UPEI Indigenous Teachings course delivered to students at the UPEI Cairo campus
The UPEI Cairo Campus has introduced a new course, Indigenous Teachings, that aims to expand students' knowledge about a crucial part of Canadian history relating to Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations to present day. David Varis, UPEI assistant professor in the Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research and Applied Studies (IKERAS) was the first to teach the course to students at the UPEI Cairo Campus. He recently returned from the campus in Egypt where he taught the in-person portion of the course to 25 students.
Prof. Varis, who is of mixed Cree and Finnish ancestry and a member of the UPEI Indigenous Circle, delivered part of the mandatory course, IKE 1040 – Indigenous Teachings of Turtle Island, online and then made the trip to Cairo to deliver two full days of instruction on July 13 and 20. The course, which has been a mandatory course at UPEI since September 2022, covers Indigenous Peoples in Canada and an examination of how colonization sought to assimilate them, ending with the marginalization and cultural destruction of the First Peoples of this land.
"It is important to understand history in order to understand the present-day and where we must go in the future. It is part of our mission to give students the knowledge and skills necessary to become global citizens, capable of working with people from all walks of life," said Prof. Varis.
Delivering this course to students in Cairo came with much preparation and planning, beginning with discussions between Dr. Gary Evans, interim dean, Faculty of IKERAS and Dr. Kim Critchley, Provost, UPEI Cairo Campus in early 2023. When logistics were eventually worked out and offering Indigenous Teaching of Turtle Island in Cairo became a reality, two UPEI Cairo graduate students, Aly ElAssal and Diaa Abdelghani, were hired as teaching assistants to help Prof. Varis with the delivery of the course. IKE 1040 will be delivered during the fall and winter semesters in Cairo, where it is a required course to graduate.
Prof. Varis believes it is important that all students understand the history of Indigenous Peoples so that anyone coming to Canada will understand this country’s movement toward reconciliation. There are many parallel inequalities worldwide and lessons to be taken away from what has and is happening here, he adds.
“We all learn from one another. The students have been teaching me as well as I have been teaching them. I think they’re starting to understand that it’s a very reciprocal relationship,” he said. “They’re also understanding the importance of relationality as an Indigenous worldview. Students should be introduced and open to all knowledges and all worldviews, because we’re all working together to build a better world through responsible global citizenship.”
