Land-Based Learning Fund
Land-based learning has been a longstanding practice and area of education in Indigenous communities since time immemorial. It involves not just learning about the land, but learning with the land as a relation. Being on the land connects us to place, ancestors, and all our relations. It grounds us and can offer healing and comfort.
Jennifer Métisse Redvers, of the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, proposed the following definitions of “land-based” and “land-based program.”
- Land-based: Relationship with the land as a central feature or concept rooted in Indigenous epistemology and pedagogy. Land-based implies a deep connection with, and non-separation between human beings and the natural world. A reference to land includes all aspects of the natural world: plants, animals, ancestors, spirits, natural features, and environment (air, water, earth, minerals). The term can also be used in reference to a physical location or geographical concept.
- Land-based program: A culturally defined program or service that takes place in an urban nature-based, rural, or remote location, which involves cultural teachings and intergenerational knowledge transfer, combined with any number of other activities or goals. Programs are informed by an Indigenous pedagogy wherein the land is the main source of knowledge and teaching.
Indigenous students may apply for funding to participate in land-based learning experiences that would support their wellness and learning while at Western and Western’s affiliates. Funding is available for individual students to cover the costs of an experience off-campus, as well as for programming that fosters relation to land while attending Western’s urban campus. This pilot program opportunity was made possible by the support from the Parr Centre for Thriving and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives.
Part One: Student Fund
To contribute to their success at Western and the affiliates, Indigenous students are invited to maintain their relationship with the land, or reconnect with it, through culturally relevant land-based learning opportunities offered outside of Western University’s curriculum and made accessible through the Land-based Learning Fund.
Land-Based Learning Student Fund applications are reviewed monthly by a committee of representatives from the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. Awards will vary between $200 to $3,000, depending on the student’s self-identified needs. This pilot fund will be open for applications until the end of October 2023 or until all funding available has been awarded.
Is there a land-based program or event happening in your home community? We will fund the costs associated with returning home to participate!
Want to attend a land-based program, but not alone? Indigenous students can apply to attend the same land-based program!
Sample Activities:
· Canoe Building or Canoe trip
· Game Hunting and Harvesting
· Hide Tanning Camp
· Land-based Ceremonies
· Medicine Harvesting
· Wild Rice Harvesting
Sample Groups:
· 13 Moons Land-Based Learning
· Cape Croker Park’s Anishinaabe Cultural Experiences
· Courses through Deschinta Centre for Research and Learning
Interested, but not sure where to start? Contact Lauren Poeta, Indigenous Initiatives Project Associate, at lpoeta @uwo.ca
Completion of a land-based program through the Land-Based Learning Student Fund will complete Category 2 (Stream 2) of the Indigenous Learning Honour for Indigenous students.
Part Two: On-Campus Land-Based Learning Opportunities
Stay tuned for announcements and follow us on social media!
Participation in On-Campus Land-Based Learning Opportunities will contribute points to Category 3 of the Memegwaanh: Indigenous Learning Honour.
Quotes from Previous Participants
“ The Onyota’á:ka warm cheers upon my arrival, during the activities, and when I leave to go home, resonate deeply with the way my people in [my homelands] express themselves . Despite being far from home, the land-based learning experience made me feel a bit of home here .”
- Indigenous student who participated at 13 Moons Land Based Learning Camp in Oneida Nation of the Thames over 2023 Fall Reading Week
“ I came away feeling refreshed and “full” in ways that I didn’t realize I needed . It was like visiting a favourite cousin who helps take your mind off your pressures and reminds you how valuable what you're doing is for our community . With the pace of being a grad student, sometimes I lose that feeling of being connected to community .”
- Indigenous student who participated at 13 Moons Land Based Learning Camp in Oneida Nation of the Thames over 2023 Fall Reading Week
“ This experience was special to me because it reflected more of our traditional ways of learning while being in community with each other and the land . My son and I got to learn together through the teachings shared as a whole group and we also got to learn with peers separately. We got to practice traditional skills (hunting, skinning, prepping pelts, etc.) that reconnected us with the land. We got to talk with each other about what land meant to our ancestors; what land means to our communities now and how to be in better relationship with land .”
- Indigenous student who participated at 13 Moons Land Based Learning Camp in Oneida Nation of the Thames over 2023 Fall Reading Week
“ I’ve been wanting to learn these skills for such a long time , and I appreciate the knowledge I’ve gained. My wellness outcomes were a little bit of what I expected. Being outdoors and learning from the land has always been an interest of mine . I didn’t expect it to impact my mental wellbeing as much as it did . It was genuine happiness and enjoyment while learning on the land.”
- Indigenous student who participated at 13 Moons Land Based Learning Camp in Oneida Nation of the Thames over 2023 Fall Reading Week
Want to read more about Land-Based Learning? Start with these resources
Redvers, J. (2020). “The land is a healer”: Perspectives on land-based healing from Indigenous practitioners in northern Canada. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 15(1), 90-107.
“Cultural knowledge is currently being revitalized by Indigenous practitioners where land is understood as a relational component of healing and well-being. Land-based activities such as harvesting, education, ceremony, recreation, and cultural-based counselling are all components of this integrative practice. Land-based practices are centered in Indigenous pedagogy and recognize that identity is interwoven with and deeply connected to the land.”
McDonald, M. (2023). Indigenous Land-Based Education in Theory and Practice. A Yellowhead Institute Special Report.
“This Special Report considers the recent and relevant academic and other publicly available literature, including policy documents and program reports representing both Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on the theory and practice of land-based programming.”
Land Education Dreambook: landeducationdreambook.com
“The Land Education Dreambook is intended for organizations and groups who are interested in developing land education programs for youth. This is a set of guided activities to help your collective to imagine and plan your program.”
