditional medicine” (Ontario Heritage Trust).

While the use of the medicine wheel can vary from nation to nation, let’s review it from an Anishnaabek perspective in this video by Mallory Rose Graham:

Video: What is the Medicine Wheel (duration: 4:54)
PDF version available for download through Tribal Trade Co.

(Rose, 2020)

Let us turn now to Cree (or Nêhiyaw) culture and their Seven Turtle Lodge Teachings, as explained by Makokis and colleagues (2020). The authors provide a Turtle Lodge Relationship Mapping diagram to illustrate how the child’s development is embedded in family and community, with everyone sharing a responsibility in raising a child. Our Western concept of a developmental theory does not make these values explicit, but many other models do indeed make values explicit (as the Seven Grandfathers’ Teachings above).

Also, while Western theories of child development separate the child from the adult world and the contexts of socialization, many other views do not. Therefore, the Nêhiyaw worldview of child development is indeed one of integrated development across domains, as well as within family and community. Relationships are at the core of the worldview, and so is the view of childhood, thinking, and learning. The Nêhiyaw (Cree) Medicine Wheel (as depicted in Wenger-Nabigon, 2010, p. 145) is not just about human development due to  its holistic approach rooted in spirituality and teachings.

This embeddedness of a child in the natural world, the family, and the community is often at odds with the individualistic model of Western psychology and child development. Wenger-Nabigon (2010) argues that such a model has, in fact, not been accepted into the academy when she wrote in the Native Social Work journal 13 years ago. Therefore it is important for our work in this course to include holistic conceptions of childhood from Indigenous thinking as core content in university curricula.

An important distinction between Western and Nêhiyaw conceptions of development is that the holistic view is not conducive to even using the same categories of development as the Western model. Therefore, in this text, research and teachings from this and other Indigenous perspectives from Turtle Island will always be interpreted with such paradigmatic differences in mind. It will not always make sense to project categories from the West onto Indigenous models, but links and connections will be made whenever possible.

The Good Life

Ontario’s Best Start Resource Centre (2010) published A Child Becomes Strong (PDF), a guide to understanding the life cycle from an Indigenous perspective. This document is very important for us in education and should, therefore, be consulted as a reference tool. It will be cited throughout this section.

The Seven Stages of Life are provided in this guide through the knowledge of Mark Philips (Turtle Clan):

1. The Good Life: birth to age 7
   • Infants: birth to 12 months
   • Toddlers: 13 months to 2 years
   • Children: 2 to 7 years
2. The Fast Life: ages 7 to 14
3. The Wandering and Wondering Life: ages 15 to 21
4. The Stages of Truth: ages 21 to 28
5. Planting and Planning: ages 28 to 35
6. Doing: ages 35 to 42
7. The Elder, Giving Back Life: age 49 and onwards

Movement through these seven stages is considered to be a journey from east to west, and the journey for each stage takes approximately seven years. It is interesting to note that in Western developmental models — particularly the model that defines the field of early childhood education or the developmental stage of early childhood — the first age range is from birth to eight years (American Academy of Pediatrics, n.d.). Similarly, the first stage of development in the Seven Stages — The Good Life — is seven years and is also viewed as the most important stage. During this time, a person is cared for by parents, grandparents, and the community, and the connectedness across generations is central. There is a value of unconditional love that helps to bring confidence to a young child in these early years (Best Start Resource Centre, 2010). During this stage, it is important to model good behaviour to children and to not yell at your child, but rather to “treat yourself and others as sacred” (p. 10).

The Good Life stage is broken down into three substages: infancy, toddlerhood, and childhood.

“Look to see if the infant is happy and content. If the infant is happy and content, then they are in a good environment. A good environment is critical to healthy development.” — Jaynane Burning-Fields (p. 20)

During infancy (birth to 12 months), we often do not think about or make explicit the calm and content emotional state of an infant. Think of the (largely Western) practice of sleep training that involves short periods of unrest, discomfort, and discontent in infants as they “learn” to be alone in a room to sleep. Contrast that with co-sleeping models used in many parts of the world, where infant crying is minimized. It is in these ways that we must embrace different cultural values around what is “best” for an infant or child. The Good Life stage during infancy emphasizes sensory experiences and instinct, not reasoning; it’s about emotional experiences and learning how to deal with them. To support that development, “Parents need to nurture the needs of a child’s body, mind, emotions, and spirit” (p. 20).

“Let the child make their own decisions by giving him some choices. Allow the child to make mistakes by accepting them calmly. This will help the child to solve problems. Always provide encouragement, comfort, and love, especially at times of sadness.” — Lois Stoll, Children’s Services Manager, Kenora Chiefs Advisory (p. 28)

The Good Life stage in toddlerhood (13 months to 2 years) relates primarily to safety because the focus on development is in observing, exploring and teaching through modelling. In many First Nation communities, infants are primarily carried, so the toddler stage is where they are formally introduced to walking, with some cultures having a “walking out ceremony” (p. 24). Tools used in many First Nations cultures with toddlers include moccasins, drums, and dancing. As we think about activities and objects as cultural tools, we see how the toddler’s engagement with exploration is defined by these highly specific cultural tools made available to them.

The last part of the Good Life stage is childhood (2 to 7 years). This is a time when social relationships are the focus, so how one treats others becomes important alongside role-modelling politeness and calm. Think about this cultural perspective on a child developing their thinking and learning and what this means to how we engage young children. Specific activities to support thinking and learning are provided in the guide, such as having conversations, going for walks, tracking, hunting, fishing, gathering berries, and preparing food and medicines with their elders. These practices are embedded in social life, yet imagine the kind of learning that occurs across what the West has separated into distinct disciplines (e.g., biology, ecosystems knowledge, chemistry, and health, among many others). Cultural tools emphasized here are storytelling, humour, and discipline, which are conceptualized as self-control in a non-hierarchical relationship with others, including adults.