Resurgence: Engaging with Indigenous Narratives and Cultural Expressions In and Beyond the Classroom

My positionality as a reviewer is a white settler, living on the traditional, unceded Treaty 7 territory of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Nakoda (Stoney), and Tsuut'ina. Resurgence is an incredible gift to teachers everywhere, and I recognize the inherent privilege I have from learning and teaching in a dominant Eurocentric schooling system. For those like me, it is our job and our responsibility to respectfully, accurately, and fiercely disrupt these patterns of knowing by continually doing the work to become more responsive and reflective in our pedagogy. Resurgence is a must-read for teachers at any point in their teaching career to engage with Indigenous texts in the classroom and to de-center whiteness in the discussion of reconciliation.

Resurgence is a multi-faceted professional learning text for educators. It is a wealth of knowledge, resources, and reflection that puts onus on educators to continue to learn and grow—it is harmful to be stagnant in our own learning careers. The text starts with a general overview and introduction of different Indigenous pedagogical approaches before presenting numerous texts in four categories: resistance, resilience, restoring, and reconnecting. At the transition from information to textual resources sits a chart—my pages are dog-eared, underlined, and highlighted—that serves as a quick reference point for what texts are used in each section, who the author is, what nation the contributor is from, the title of the text, type of text, suggested learner level, and connected concepts. As I was reading each contributor’s piece, I was frequently flipping back to the chart to make quick notes for which texts I want to use in my own classroom.

Throughout Resurgence, there are footnotes to academic references, websites with further learning, and links to articles. There is a wealth of knowledge within these pages and the guidance to continue learning in several different ways as you read. The structure of this text is straightforward for both learning from and preparing to use in a classroom. Each text is paired with three levels of questions for students to work with: beginning, bridging, and beyond. These levels are based on how much prior information and experience students have in engaging with Indigenous topics, a perspective which is incredibly useful for tailoring how you approach each text with your own students. Many of the questions posed for students could be used at multiple grades because of this leveled distinction.

The 21 texts in Resurgence span genres and topics, from art pieces to poetry to essays, and include a reflection from M’Lot and Adamov Ferguson, educator reflection questions, classroom connections (with the leveled breakdown mentioned above), and connections to more Indigenous resources. The reflections can be used as an excellent mentor text for building personal reflection habits for teachers and middle grade and higher students alike. The plentiful student reflections offer multiple access points for students to begin and continue their own learning and to help guide them to connect their own experiences with the experiences of the contributors of the texts. The continued learning that can happen through the resource list is also a teacher’s dream—there are many links to websites and documentaries included, as well as picture books, YA novels, and more.

Resurgence is the professional learning resource that all teachers should have access to, and it is monumentally important for educators to read.