Walking the Land in Silence: Mindful Teaching and Learning Around Us – Dawn Hardison-Stevens, PhD

sealaska

This interactive presentation engages walking and viewing the land as an Indigenous pedagogical strategy. The land-based experience embodies teaching and learning practices, which facilitates learning about the world, oneself, and one’s responsibility. For generations, Indigenous people have been living in close observation with the land and the natural world. Walking the land in silence involves engaging all the senses with heart and mind to build appreciation and respect with one’s surroundings. This process allows teaching and learning in deeper ways. The walking in silence embraces Indigenous strategies through an experiential Native knowledge to quietly experience the lands where learners call home, place of work, or point of exploration to show the interconnectedness of the life around us.