A drawn image that includes two moons, a lodge and a diverse community.
Estimated Read Time:
3 minutes
Indigenous

New occupational therapy curriculum to weave in Indigenous ways

Program will have ‘profound impact’ on future occupational therapists.

Estimated Read Time:
3 minutes
By

Alan MacKenzie

As part of a commitment to preparing culturally safe practitioners and addressing health inequities among Indigenous people, UM’s master of occupational therapy program has been working toward a new curriculum that will weave in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.  

The curriculum is in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. Integration has already started and will be fully in place next year.  

“We view this re-envisioning as having a profound impact on future generations of occupational therapists,” said Dr. Leanne Leclair, occupational therapy department head.

Margaret Hart, Indigenous scholar (Ininiw) in the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, has been leading the integration along with Leclair.  

Hart joined the faculty in 2022. Her work is deeply grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems and epistemologies. She’s also a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education, specializing in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, with a focus on Indigenous curriculum theory and design. 

Headshots of Leanne Leclair and Margaret Hart.
(L-R) Leanne Leclair and Margaret Hart

Wapanohk: New beginnings

On April 30, Hart and Leclair shared details on the curriculum’s framework at an online Illuminate Speaker Series presentation titled “Wapanohk,” which translates to “new beginnings.”

Five people taking part in a braiding exercise.
Faculty take part in a braiding exercise at a curriculum retreat in 2023. The braid symbolizes multiple knowledge systems.

“We’re looking to decolonize curriculum, which means challenging and transforming traditional academic frameworks to better reflect the experiences and perspectives of a range of populations and groups and individuals,” Leclair said at the event.

Leclair said the curriculum will include diverse perspectives from various marginalized communities, not only Indigenous communities, including other racialized groups, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities and others who have been systemically excluded.

“It’s about questioning power dynamics and examining how power relations within curriculum have historically marginalized certain groups, and how these dynamics continue to shape educational practices,” Leclair said. 

Four Indigenous Knowledges

At the heart of the program are four Indigenous knowledges: Wahkotowin (collaborative relationships); Mino-Wicitowin (working in good ways); Minoayawin (“wholistic” health and well-being); and Mino-Pimatisiwin (“the good life”).  

“In my view, if well implemented, efforts can clearly demonstrate a shift in mindset,” said Hart.  

For me and for occupational therapists, their role is not to direct the path, but to walk alongside it with humility and care.

Margaret Hart

One of the pieces guiding the creation of the new curriculum was a process called Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH), which Hart was trained in at the Manitoba First Nation Education Resource Centre.  

“PATH begins with a vision of a preferred future, not limited by current systems, and grounded in hope,” Hart said.

“Planning alternative tomorrows allows for a space for people to dream, to be heard and to lead their own pathways forward. For me and for occupational therapists, their role is not to direct the path, but to walk alongside it with humility and care.”

Hart and Leclair said the curriculum is being developed specifically for UM’s occupational therapy program, with input from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, faculty, staff, students and the community.  

“Someone couldn't just take our curriculum and put it in theirs. It is really about the Manitoba context,” Leclair said.  

“While the educational framework is transferable, it would need to be adapted to the local context,” Hart said. “Indigenous knowledge systems are not static, they are lived.”  

A circle of people hold an interconnected piece of yarn.
Occupational therapy students engage in a hands-on exercise using yarn to visually represent the “web of relations” among themselves, others and the broader environment.
A group of people working around a table.
Occupational therapy students and community members take part in a dialogue grounded in the theme Mino‑Wicitowin, sharing insights into their ongoing efforts toward decolonization, Indigenous knowledges, and culturally safe practice.

Guiding vision

One of the outcomes of the PATH process was the creation of an image that has guided the creation of the curriculum framework. The artwork was drawn by Hart and created with Indigenous artist Leah Fontaine through UM’s Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.  

The image represents a lodge in which all are welcomed as kin. The image includes a diverse community – ancestors, animal spirits, the land, cosmos, medicines, faculty, students, community members, Elders and Knowledge Keepers.  

A drawn image that includes two moons, a lodge and a diverse community.
An image created by Margaret Hart with Indigenous artist Leah Fontaine that guides the curriculum framework.

“Drawing on the Strawberry Moon within the Ininiw calendar system and the star teachings of Wilfred Buck in his book Tipiskawi Kisik: Night Sky Star Stories, the cosmos is understood through stories that reflect multiple truths, interconnectedness and diverse ways of knowing,” Hart said.

Specific elements in the image include two moons that represent the creation story, time and space of renewal, an arbor that represents a place of gathering, community and restoration, and bears that represent medicine. 

Learn more about the master of occupational therapy program:

umanitoba.ca/graduate-studies/admissions/programs-of-study/occupational-therapy-mot

Boilerplate: Reimagining engagement

At UM, we collaborate with communities, forge partnerships locally and globally, and invite all to our campuses. Reimagining engagement is one of the strategic themes you’ll find in MomentUM: Leading change together, the University of Manitoba’s 2024–2029 strategic plan.