The Story and Timeline behind 'DESIRE TO INDIGENIZE'

'DESIRE TO INDIGENIZE' was an idea that came to me late April 2023 as I was thinking through the work I was doing around indigenizing MRU's learning management system called D2L, which stands for 'Desire to Learn.' 

Around this time, I was preparing for my co-presentation with my elder, Joe Eagle Tail Feathers (Iitsooahp'potah), for an annual event that occurs in early May at my university called, "Celebrate! Teaching and Learning at MRU." 

In our presentation at "Celebrate!", Joe and I indicated we would be speaking on the same topic at the D2L conference in Anaheim, California, on July 13, 2023. At this annual conference, called D2L Fusion, we would be among 250+ speakers from all over the world. 

The title of our presentation -- at both Celebrate! & D2L Fusion -- is this: 

"Featuring a Blackfoot (Kainai) Tipi Design and Its Vision in a D2L Indigenous Course: 

Process, Protocol, Sharing, and Understanding."

The presentation description can be found under the tab 'Presentations,' which is located at the top right-hand side of my website.

Here, Joe and I Are Presenting at "Celebrate! Teaching and Learning at MRU" (May 4, 2023)

D2L is used by many institutions in North America and worldwide. It became MRU's learning management system the same year I started teaching at Mount Royal (Fall 2022). Other places in Calgary that utilize D2L include U of C, SAIT, Bow Valley College, Calgary Board of Education, and Calgary Catholic School District. 

According to D2L, its mission is to transform the way the world learns. 

Indigenization and decolonization share the same mission.

I am attending D2L Fusion 2023 with the goal - the desire, if you will - to find ways for MRU to take a lead with the initiative to indigenize D2L. The work Joe and I are doing illustrates what Indigenization can look like.

To make the most of my experience in California, I planned on wearing Indigenous-themed t-shirts to get people's attention at the conference. My hope was the t-shirts would attract like-minded folks as well as serve as a talking point and conversation starter. 

With my goal in mind, and D2L Fusion on the horizon, the idea presented itself to me: DESIRE TO INDIGENIZE. 

I pictured the phrase alongside the MRU logo. That way, it would look like it is saying, 'Desire to Indigenize MRU.' (This would become the title of a future presentation!). 

Many people from all over the world attending D2L Fusion will not know where MRU is located. For this reason, I wanted to use the MRU logo with 'Calgary, Canada' placed underneath the chevron icons instead of the year, which is used in Mount Royal's primary logo.

MRU's Primary Logo - The Chevrons Are to Represent Books

The next step in my preparation for California involved approaching MRU's Marketing and Communication team (MarComm) with the ideas I wanted to bring to D2L Fusion. I was worried there would not be enough time to prove to them all that I wanted to accomplish. 

Fortunately, my recent work involving the Indigenization of D2L was already being recognized by others in the MRU community, particularly by my department (English) and faculty (Arts), MRU's Academic Development Centre, & MRU's Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). 

I believe this prior recognition helped to move my ideas forward with MarComm.

The subject matter of our presentation had recently been funded by an 'Opportunity Fund' for which I had applied through the EDI Office. The title of my Opportunity Fund application was, 

"Sponsoring an Indigenous Ceremony for the Permanent Use of a Tipi Design 

and the Vision Behind It for My MRU Indigenous Courses." 

An excerpt of the funding notification letter I received on March 23, 2023 was incredibly validating:

This application showed particular strengths in demonstrating how D2L can be Indigenized and creatively integrate digital resources to reflect the ceremonial teaching approach your courses take. Additionally, we were pleased to see how this example of Indigenizing learning platforms would be shared broadly across MRU with faculty and staff at the 2023 Celebrate! Teaching & Learning event.

The Faculty of Arts Marketing strategist worked with my ideas and designed the image based on how I envisioned it. I was told MRU was not formally branding the phrase. However, MarComm indicated their support for me to use the phrase beside the logo when referencing my work. They granted me permission to use them for my webpage, business cards, posters, laser-etched wooden bookmarks, as well as t-shirts. For each day of the three-day D2L Fusion conference, I will be wearing a different coloured t-shirt with the message, DESIRE TO INDIGENIZE next to MRU's logo. 

Wearing these t-shirts at the D2L conference captures 

who I am, where I am from, why I am there 

- my purpose for being at the conference, and where I would like to go.

I see it is a personal mantra for the work I am doing at MRU.

Huge shout out to MRU's Maker's Studio for helping me 

with the creation of these double-sided laser-etched Mahogany bookmarks.

I will use these bookmarks to promote our session (it includes our presentation title). 

People who attend will receive one as a souvenir!

Thank you Holly Totten & Audrey Burch, Maker Studio Technicians

"Desire" can operate as both a noun and a verb. It can show, and it can tell. 

The work I am doing to indigenize D2L - such as the future tipi design usage in my D2L Indigenous courses - is an illustration of a desire to indigenize. 

At the same time, the phrase "DESIRE TO INDIGENIZE" encourages others to indigenize -- at MRU and elsewhere. 

It is an invitation. It is a call to action. And like D2L's mission, it seeks to transform. 

I was encouraged to present at another annual event at MRU: 'Journey to Indigenization' (taking place Sept. 22 to Oct. 4, 2023). 

I proposed to present with my elder because I would like for the two of us to showcase our Indigenization initiatives and activities on which we worked together in my first year at MRU.

Thus, I thought this title would be most suitable:

"Desire to Indigenize MRU: 

D2L, Literature, and T-Shirts." 

I am happy to share that hours after Joe and I presented together, on an entirely different topic, at the International Blackfoot Conference in Browning, Montana, on June 15, 2023, I received an email from MRU's Office of Indigenization and Decolonization informing me that my proposal was accepted. They would like for me and my elder to present our work at MRU on September 25, 2023.

The description for our September presentation can be found under the tab 'Presentations.'

Joe and I hope to continue sharing our work and message in other places. We wish to show that both the DESIRE TO INDIGENIZE and the journey to Indigenization are best experienced when walking forward together with this shared purpose in a harmonious relationship.

****

Outside my MRU Office - 'Desire to Indigenize Mount Royal University' sign

next to book cover images of 

Wab Kinew's The Reason You Walk, 

Tanya Talaga's All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward,

and Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters

Last Updated 2023-07-10