Zaagi’idiwin: Reflections on Love, Indigenous Teaching Practice, and the Hoop Dance Project

This paper reflects on an elementary school hoop dance project organized by a white music teacher, taught by an Indigenous hoop dancer, and guided by the Anishinabek goodlife teachings. It suggests that the hoop dance project, and specifically the hoop dancer’s teaching approach, allowed students to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Canadian Review of Art Education
Main Authors: Hill, Lauren, John, Beany
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Canadian Society for Education through Art 2024
Subjects:
Truth and Reconciliation
Hoop Dance
Indigenous Methodology
Indigenous Education
Goodlife Teachings
Amour
Blanche
anishina*
Online Access:http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1112540ar
https://doi.org/10.26443/crae.v50i1.266
Description
Summary:This paper reflects on an elementary school hoop dance project organized by a white music teacher, taught by an Indigenous hoop dancer, and guided by the Anishinabek goodlife teachings. It suggests that the hoop dance project, and specifically the hoop dancer’s teaching approach, allowed students to experience new, unique, and beneficial learning that engaged the first goodlife teaching: Zaagi’idiwin (love). Furthermore, the experience was a valuable example of Indigenous educational practice, centering relationship and participation. The research argues that current educational realities can impede these best practices and run counter to healthy, holistic and culturally based learning. Cet article porte sur un projet de danse du cerceau au primaire conçu par un enseignant de race blanche, enseigné par un danseur du cerceau autochtone et fondé sur les enseignements de vie saine des Anishinabes. Il donne à penser que le projet de danse au cerceau, et plus particulièrement l’approche pédagogique du danseur du cerceau, a permis aux étudiantes et étudiants de découvrir un nouvel apprentissage bénéfique et unique en son genre, faisant appel au tout premier enseignement d’une vie saine : Zaagi’idiwin (amour). Par ailleurs, cette expérience fut un exemple précieux de pratique pédagogique autochtone, axée sur les relations et la participation. La recherche allègue que les réalités pédagogiques actuelles peuvent nuire à ces meilleures pratiques et aller à l’encontre d’un apprentissage sain et holistique, fondée sur la culture.

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