Exploring Indigenous-Informed Pedagogy in Academic Library Instruction #LILAC26

The penultimate session I'm attending (though there will be some currently-part-finished blogs that will go up later today or tomorrow) at the LILAC information literacy conference is Collective Conversations: Exploring Indigenous-Informed Pedagogy in Academic Library Instruction presented by Adair Harper (Simon Fraser University, Canada). The abstract is here
They started by introducing themselves, reflecting on their positionality and history, and acknowledging the traditional holders of the land on which Simon Fraser University stands, theese people's knowledge systems, and the impact of colonisation on education/ library practices.
They went on to identify key aspects of the Canadian contect, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Indigenous Matters Committee of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (which had a report about responding to the TRC's calls to action) and the Simon Fraser University Aboriginal Reconciliation & Conciliation report. There is a Decolonising the Library Working Group in the university, formed in 2018, and a very small Indigenous Initiatives Team which is also developing the Indigenous Curriculum resource centre.
They went on to identify other decolonising initiatives from the library, including the WG for information literacy and instruction explicitly addressing decolonisation.
In summer 2025 they had reading circles reading a chapter form the book Wayi Wah, then in autumn/winter 2025-6 they started to apply First Peoples Principles of Learning and involve more people in implementing them, developing curriculum with the principles of indigenous learning, addressing biases cause by using colonialist approaches to education.
They started by all looking at teaching materials for a class Foundations for Academic Literacy (FAL), so they could discuss and compare ideas. This module aims to introduce undergraduates to academic research. The librarians worked through this by each focusing on some of the materials and bearing specific principles in mind. This is still progress, so these were reflections on what has emerged so far. They found that focusing on one principle at a time was helpful in avoiding overwhelm. The process also helped in understanding and incorporating the principles into their own practice. The people doing this work (librarians and library assistants) have different roles in learning and teaching.
Key principles that are emerging as areas of focus are "Learning involves patience and time" and "Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place)". There is a desire to bring more experiential and conversation-based learning into the classroom; to recognise learners' and teachers' experiences & knowledge; be an "imperfect friend" rather than a "perfect stranger".
They have been revising the teaching material for the FAL module, will have workshops in the summer for colleagues, pilot material and then run the updated module next academic year, and also aim as write a chapter.
Photo by Sheila Webber: in Sheffield Botanical Gardens, March 2026