There is a common assumption about doctoral programs that we don’t often question. That they are about becoming better researchers. Better writers. Better thinkers. That if you follow the process, learn the structure, and meet the expectations, you will come out the other side more skilled, more refined, more “academic.” But that is not what happened to me. What happened was something far more disruptive. My doctorate did not just improve my writing. It changed how I understa

Open Educational Resources are often positioned as inherently good. They are described as tools that increase access, reduce costs, and democratize knowledge. Within many educational spaces, openness is framed as progress, as something that naturally moves us toward equity. But from an Indigenous perspective, the conversation is not so simple. Before we ask how to expand Open Educational Resources, we must first pause and ask what it means to make knowledge open, and at what

Introduction: Embodiment, Distance, and Indigenous Education In my work, I do not understand learning as something that can be separated into discrete parts. It has never made sense to treat learning as a purely cognitive activity, detached from the body, from emotion, or from the relationships that shape how we come to know. Embodied learning offers a framework that helps articulate this understanding. It recognizes the interconnectedness of body, mind, emotion, and spirit,

For a long time, I tried to be the kind of researcher my programs seemed to expect: clear categories, polished methodology chapters, and careful distance from the people I was writing about. But as an Indigenous scholar, that distance never felt honest. This piece is about the moment I stopped trying to force myself into Western methodological boxes and started naming what I was already doing: researching in a way that is relational, story‑driven, and accountable to community

This essay started with a rupture. Not a theoretical one, but a very real break inside a national Indigenous organization where I was working on gender‑based violence (GBV) education. On paper, the organization was committed to trauma‑informed, relational, and Indigenous‑led leadership. In practice, those values collapsed at the exact moment they were most needed. This piece is my attempt to name what happened—and to trace what it teaches me about leadership, power, and pedag

Abstract Indigenous and Western educational paradigms reflect fundamentally different worldviews: one grounded in relational, land-based, and holistic learning, and the other in standardized, outcome-driven models. As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape digital education, this paper explores its potential to bridge these epistemological divides, not by assimilating Indigenous knowledge systems but by supporting their revitalization and self-determined expression