Abstract

Cross-cultural dialogue is key in the movement towards a curriculum reform serving diverse needs. An Indigenous pedagogy course for educators creates a space within the boundaries of academia for primarily Western educated participants to examine their own cultural assumptions and experience unhindered Indigenous ways of teaching and learning. The program serves as a model for cross-cultural dialogue through the hands-on course project of carving a Lekwungen and Liekwelthout welcome pole. Discussion includes the concepts of cwelelep (being in a place of dissonance, uncertainty and anticipation); developing a listening openness; transformative learning through affective connections; and kamucwkalha (the energy indicating an emergence of group purpose).