Today I had the opportunity to be part of a panel with RLOE and RIOS for AACU 2021. It was a lot of fun! Tonight, the Open Ed 2021 session I watched was related to what was discussed during the panel. The title was “Pulling Together to Decolonize: Reflections on an Indigenous-led Open Resource Adaptation” and included Kaitlin, Schilling, Joan Garbutt, Chris Lagimodiere, Kris Desjarlais, Leah LaPlante, and Susie McPherson-Derendy. The speakers were mostly from the University of Manitoba and other institutions in the region that worked on this project. Schilling provided an overview of the project that had the goal of creating a “Pulling Together to Decolonize” document. The team created an open resource that allowed indigenous and non-indigenous contributors to build a guide together. Building relationships and trust was the first stage listed in the cycle of the project. McPherson-Derendy spoke about how the project helped them connect to the individuals and share information. By reflecting and sharing, the knowledge is contextualized and helps improve the local community. The presenters shared how they worked together with the goal of creating something that will help everyone. All speakers talked about balancing and honoring each other. While they were all working on the same resource, Lagimodiere shared that they had the space to share their experiences and outcomes being respectful of indigenous views. LaPlante spoke about encouraging communities and relatives to reflect and share their knowledge. Desjarlais explained that this was an open textbook with the learning outcomes of building awareness. Garbutt’s advice was to engage with communities and build relationships ahead of time. They also mentioned how they edited on GoogleDocs and then moved the finalized text to Pressbooks. Everything spoken and recorded “builds on that connection.” Garbutt spoke about the importance of the project and a sense of urgency in creating the guide and moving beyond talking: “it is time for us to engage together… in action.”
