INDG 6715H:Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io Online Proposal Form
Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io (taken in the summer of the first year) provides students with the opportunity to build upon what they have learned in INDG 6600, Indigenous Knowledge. The course enables students to build relationships with an Elder or Knowledge Holder through an apprentice experience wherein the student (in consultation with an Elder or Knowledge Holder) learns a practical skill.
Students should meet with the Director of Studies early in the first year to discuss possible options for their apprenticeship. Students may do the apprenticeship in the summer of the first year or in the fall or winter of year two. Note that the Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io must be completed and a grade submitted prior to sitting for the comprehensive exams (June/July of year two). Upon completion of the Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io, students are expected to make a presentation to the Traditional Council who will decide on either a pass/fail grade for the course. This decision is based largely on the evaluation of the Elder or Knowledge Holder and your ability to demonstrate what you have learned orally through your presentation (Some Council Members appreciate PPT with visuals) of the experience.
Students will also be required to submit a reflection paper to the Director of Studies that makes connections between IK and experiential learning and the scholarship that is out there on Indigenous Knowledge by Indigenous scholars.
Guidelines for Developing a Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io Proposal
The Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io experience is not to be taken lightly. You are required to work hard with an Elder or Knowledge Holder over a period of at least one term (full time: summer) or two-terms (part-time). The proposed skill that you would like to learn from an Elder or Knowledge Holder should reflect your positionality as a student as well as your capacity to carry out the proposed work. This kind of opportunity is something that should not be taken for granted as many Indigenous communities are working diligently to recover Indigenous practices and pass those on to future generations.
The point of this course is to provide you with an opportunity to connect with Indigenous knowledges and practices and to see how those practices are connected to and embedded within Indigenous people’s homelands. Building on your experiences in INDG 6600, Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io provides you with the opportunity to continue to learn and expand your own understandings of relationality and reciprocity.
This course also helps to prepare you for the Oral Exam in Indigenous Knowledge (IK) which is a component of the Core Comprehensive Examination process that all students take beginning in June of your second year in the program. Program data indicate that students who commit themselves fully to the Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io experience do substantially better on the Oral Exam in IK.
Your proposal should clearly indicate the skill you would like to learn, the Elder or Knowledge Holder (s) you will be working with and that they have agreed to teach you this skill or practice. Your plan (timeline) for how it will be carried out must also be included in your proposal.
An orientation for Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io occurs in November each year. Students are required to attend.
Process for completing the Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io:
- Attend the information session in November of your first year
- Meet with the Director of Studies early in the first year to discuss the specifics of setting up an apprenticeship
- Complete the online proposal form. Print one copy of the form and submit it to the Academic Program Assistant by:
- January 31 for a summer term start (May-Aug)
- April 30 for a fall term start (Sep-Dec)
- Aug 30 for a winter start (Jan-Apr)
- Ensure that you have received permission to begin the Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io apprenticeship (via signatures on the Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io form) from the Director of Studies and the Elder/Knowledge Holder that you will be learning from. Note that students are not permitted to begin an apprenticeship for academic credit (i.e. INDG 6715H) without prior written approval of the Director of Studies.
- Register for the Bimaadiziwin/Atonhnhetsherí:io (Only register for for this course in the specific term you will be carrying out the apprenticeship)
- Do your apprenticeship (over the length of one term)
- Notify the Director of Studies and the Program Assistant that you have completed your apprenticeship
- Submit the Report from the Elder/Knowledge Holder that provides details on your progress and successful completion of the apprenticeship
- Submit a reflection paper to the Director of Studies and the Program Assistant. This will be given to the Traditional Council.
- Prepare and make a presentation to the Traditional Council on your apprenticeship