A time yet to come: An Indigenous-centred teacher education program at Simon Fraser University

This thesis examines Indigenization of teacher education through the lived experience of a Kanaka Maoli community educator and via a critical analysis of institutional transformation within Simon Fraser University's (SFU) teacher preparation program. It addresses the urgent calls for reconciliation and decolonization issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). It centers Indigenous knowledge systems, including Hawaiian epistemologies, within the field of teacher education. Grounded in Indigenous methodologies of Talk Story, Wayfinding and relational accountability, this work integrates personal narrative, cultural memory, and academic analysis to explore the possibilities and tensions of merging Western and Indigenous pedagogical paradigms. Reminded of Sylvia Wynter's words that one's research is always a collective act, I acknowledge throughout the thesis those whose research, knowledge, praxis, activism and imaginings have sustained me on this journey, namely the artists, theorists, storytellers, musicians, makers, and navigators. The thesis presents a methodological framework that honours storytelling as a vessel of truth and a pathway to epistemic justice. Through a blend of historical reflection and future-oriented visioning, the thesis culminates in a projected description of an Indigenous-centred teacher education program at SFU in the year 2035, when it has become a living, breathing space of ceremony, language, and relational care. This imagined future, evincing the values of ethical relationality, incorporates water-based learning, language revitalization, community governance, equigenic learning, and ceremonial practice. In doing so, the thesis offers concrete policy recommendations affirming the transformative potential of Indigenous ways of knowing in reshaping teacher education for the 21st century. Ultimately, this thesis aims to contribute to the growing body of scholarship on Indigenous-led educational reform, asserting that meaningful Indigenization requires not only curricular change but also a fundamental shift in how relationships, responsibilities, and knowledge are understood within academic institutions. This thesis is not just about what is. It is about what could and can be. And it is offered in the spirit of kuleana and aloha to those who teach, who remember, who resist, who dream, and those who are seekers of liberation