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Day of Indigenous learning planned at Langley-based Trinity Western University

TWU marks Thursday, September 30, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
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Trinity Western University nursing instructor and Indigenous consultant Kathleen Lounsbury. On Thursday, September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Lounsbury will take part in a campus-wide day of learning. (TWU)

Nursing instructor and Indigenous consultant Kathleen Lounsbury is helping to transform the curriculum and teaching practices at Langley-based Trinity Western University to better integrate Indigenous ways of knowing.

As a nurse who completed her Master of Science in Nursing degree at TWU, Lounsbury feels “there’s so much that we can do, many different areas to implement traditional curriculum.”

Lounsbury runs workshops with TWU students where she invites guest speakers, including Indigenous elders who have survived residential schools. Students have opportunities to speak with Indigenous leaders and ask questions.

On the clinical side, Lounsbury teaches the importance of trauma-informed care, and cultural awareness. As well, she introduces students to medicinal plants and holistic healing practices.

“By the time they graduate, they will have a firm grasp on what it means to be a nurse and to care for the Indigenous population,” she said.

READ ALSO: Trinity Western University in Langley will close classes for a day to focus on Indigenous issues

On Thursday, September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Lounsbury will take part in a campus-wide day of learning to foster greater knowledge and understanding of Indigenous history and cultures, and to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools.

Grand Chief Clarence Pennier, manager of Aboriginal Title and Rights at the Stó:lō Tribal Council, will be a featured speaker.

READ ALSO: Langley university vigils honour the 215 children buried at Kamloops residential school

Lounsbury and colleagues Dr. Kendra Rieger, assistant professor of nursing, and Dr. Erica Grimm, professor of art, will be conducting a workshop on applying Indigenous ways of knowing and being to academic research.

Other events throughout the day include a workshop on applying First Peoples principles of learning to teacher education, led by education professor Nina Pak Lui, and a workshop on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and B.C. law, led by history professor Dr. Bruce Shelvey.


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