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What does it mean to decolonize a wind ensemble or concert band class? Why should we do so when the wind band idiom is based on Western conceptions of music that have nothing to do with Indigenous ways? How do we decolonize when the very act of conducting is driven by our interpretations of the score and not by the socio-cultural context? How do we recognize and navigate between our separate responsibilities/identities as conductors and as music educators in this regard, especially when they may be in tension? What are some concrete actionable steps that we might take? In this article, we address these questions through conversation with each other and with you, the reader. But first, we will introduce ourselves so that you understand why this topic is important to us.
Anita currently teaches and researches at the University of Victoria. She is of Italian descent and taught for 17 years in a small community in British Columbia. Approximately 20% of her students were from the Upper and Lower Similkameen First Nations or from the Métis Nation. She loves conducting and obtained her Master of Music in Wind Conducting. However, social justice issues in music education drove her PhD work. Her current research concerns decolonizing and Indigenizing music education in the BC context. She is also involved with international efforts to decolonize music education globally through the International Society for Music Education (ISME).
Katie currently teaches and researches at Trent University in the School of Education. She works in the Indigenous Bachelor of Education program on the traditional territory of the Michi Saggi Anishinaabe in Peterborough, (Nogojiwanong) Ontario. She identifies as both a white-presenting Canadian settler (Zhaaganaashii) and as a woman with Indigenous ancestry (Anishinaabe-Kwe). Katie's previous research is centered on music education pedagogy and her current research is in the intersecting areas of music education and Indigenous education. She is interested in how teachers and teacher candidates work to decolonize their practices through infusing Indigenous pedagogies and ways of knowing in the classroom.
What does decolonization mean in the context of music education?
Ian Cull and associates define decolonization as "the process of deconstructing colonial ideologies of the superiority and privilege of Western thought and approaches. Decolonization involves valuing and revitalizing Indigenous knowledge...