College’s Indigenous Knowledge Holders Council shares framework

Aurora College’s Indigenous Knowledge Holders Council has released a document that will guide its work until June 2028.

The council announced the Flowing Waters Framework in a Monday press release, which outlines its priorities and short, medium and long-term goals over the three-year period.

Dëneze Nakehk’o, chair of the council, said the framework “will guide us in our work, in our connection to our sacred surroundings, to each other and to learn about ourselves.”

“We raise our hands to all the efforts of people that helped shape this pathway,” he stated. “We are honoured to continue our strong traditions but also to endeavour in the careful process of planning and visioning for the College and all the peoples walking their own educational pathways.”

The council noted that it was challenging to capture Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and believing in a legislated framework as those knowledge systems are rooted in lived experiences, oral traditions and relationships with the land.

The framework lists eight Indigenous knowledge guiding princples:

• relationships and reciprocity;
• NWT Indigenous culture;
• NWT Indigenous languages;
• NWT Indigenous Elders;
• NWT Indigenous curriculum;
• the land
• wellness and ceremony; and
• strong like two people.

The council outlined four main priorities:

• sacred places;
• Indigenizing education and cultural knowledge continuity;
• love and respect; and
• leaders in partnership.

Short-term goals listed for 2025 to 2026 include attending a virtual meet and greet with all staff, delivering a blanket exercise and sharing circle with students and staff, and developing an options paper on Indigenous honorariums.

The council’s medium-term goals for 2026 to 2027 include installing a tipi at each campus and creating spaces where individuals feel safe, supported and grounded.

Finally, long-term goals to 2028 cited in the framework, include conducting a formal review to guide the implementation of Indigenous curriculum, establishing Indigenous editing practices, and reviewing and establishing an Elders in residence policy that will integrate Elders and traditional knowledge.

The Indigenous Knowledge Holders Council is one of three bodies that make up the Aurora College’s governance structure alongside a board of governors and an academic council.

The college’s board of governors appointed 13 members to the Indigenous Knowledge Holders Council in 2024. They are Dene, Inuvialuit and Métis residents from across the NWT who have been involved in leadership, education and revitalizing Indigenous languages, cultures and traditions.

The council said its key responsibility is to guide Aurora College in its reconciliation journey by “providing the necessary wisdom to weave Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, being and believing into policies, programs and operations, while also building stronger relationships with students, faculty, staff and community.”