Grounding Elementary Social Studies Teacher Education in Indigenous Knowledge

Abstract

This article tracks a multiyear relationship between an Indigenous and a non-Indigenous preservice teacher educator working together on Odenang Inquiry pedagogy. The importance of truth-telling and relationship-building in a reconciliation context is discussed, followed by a discussion of Anishinaabe Wiijiindowin and story pedagogy as Indigenous relational self-study. We present some examples of Odenang Inquiry in social studies preservice teacher education that reflect three interconnected and layered processes. We conclude the article with some reflections on ways that the interconnections among these processes have contributed to the development of our Odenang Inquiry approach.