At the core of the University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills Philosophy of Education is the guidance of the Creator, our Mother Earth, our Language & the Natural Law:
LOVE, HONESTY, SHARING, DETERMINATION
mîna
Our Treaty Rights include a wholistic education which nurtures the four dimensions of a healthy strong, whole person:
MENTAL, SPIRITUAL, PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL
ekwa
Based on lifelong learning that is intergenerational, experiential and process oriented. Recognizing the gift,
ABILITY, KNOWLEDGE, DIVERSITY, HUMOUR
ekwa mina
This learning is facilitated in collaboration with the University and members of the Seven First Nations,
ekosi mâcika
DEPENDENT, INDEPENDENT And INTERDEPENDENT LEARNING.
PHILOSOPHY, CONTEXT, AND RELATIONSHIP
nehiyawak are a sovereign people accepting the responsibilities to this land as given by the Creator. From this our people and ancestors derive the authority to enter into and maintain nation to nation treaties with the Crown of Great Britain, and to continue to live by the laws and ethics that guide us that are not made by us, but by the Creator.
These are laws and ethics that are followed by all living beings, and we learn them through ceremony, through relationship, through the language, and through practice.
We honor the Creator, the Great Mystery, the grandmothers and grandfathers, our older brother, the pipe and tobacco, the rock spirit, the smudge on medicines, and prayer.
We trust these to lead us to a strong mind, a strong heart, to work together, to help one another, all our relations, and those who were here first. These laws and ethics guide us in all our relations, within our communities as well as with people of other cultures. nehiyawewin teaches us how to be whole healthy human beings, standing in good relation to the world.
We are responsible for living the seven teachings of love, respect, courage, honesty, humility, wisdom, and truth.
This ethic requires that we treat all living things with respect, love, honesty, sharing, and determination, and that we follow the spiritual protocols which guide those relationships.
Attention must be given to the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the relationship.
These protocols are learned over time and through practice. Researchers will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to the values and to practice the spiritual protocols of newo ayisiyiniwak in all aspects of their work and lives. The research must also align with the vision, mission, educational philosophy and mandate statements of UnBQ.
Research is about seeking knowledge, about forming relationships with the ones who know, and the ethics that guide that search can only be understood in a spiritual context.
We honour the ethics of spirit, the ethics of we, the collective, all of Creation. In ceremony, the ones who are learning, who are receiving teachings and knowledge, are oskâpewisak ekwa oskîskwewak. oskâpewisak ekwa oskîskwewak- this is the role of the researcher- the helper, the learner. They take direction from the ones with the knowledge. Once they have learned, their teacher will send them out to be a teacher, with a responsibility to carry the knowledge for future generations, and respecting the original practice, intent and use.
In traditional protocols there are relationships that precede the gifting of knowledge; an investments is made first in the relationship before asking for teachings.
Presentations of traditional gifts are required, as is an agreement that the knowledge will only be shared and used appropriately according to the way it is shared and used by the teacher. Knowledge is essential to survival, so the maintenance and transference of knowledge is a sacred trust. Trust and respect are essential elements of the relationship.