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Renewal

Indigenous Perspectives on Land-Based Education In and Beyond the Classroom

Katya Adamov Ferguson Christine M'Lot Dr. Brian Rice Nicki Ferland

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Paperback

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English
Portage & Main Press
06 November 2025
Renewal, the second book in the Footbridge series, guides K12 educators in bringing Indigenous voices and the philosophy, principles, and practices of Indigenous land-based education into their teaching. This text encourages educators to:

respectfully renew their own relationships with land directly engage students with the land, no matter where they are located guide students in learning through observation, listening, and discussion and to take action in response honour diverse ways of knowing and being understand historic injustices and engage with the contemporary Land Back movement

Through critical engagement with diverse written and visual works created by Indigenous leaders, land defenders, scholars, and Knowledge Keepers, experienced educators Christine M'Lot and Katya Adamov Ferguson support readers in connecting with Indigenous perspectives on land and water. They offer guidance on bringing Indigenous works into the classroom, including concrete ways to facilitate discussions around land-based topics, advice for land-based activities, and suggestions for how students can engage with these topics through inquiry learning.

In this resource, you will find:

prompts for individual reflection and group discussion valuable concepts and methods that can be applied in the classroom and beyond practical action steps and resources for educators, parents, librarians, and administrators

Use this book as a springboard for your own learning journey or as a lively prompt for dialogue within your professional learning community.
Contributions by:   ,
Edited by:   ,
Consultant editor:  
Imprint:   Portage & Main Press
Country of Publication:   Canada
Dimensions:   Height: 254mm,  Width: 177mm,  Spine: 12mm
Weight:   485g
ISBN:   9781774921678
ISBN 10:   1774921677
Pages:   224
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Katya Adamov Ferguson (she/her/hers) is a settler educator and artist of Ukrainian and Russian ancestry from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Katya is also an arts-based researcher engaging with creative and critical methods to support place-based inquiries and deeper understandings of land-based issues. She is committed to creating partnerships and supporting Indigenous resurgence. Christine M'Lot (she/her/hers) is an Anishinaabe educator and curriculum developer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She currently teaches high school at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate and is the associate publisher at Portage & Main Press. To learn more about her past and current education projects, visit her website at Christinemlot.com. Dr. Brian Rice, an enrolled member of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnaw:ke, Quebec, is a full professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. Over the past 30 years, Brian has been a teacher, an interim principal in an Indigenous-operated school, and an educator in various university faculties. He is the author of three books, including The Rotinonshonni: A Traditional Iroquoian History Through the Eyes of Teharonhia:wako and Sawiskera, a Choice Pick of the American Library Association. Nicki Ferland is a Two-Spirit Red River Metis mother, wife, aunty, and helper. She is an educator, writer, and researcher whose work focuses on Metis women and Two-Spirit people and their relationships with land in Winnipeg. Her parents are both descended from scrip-bearing Metis families with ancestral roots in St. Vital and St. Boniface (Winnipeg) and Lorette, Manitoba. Nicki is the Director of Land-Based Education and Indigenous Curriculum at the University of Manitoba and is currently working toward completing her PhD in Education. Peatr Thomas is an Ininew and Anishinaabe self-taught visual artist from the Pimicikamak and Miskwewe Ziibi territories. Peatr shares his knowledge and culture through his art, which blends traditional teachings and stories with contemporary painting skills and practices. Street art helped him find his voice as he adjusted to city life after leaving the reserve, and he hopes to give youth the same inspiration he felt looking at colourful murals many years ago. Tyna Legault Taylor (she/her) is a member of Attawapiskat First Nation located on the Traditional Territory of the Omushkego James Bay Cree of Treaty 9 in Northern Ontario, Canada. She lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with her son, Joshua, and husband, Darryl. She is pursuing her PhD in Health Sciences at Lakehead University, with a focus on water justice and water sovereignty in Indigenous communities. Tyna also received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Lakehead University. Her master's research explored food justice and ongoing healing through stories of Cree food knowledge and land-based practices, as well as Indigenous food sovereignty in Attawapiskat First Nation. Shannon Webb-Campbell is a poet, writer, and critic of Mi'kmaq and