Speaker series seeks to examine different perspectives

By Alexandra Noad - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 13, 2024.

Herald photo by Alexandra Noad John Chief Calf, a humanitarian teacher at Chinook High School, says that merging western and Indigenous world views takes a lot of conversation and collaboration.

The western society views the world as a hierarchy, while the Indigenous perspective sees things as circular with everything being connected and equal. With these perspectives opposing one another, how does one learn to merge two polarizing world views to create a sense of balance?

John Chief Calf, a humanitarian teacher at Chinook High School, says merging the two vastly different world views takes a lot of conversation and collaboration from both parties. While Chief Calf has been with the Lethbridge School Division for six years, this only his second year teaching. He says he is impressed with his student’s eagerness to learn different perspectives.

“I really feel supported by the students,” Chief Calf says. “I just really feel that the students are curious and the students, I just find they’re very supportive and open to understanding.”

It’s not just the students who are open to learning new perspectives its other teachers, as well.

“When it comes to the to the staff and to my colleagues, I’m finding that as long as we are like open to different ideas, different perspectives, I find that there is a curiosity on their part,” says Chief Calf.

Chief Calf believes it is important to present different perspectives to students, especially since it gives people the opportunity to widen their inquiry methods.

“When you consider another point of view, you’re also challenging yourself, as well, and you’re also looking at your own framework, asking if my own frame of reference is growing, and I think Indigenous perspectives do that because it’s so much of a land-based connecting way of looking at life.”

With the education system promoting a western world view, Chief Calf says it can be challenging to include an Indigenous world view.

“I tend to find that curriculum is really, really set. It’s set in a specific way and I think a lot of teachers, or at least the system, is used to having it that way. So, if you’re going to implement an Indigenous perspective, then I guess the question would be how. I tend to find that it’s ‘the how’ that’s the challenge.”

Chief Calf says the best way to merge the two perspective is through communication and collaboration.

“I just think with reconciliation that’s probably a longer process than what people think because you’re talking about 150 years.”

While it will take time to come to full reconciliation, it won’t stop Chief Calf from trying to do his part in the process.

“I’ve just come to the realization that I’m just going to continue to do my part as much as possible.”

Chief Calf presented his fourth and final part of his speaker series on Navigating Two Systems Friday at Fort Whoop-Up. More information on this series can be found at saag.ca.

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