In “Moving in the Circle: Indigenous Solidarity for Canadian Libraries” (2017), Julie Blair and Desmond Wong state that “Indigenous histories have been largely omitted and separated from library collections. Their article is one of many calls for post-secondary institutions across North America to decolonize their music curriculums through new methodologies, modes of teaching, pedagogies, and content (Levitz 2017). Alexa Woloshyn (2019) explains how this requires us to recognize structures of settler colonialism as ongoing, and to center Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being within all aspects of our musical practice. This process requires all of us to cultivate a deeper understanding of Indigenous viewpoints within an Indigenous framework (Andrews 2018).

This work is difficult but imperative if we are to respond to the 94 calls to action put forth by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This blog post provides resources to help those at the Faculty of Music respond to the 94 calls to action put forth by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

We also invite you to visit the Music Library and view our display for National Indigenous History Month (NIHM).

Where do I start?

Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. 2012. “Decolonization is not a metaphor.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society 1 (1).

“Our goal in this article is to remind readers what is unsettling about decolonization. Decolonization brings about the repatriation of Indigenous land and life; it is not a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools. The easy adoption of decolonizing discourse by educational advocacy and scholarship, evidenced by the increasing number of calls to “decolonize our schools,” or use “decolonizing methods,” or, “decolonize student thinking”, turns decolonization into a metaphor. […] In this article, we analyze multiple settler moves towards innocence in order to forward “an ethic of incommensurability” that recognizes what is distinct and what is sovereign for project(s) of decolonization in relation to human and civil rights based social justice projects.”

“The 5 Rs of Cultural Humility: A Conceptual Model for Health Care Leaders.” n.d. Accessed July 26, 2022.

This article comes from the field of Health Care, but the 5Rs of cultural humility can be used by anyone.

Little Bear, Leroy. 2000. “Jagged Worldviews Colliding.” In Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision, edited by M. Battiste, 77–85. Vancouver: UBC Press.

General Resources

Wong, Desmond. n.d. “Research Guides: Indigenous Studies.” Accessed July 27, 2022.

This guide is a starting point to find research in Indigenous Studies. It is meant primarily to assist students from the Centre for Indigenous Studies, but may be of use to students looking for Indigenous Research in general.

———. n.d. “Research Guides: The Indigenous History of Tkaronto.” Accessed July 27, 2022.

———. n.d. “Research Guides: Two Spirit and LGBTQIA Indigenous Resources.” Accessed July 27, 2022.

Roy, Loriene. 2017. “Keeping Up: Building Your Indigenous Collection.”

Leese, Peter, Julia Köhne, and Jason Crouthamel. 2021. Languages of Trauma: History, Memory, and Media. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Colonialism and Academia

Arday, Jason, and Heidi Safia Mirza. 2018. Dismantling Race in Higher Education Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy. 2018. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Henry, Frances. 2017. The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities. Vancouver ; UBC Press.

Smith, Linda Tuhiwai, Eve Tuck, and K. Wayne Yang. 2018. Indigenous and Decolonizing Studies in Education: Mapping the Long View. Indigenous and Decolonizing Studies in Education. Boca Raton, FL: Routledge.

Music specific

Avery, Dawn Ieriho:kwats. 2012. “Tékeni-Two Worlds, Many Borders: A Look at Classical Native Music through Indigenous Eyes.” MUSICultures 39 (1): 129–68.

Hudson, Audreylee. 2016. “Decolonizing Indigenous Youth Studies: Photography and Hip Hop as Sites of Resilience.” Thesis Ph.D., University of Toronto.

Potts, Kerry L. 2006. “‘Music Is the Weapon’: Music as an Anti-Colonial Tool for Aboriginal People in Toronto.” Thesis M.A., University of Toronto.

Robinson, Dylan. 2020. Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies. Indigenous Americas. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Strachan, Jeremy, and Patrick Nickleson. 2018. “Doing Long Work: Critical Perspectives on Indigenous-Settler Collaboration in Canadian Art Music.” University of Toronto Quarterly 87 (4): 83–101.

Woloshyn, Alexa. 2019. “Decolonizing Desires and Unsettling Musicology: A Settler’s Personal Story of Researching and Teaching Indigenous Music at an American University.” Intersections 39 (1): 41–55.

Woloshyn, Alexa. 2015. “Hearing Urban Indigeneity in Canada: Self-Determination, Community Formation, and Kinaesthetic Listening with A Tribe Called Red.” American Indian Culture and Research Journal 39 (3): 1–23.

Pedagogy

Attas, Robin. 2019. “Strategies for Settler Decolonization: Decolonial Pedagogies in a Popular Music Analysis Course.” Canadian Journal of Higher Education 49 (1): 125–39.

Kallio, Alexis Anja. 2020. “Decolonizing Music Education Research and the (Im)Possibility of Methodological Responsibility.” Research Studies in Music Education 42 (2): 177–91.

Knyt, Erinn. n.d. “Rethinking the Music History Research Paper Assignment." Journal of Music History Pedagogy.

Nantell, Stephanie. 2021. “Let’s Decolonize Music Education.” School Band & Orchestra, December 2021.

O’Shea, Janet. 2018. “Decolonizing the Curriculum? Unsettling Possibilities for Performance Training.” Brazilian Journal on Presence Studies 8 (4): 750–62.

Pearse, D. Linda. 2019. “Expanding the University Music Ensemble: Lessons from an Intercultural Collaboration.” Intersections 39 (1): 21–40.

Webb, Jenaya. n.d. “Research Guides: Infusing Indigenous Perspectives in K-12 Teaching.” Accessed July 27, 2022.

This guide is designed to help Initial Teacher Education students find materials that centre or focus on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit worldviews, experiences and knowledges for teaching in the K-12 classroom.

Resources for decolonialization