settler heritage. She is the author of Still No Word (2015), which received Egale Canada's Out in Print Award, and I Am a Body of Land (2019). Shannon is pursuing her PhD at the University of New Brunswick in the Department of English. She is a member of Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation and lives in Kjipuktuk/Halifax in Mi'kma'ki. Dr. Tasha Beeds is an Indigenous scholar of nehiyaw, Scottish-Metis, and Bajan ancestry. She activates from connected roles: as a mother, khkom, creative artist, poet, Water Walker, and Midewiwin woman from Minweyweywigaan Lodge out of Roseau River First Nations and Wiikwemkoong Unceded Reserve. Her work celebrates Indigeneity, promoting Indigenous nationhood and sovereignty as well as protection of the Land and Waters by carrying Indigenous Ancestral legacies forward for future generations. Sonny Assu, Ligwida'xw of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nations, is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on pop culture, nostalgia, colonialism, and Indigenous futurism. His award-winning art uses autobiographical, humorous, and political elements to explore the realities of being Indigenous in the colonial state of Canada. Sonny holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in fine arts (Emily Carr University, Concordia University). His work is included in numerous major public collections, including the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) and the Museum of Anthropology (Vancouver). Shalan Joudry is a L'nu (Mi'kmaw) mother, poet, and ecologist, as well as a playwright, podcaster, oral storyteller, actor, and cultural interpreter. She has published two books of poetry: Generations Re-merging (2014) and Waking Ground (2020). She lives with her family in their community of L'setkuk (Bear River First Nation, Nova Scotia), where she is focusing on reclaiming her Mi'kmaw/L'nu language. Tricia Logan is Assistant Professor in First Nations and Indigenous Studies and cross-appointed to the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. She is a Metis scholar with more than 20 years of experience working with Indigenous communities in Canada and has held roles at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Metis Centre at the National Aboriginal Health Organization, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and the Legacy of Hope Foundation. Dakota Bear is a Treaty 6 Cree hip-hop artist, activist, and clothing designer. His melodic rhymes carry stories of Indigenous Peoples across Canada, leaving listeners enlightened and inspired by his music and message. His work with Idle No More, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples, and the Global Climate Strike has intertwined his music with international social justice movements and connected him with fans across the country. Shirli Ewanchuk is from Swan Lake First Nation in Manitoba. As a Bear Clan member, her main responsibilities are understanding and working with ceremony, plant medicines, and the creation of healing spaces, while also undertaking peacekeeping and reconciliation work. She has worked alongside First Nations people at the community, tribal, and political levels, allowing her to connect to, form relationships with, and learn from community Knowledge Keepers. Shirli has created 30 health, healing, and education programs, and plans to continue creating such initiatives. Dan Henhawk is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. His research interests revolve around Western conceptualizations of leisure and Indigenous ways of knowing and being. He is interested in the tensions between leisure, neo-colonialism, decolonization, and issues of sustainability within recreation and leisure. Dan is Kanienke:haka from the Six Nations of the Grand River. Real Carriere is Nehinuw (Swampy Cree) and Metis from Cumberland House, Saskatchewan. He was home-schooled and grew up on the land, with no road access, running water, or electricity. His current research focuses on Nehinuwak political theories, Indigenous methodology, and Indigenous political representation. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba in Political Studies, with a specific focus on Indigenous politics. He is passionate about canoeing, storytelling, Indigenous knowledge, and social justice. Hetxw'ms Gyetxw, also known as Brett D. Huson (he/him/his), is an award-winning storyteller and artist from the Gitxsan Nation in the Northwest Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Having grown up in this strong matrilineal society, he is passionate about his people's land and way of life. Brett's vision to share the knowledge, stories, and worlds of the Gitxsan was the inspiration behind his award-winning Mothers of Xsan series. He is also a Research Associate at the Prairie Climate Centre, where he is developing new methods to bridge the gap between Indigenous knowledges and western sciences. With the support of his wife, Jeri, and their children, Warren and Ruby, Brett endeavours to continue sharing stories through writing, art, and photography. Reanna McKay (Merasty) (she/her/hers) is Ininew from Barren Lands First Nation, completed her Master of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, and is an Architectural Intern at Number TEN Architectural