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The Four Realms and Ani To Pisi are modeled after the teachings gifted by Grandmother Doreen Spence (Saddle Lake Cree Nation) & Elder Roy Bear Chief (Blackfoot, Siksika Nation), respectively, in collaboration with Andrea Kennedy (Settler & Métis ancestry) for the MRU School of Nursing and Midwifery. The Four Realms (as seen in the outer ring) depict teachings to support understanding of Nursing curriculum as holistic and interconnected aspects of health: spiritual, physical, emotional and mental. Ani To Pisi (the spider web) depicts teachings for understanding how to create a connected path through Nursing curriculum for sensing & responding to vibrations (human-centred health issues) that build on connection and kindness-compassion.

Designed by Asfa Riyaz

A data visualization of the mission, vision and values of the BN Curriculum Committee; the foundation of the project work stems from the teachings gifted by the Elders and goes on to formulate the mission, vision and values. The data was collected during the 2021 Lean Into BN Curriculum Refresh event. The lines depict the interconnectedness of each concept and the size of each node is real time data that is symbolic of how many times it was reflected in the data and member survey. This is an iterative visualization as the mission, vision and values of the committee are bound to progress and change with time. The cyclical format of the visualization reflects that. This visualization was designed by Asfa Riyaz.

As we continue to develop our mission, vision and value statements, you can see the work-in-progress, here.

A visualization of the Philosophical Framework; The Bachelor of Nursing (BN) Program is responsive to institutional strategic plans including Mount Royal University (MRU, 2021), Faculty of Health Community and Education (2019) and School of Nursing and Midwifery (in progress), and guided by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (2015) and the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (2019; 2021). Within this context, the BN program reflects commitment to decolonization, reconciliation, and equity. This decolonial approach acknowledges Treaty 7 traditional territory where MRU is located, and how local Indigenous Knowledges are the foundation for understanding multiple perspectives of health and wellbeing; the BN program humbly recognizes that we are just now learning how to engage in ethical space (Ermine, 2007) with local Indigenous knowledge holders. BN curriculum redesign is developed with ongoing guidance by highly respected local Elders: Roy Bear Chief (Siksika Nation) and Grandmother Doreen Spence (Saddle Lake Cree Nation). Roy and Grandmother have worked together for years with the BN program to guide reconciliation efforts. Elders gifted “All My Relations” as the BN program philosophy. This philosophy of relationality (Deloria, 1989) is enacted through Elders’ teachings of the 4 Realms and Ani To Pisi (spiderweb) to advance health equity with respect, kindness, and compassion for how we are all relatives - “health for all” is possible through this complex worldview of interconnection with all beings including the planet. While aligned with post-humanism, we resist colonial language that distances Indigenous peoples from their ties to the land (Todd, 2016) and instead recognize this as a philosophy of relationality (Deloria, 1989). The 4 Realms teachings guides us to look within ourselves, our interconnectedness, and outward beyond our immediate context to respectfully engage with the complexityof multiple perspectives, contexts and worldviews; Ani To Pisi teachings support this path as our duty for Nursing to respond to vibrations in the web as signals for help. This philosophy of relationality is supported by theories of ecology of knowledges (Andreotti et al., 2011; Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2021; Santos, 2007; Santos, Nunes & Meneses, 2007) and rhizomatic thinking (Adkins, 2015; Blaine Brown et al., 2021; Cormier, 2011; Deleuze & Guattari, 1987). The philosophy of “All My Relations” underpins the emerging curriculum framework and guides ways of being, knowing, and doing for Nursing students and faculty as co-learners through andragogy-informed teaching and experiential learning approaches (Knowles, 1984). This visualization was designed by Asfa Riyaz.