Science, Art, and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge: Holistic Approaches to Inspiring Next Generation Health and Wellness Practitioners

HARC is dedicated to renewing health in Northern BC through creative, geographically-specific, and socio­culturally means. HARC works as an agent for building capacity to bring knowledge into practice, especially in the North, and especially for Indigenous peoples and communities. Using Art, Dakelh Oral History, and Science as holistic mediums, members of the HARC team have developed a toolkit to help teachers in inspiring students to take up health careers. The toolkit guides making tangible Indigenous art mediums and offers ways of teaching about intangible elements of the Dakelh culture when thinking about health and healthcare. The toolkit helps student envision themselves as a scientist or health professional anchored in part within Dakelh oral history. Balance is created and a Two-Eyed Seeing approach to learning is achieved. This presentation introduces the toolkit and will include a special guest, Tanya Solonas, who volunteered at HARC’s 2019 Indigenous Summer Science Camp at UNBC: Tanya is also the mother of a camp participant.

To learn more about the toolkit, please visit our educational resources/handouts page .