Indigenous teacher education in Canada: Acknowledging the past and forging the future

This chapter addresses the question: How can we better support and develop indigenous teacher education in Canada in a way that acknowledges the past, addresses the experiences of student teachers, and provides approaches that universities and professors can use to provide better and more authentic learning experiences for indigenous teacher candidates? It is clear that the quality of learning is intrinsic to the cultural authenticity of experience of new teachers, their future students and teacher education programs and their professors. This chapter shows that a focus on preservice teachers' needs and more culturally relevant pedagogy provides an opportunity to create genuine programs that reflect student input and address basic inequalities in our society in Canada. In this way, teacher preparation and ongoing development can propose ways forward to correct wrongs and needs in our society as a whole and reframe histories to respect the complexity of our multiple languages and cultures.