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In this article, Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy and Emma Maughn explore epistemic tensions within an Indigenous teacher preparation program where students question Western systems for creating, producing, reproducing, and valuing knowledge. Grounding their argument in a rich understanding of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, the authors advocate for an approach to training Indigenous teachers that recognizes the power of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, considers diverse knowledge systems equally, and equips teachers to make connections between various schooling practices and knowledge systems. Through the "story of the bean," in which an Indigenous student teacher reconceptualizes a science lesson from a more holistic perspective, the authors illustrate the wealth of understanding and insight that Indigenous teachers bring to the education of Indigenous students, and they depict the possibilities for pre-service teaching programs in which university staff honor the inherent value of Indigenous perspectives.
You know, this is a funny place. I listen to the teachers as they teach, and it sounds like what happens when you push play and fast-forward on a tape recorder. The teachers, they talk so fast and they use these words that have four syllables when they could use [words] with two. So, there is a teacher that keeps saying "obfuscate" when she could say "hides behind" or something like that. Why the big words and the supersonic pace? We all need dictionaries to sit in on these classes. It's like you all [the faculty members] are trying to show us how smart you are.
We were in another meeting with the students in our Indigenous Teacher Preparation Program (ITPP) after an intense summer for our students, faculty, and staff. The ITPP students had earned eighteen credit hours in two summer sessions, and they were exhausted. The faculty had taught several courses, and the three support staff members had coordinated activity after activity and put out too many fires to remember, helping students find places to live, to bank, and to get health care for their children. As the meeting wound down, Henry Sampson,1 a member of the program's leadership team, had asked the students how they were holding up.
Following the student teacher's comment on this "funny place" and the nods and chuckles in response, Henry asked if anyone else had something to say....