Word of the month: Indigenization
Indigenization:
A collaborative process of naturalizing Indigenous intent, interactions, and processes and making them evident to transform spaces, places, and hearts. In the context of post-secondary education, this involves including Indigenous perspectives and approaches. Learn more in: Learning From Place: Developing a Relationship With the Land and Our Partners
A process whereby exocentric values or concepts are appropriated and adapted to local contexts. This means applying foreign ideas according to local specificities. In the African context, indigenization is most often associated with Africanization and used as a tool to resist Western cultural imperialism. Learn more in: ICTs and Cultural Promotion in Africa: Insights From Recent Research and Case Studies
The importance of indigenization is that it benefits everyone. We all gain a richer understanding of the world, especially of our specific location through awareness of Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and values systems. In that way, indigenization also contributes to a more just world by creating intentionality behind shared understandings. It opens the pathway toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. It also counters the impacts of colonization by upending a system of thinking that has discounted Indigenous knowledge and history needed today to build a truly sustainable resilient society.