“Too often reconciliation becomes symbolic: land acknowledgements, diversity statements… But real reconciliation happens in the space between students and teachers, where people are vulnerable, curious and unafraid to learn out loud.” -Ursula Filis

The Teaching and Learning Showcase Series 2025 featured four roundtable discussions on the themes of Community as Pedagogy, Truth and Reconciliation, Digital Literacies and Sustainability. In this second roundtable on Truth and Reconciliation, two Indigenous faculty members and two non-Indigenous faculty members share how they live and work in relation to Truth and Reconciliation. We are so grateful for the courage, vulnerability and depth of sharing that each presenter brought to this event. The panel featured:

• Hayden Kenneth Taylor, Professor, Education. Hayden shares about the power of forgiveness and love, how his life experiences brought him to teaching education students about reconciliation. He also shares the ways in which he encourages educators to begin to Indigenize their teaching practice and the support he provides people.
• Ursula Filis, Professor, Social Work. Ursula discusses the importance of creating learning spaces that welcome student vulnerability and acknowledge the whole student and the lived experiences they bring to the classroom. She also shares the relationship between her doctoral research and her teaching practice, emphasizing the 4Rs of Indigenous education: Respect, Reciprocity, Relevance and Responsibility while adding on Relationship, Representation, Recognition and Resurgence.
• Jocelin Teron, Professor, Forestry. Jocelin talks about growing up ignorant to the realities of colonization and the lived experiences of Indigenous people, and how she came to understand that engaging deeply in learning about the rights of Indigenous people is required to meaningfully and responsibly teach forestry. She shares how she and her colleagues are incorporating this work in their courses and teaching practice.
• Monica Shore, Instructor and Learning Facilitator, Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas Advanced Planning Certificate. Monica welcomes us to the “Uncomfortable Reconciliation Club”, speaking about the incremental journey of learning about Truth and Reconciliation, moving away from seeking to become an expert, and rather considering oneself to be a lifelong learner in this work. She speaks about seeing herself as a learning facilitator rather than a professor, creating opportunities for students to hear from many Indigenous voices in her course.

“When I ask the Creator for strength, they don’t give me strength. They give me opportunities to be strong.” -Hayden Kenneth Taylor

Below you’ll find a recording of the panelist’s presentations.

Interested in what was shared?

On your own journey of Truth and Reconciliation? Wondering where to start? The CIEL is committed to walking alongside our colleagues in this important work. We invite you to connect with us at learnsupport@viu.ca.

Also, we invite you to listen to the other Showcase Series recordings to explore innovative teaching and learning practices across disciplines, including our GenAI@VIU: In Conversation podcast.