The Art of Teaching: Métis Beadwork and Indigenous Legal Pedagogy

The Art Of Teaching

A common vocabulary is critical to moving forward in a good way, especially in contexts of cross-cultural communication where we might understand concepts in different ways (Wilson, 2017). While this may seem simplistic, it is worth taking a moment to define the core concept explored in this chapter: pedagogy. For the purposes of this discussion, I will use the term “pedagogy” in its most basic sense, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary (2020), referring simply to “[t]he art, science, or profession of teaching”.

As with other artistic practices, I do not understand pedagogy to be a static concept, but rather one that evolves over time. In the same way that not all art forms are appropriate for all spaces, pedagogical practices can and should vary depending on audience, context, and location. Further, I agree with Paulo Freire’s (1992) position that “teaching is not the pure mechanical transfer of the contour of a content from the teacher to passive, docile students” (pp. 59-60). To teach, and to learn, requires active engagement of mind, and heart.

In 1995, Gloria Ladson-Billings argued in favour of the development of Culturally Relevant Pedagogies that would support not only academic success and the development or maintenance of cultural competence, but also the development of “critical consciousness through which [students] challenge the status quo of the current social order” (pp.160-62). This could be achieved, she suggested, through a variety of means, ranging from valuing and incorporating knowledge from community experts into the classroom experience through to engaging in cultural practice or using music as a bridge between “school learning” and other ways of knowing (p. 161).

Building on Ladson-Billings’ theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (1995), Sina J. Fakoyede and Femi S. Otulaja (2020) explored the mobilization of beads and beadwork as “cultural artifacts” (p.194) to support learning in a science classroom setting in South Africa. In this study that explored the impact of incorporating these cultural tools into the classroom on learning, the researchers conceptualized beads and beadwork through Bourdieu’s (1978) lens of “embodied cultural capital” (as cited in Fakoyede and Otulaja, 2020, p. 197) as beadwork was understood to hold cultural significance for the Learners.

Fakoyede and Otulaja (2020) found that employing beads as a pedagogical tool had multiple positive outcomes for both Learners and the educator engaged in the classroom setting. For example, despite limited experience with the pedagogical practice grounded in principles of “learning by doing,” the classroom instructor saw their classroom “transformed” (Fakoyede & Otulaja, 2020, pp. 203-207). The two researchers noted that partway through the experience of engaging with the beads, “learners’ demeanor changed… and they began the process of expressing self-efficacy” (p. 204). Learners began to engage with the curriculum content posing questions and, at times, embodying the role of teacher within their work groups. In short, empowered by the use of culturally relevant materials, Learners demonstrated and exercised agency in the classroom in ways in which they had not before (Fakoyede and Otulaja, 2020)