大象传媒

In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the School of Sustainable Energy Engineering (SEE) hosted a panel discussion on The Nexus of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Engineering Practice. 

The speakers, professors Kamala Todd and Pamela Wolf shared insights on the importance of land language and knowledge in shaping the way we build and imagine cities and how engineering education can move towards reconciliation. By reflecting on the history of the province and the importance of respecting Indigenous communities, the dialogue underscored the need to integrate diverse ways of knowing into both engineering practice and education.

The SEE dialogue event creates space for Indigenous scholars, Knowledge Keepers and community voices to guide engineering research, teaching and governance rooted in Indigenous priorities and respectful partnerships.
 

View highlights from the discussion
 

• Historical Context:
  Long-term strategic planning and urban design practices have often overlooked or only superficially engaged Indigenous communities. The integration of Indigenous ways of knowing within these processes has been minimal or entirely absent.
• Role of the Engineering Community:
  The engineering profession鈥攊ncluding practitioners, educators and students鈥攈as the potential to change this trajectory. Achieving meaningful change requires sustained partnerships with Indigenous communities and active engagement with Indigenous knowledge systems.
• Focus for Action:
  • Decolonization: This involves dismantling colonial hierarchies and mindsets by deepening recognition of the land, practicing humility within the engineering profession, acknowledging both historical and ongoing harms, embracing systems thinking and pursuing collective transformation.
  • Indigenization: This means actively inviting Indigenous voices and perspectives into dialogue and practice, while recognizing and valuing the diversity of Indigenous worldviews rather than treating them as monolithic.

• The Role of Universities:
  Universities have a crucial role to play in transforming engineering education and practice. Key actions include: 
  • Inviting Indigenous speakers and integrating their contributions into teaching, research and scholarly activities.
  • Revising naming conventions and institutional language in policies and actions, with a scale of change significant enough to create real impact.
  • Acknowledging and addressing the social structures and truths embedded within existing systems.
  • Creating roles or positions that bridge knowledge systems (e.g., 鈥減eace warriors鈥�) between conventional engineering frameworks and Indigenous ways of knowing.
  • Promoting reciprocal and respectful knowledge exchange with Indigenous knowledge keepers, carried out with humility鈥攕ettlers should not speak for Indigenous peoples.
  • Identifying and engaging Indigenous voices, particularly those of youth, to ensure diverse representation and intergenerational continuity.

Informational Resources:

• , 2022. Pamela Wolf, Ben Harris, and Nika Martinussen.
• . UBC

About Panelists:

• Kamala Todd, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, 大象传媒: A M茅tis-Cree Indigenous planner, filmmaker, and educator who weaves storytelling, film, and urban planning to support decolonizing and re-Indigenizing cities, with film credits including Cedar and Bamboo and Indigenous Plant Diva. She has led transformative projects with the City of Vancouver, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

• Pamela Wolf, Assistant Professor of Teaching, UBC: A settler actively undertaking engineering education leadership on the decolonization of engineering curriculum, she works at the intersection of communication and design with a focus on collaboration, consultation, and leadership, and leads the Decolonizing Engineering Curriculum and the Reconciliation + Design initiatives that support engineering faculty in embedding Indigenous reconciliation into the curriculum.

Moderator:

• Zafar Adeel, Professor of Practice and Director, School of Sustainable Energy Engineering