Group. She also works with One House Many Nations as a Research Assistant on First Nations housing development, where her research focuses on reciprocity, Indigenous knowledge systems, and land-based pedagogy. Shalan Joudry is a L'nu (Mi'kmaw) mother, poet, and ecologist, as well as a playwright, podcaster, oral storyteller, actor, and cultural interpreter. She has published two books of poetry: Generations Re-merging (2014) and Waking Ground (2020). She lives with her family in their community of L'setkuk (Bear River First Nation, Nova Scotia), where she is focusing on reclaiming her Mi'kmaw/L'nu language. Tricia Logan is Assistant Professor in First Nations and Indigenous Studies and cross-appointed to the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. She is a Metis scholar with more than 20 years of experience working with Indigenous communities in Canada and has held roles at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Metis Centre at the National Aboriginal Health Organization, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, and the Legacy of Hope Foundation. Dakota Bear is a Treaty 6 Cree hip-hop artist, activist, and clothing designer. His melodic rhymes carry stories of Indigenous Peoples across Canada, leaving listeners enlightened and inspired by his music and message. His work with Idle No More, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples, and the Global Climate Strike has intertwined his music with international social justice movements and connected him with fans across the country. Shirli Ewanchuk is from Swan Lake First Nation in Manitoba. As a Bear Clan member, her main responsibilities are understanding and working with ceremony, plant medicines, and the creation of healing spaces, while also undertaking peacekeeping and reconciliation work. She has worked alongside First Nations people at the community, tribal, and political levels, allowing her to connect to, form relationships with, and learn from community Knowledge Keepers. Shirli has created 30 health, healing, and education programs, and plans to continue creating such initiatives. Dan Henhawk is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management at the University of Manitoba. His research interests revolve around Western conceptualizations of leisure and Indigenous ways of knowing and being. He is interested in the tensions between leisure, neo-colonialism, decolonization, and issues of sustainability within recreation and leisure. Dan is Kanienke:haka from the Six Nations of the Grand River. Real Carriere is Nehinuw (Swampy Cree) and Metis from Cumberland House, Saskatchewan. He was home-schooled and grew up on the land, with no road access, running water, or electricity. His current research focuses on Nehinuwak political theories, Indigenous methodology, and Indigenous political representation. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba in Political Studies, with a specific focus on Indigenous politics. He is passionate about canoeing, storytelling, Indigenous knowledge, and social justice. Hetxw'ms Gyetxw, also known as Brett D. Huson (he/him/his), is from the Gitxsan Nation of the Northwest Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Growing up in this strong matrilineal society, Brett developed a passion for the culture, land, and politics of his people, and a desire to share their knowledge and stories. Brett has worked in the film and television industry for over 13 years and is a volunteer board member for organizations such as Ka Ni Kanichihk and skihiw festival. Brett also works with the Prairie Climate Centre to connect western science and Indigenous Knowledges. The award-winning Mothers of Xsan series is Brett's first series of books and part of a larger vision to share the worlds of the Gitxsan Nation. With the support of his wife, Jeri, and their children, Warren and Ruby, Brett endeavours to continue sharing stories with his writing, artwork, and photography. Reanna McKay (Merasty) (she/her/hers) is Ininew from Barren Lands First Nation, completed her Master of Architecture at the University of Manitoba, and is an Architectural Intern at Number TEN Architectural Group. She also works with One House Many Nations as a Research Assistant on First Nations housing development, where her research focuses on reciprocity, Indigenous knowledge systems, and land-based pedagogy.

Reviews for Renewal: Indigenous Perspectives on Land-Based Education In and Beyond the Classroom

Renewal lays out a simple and practical approach to land-based education. It works from the premise that land-based education is not simply ""taking the classroom outside,"" but is about ""education on the land, about the land, and from the land."" The spiritual foundation of earth-based cultures is about living in your place as one small, equal part of the land (land being the entirety of air, earth, water, living beings, and spirits), a foundation common to most Indigenous cultures on this planet. I hope that others adopt it in their journey to become more holistic educators and maybe even make a positive difference in shaping how we humans interact with the land. - Dr. Garry Merkel, Director, Centre of Indigenous Land Stewardship, The University of British Columbia


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