UNC Pembroke faculty showcased how they redesigned their classes to support the university’s Indigenous Cultures and Communities (ICC) graduation requirement to an appreciative audience of higher education professionals at the 15th annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy at Virginia Tech on Feb. 16.

As a facilitator of the presentation, “Indigenous Cultures and Communities in Higher Education Teaching and Learning,” Dr. Camille Locklear Goins, director of the First Americans’ Educational Leadership program, described the establishment of the ICC graduation requirement and surveyed its goals:

• To develop an understanding and awareness of the social, political, economic, and sovereignty issues Indigenous peoples and communities faced in the past and are now facing;
• To experience and analyze the communities and cultures, including but not limited to languages, literature, arts, music and spiritualities of Indigenous peoples; and
• To enhance their ability to apply knowledge and agency to assist and support Indigenous communities in meeting their goals.

Five UNCP faculty described efforts to engage students in understanding, experiencing and supporting Indigenous communities. Dr. Kelly Barber-Lester, assistant professor of Inclusive Education, transformed ELE 4030: Teaching Social Studies to Diverse Learners with new course readings, experiences such as a field trip to the Museum of the Southeast American Indian and an Indigenous facts and artifacts gallery walk, service-learning at Old Main STREAM Academy and a capstone portfolio.

• Dr. Joshua Busman, assistant dean of the Esther G. Maynor Honors College, infused MUS 1210: Global Music with the music of Indigenous cultures worldwide, creating generative connections for cross-cultural appreciation.
• Dr. Scott Hicks, director of the Teaching & Learning Center, incorporated service-learning into ENG 1050: Composition I Honors in partnership with CIS Academy, where students helped middle school students read and learn about American Indian history and heritage.
• Dr. Elizabeth Jones, director of Instructional Services at Mary Livermore Library, framed the core concepts of LIB 1000: Introduction to Academic Research through the lens of Indigenous cultures and communities, thus helping students better understand implicit bias, seek out American Indian scholars and Indigenous scholarly work and demonstrate effective allyship.
• Dr. Jennifer Jones-Locklear, director of pre-licensure nursing programs, constructed a new paradigm for learning and growth in NUR 3100: Transcultural Nursing, guiding students through shared reading and disciplinary concepts as they (1) developed an understanding of Indigeneity, (2) assessed personal bias, and (3) applied their learning so as to demonstrate cultural sensitivity in interactions with Indigenous people and communities.

Following their presentations, UNCP faculty facilitated small group discussions, providing participants with an editable framework they could use to connect ICC-related content and experiences to their own courses and learning goals.

Using NearPod, Goins concluded the presentation by welcoming audience responses. Audience members stated that they valued the applicability of Indigenous practices and perspectives across disciplines, would seek to incorporate Indigenous history and culture into their own courses, and wanted to learn more about Indigenous pedagogies as well as content.

As a takeaway resource, the presenters curated a publicly available Shared Folder for future reference: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DRWbU8q89ZSWEXd9K9KY2u_99djoYAfO?usp=shar e_link.

The presenters are members of a shared interest group sponsored by the TLC focused on supporting the development and ongoing improvement of ICC-designated classes through partnership with the Museum of the Southeast American Indian, monthly discussions of scholarly literature, and collaborative exchange of syllabi and learning activities related to Indigenous cultures, communities, and pedagogies. UNCP faculty interested in joining the group should contact tlc@uncp.edu.

As North Carolina’s only historically American Indian university, UNCP has a unique opportunity and responsibility to educate our students about the history, cultures, community relationships, and challenges of local Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples.

Beginning in fall 2023, the ICC graduation requirement–completion of two ICC-designated courses or cocurricular experiences for students entering with 60 or fewer credit hours or completion of one ICC-designated course or cocurricular experience for transfer students entering with 60 or more credit hours–instills in UNCP students an increased awareness and appreciation of Indigenous cultures and communities, both in Southeast North Carolina and worldwide.

Through this signature focus, UNCP aspires to honor and recognize the contributions of the American Indian communities so deeply connected to our university through its founding and history.