About Yellowhead School
Yellowhead School offers a different kind of education
rooted in ancestral beliefs about the transformative power
of knowledge and education.
In 2021, Yellowhead Institute began developing a vision to grow from a research centre to a research and educational centre, with each wing committed to transformative change in the Canadian-Indigenous relationship. Taken together, the organization strives to lead discussions of Indigenous issues in Canada and support Indigenous people and communities to take action toward self-determination.
Yellowhead School was officially established in 2022. The School mobilizes, through educational initiatives, the findings and analyses produced by Yellowhead researchers. Our mission is to build on the collaborative research model to train the next generation of Indigenous leaders: to build capacity for a future where Indigenous people and communities design their worlds according to their values.
Yellowhead School brings together and expands on the educational infrastructure and programming at the Yellowhead Institute, which is rooted in Indigenous pedagogy, knowledge, and commitment to a decolonial future.
Building on existing initiatives as well as new in-person and online curriculum and programming developed by, and for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit rural, urban, and virtual communities. The Yellowhead School will radically transform prevailing beliefs about knowledge, education, and learning while expanding upon the Institute’s objective to support movements toward the restoration of Indigenous sovereignty. The Yellowhead School embodies the Institute’s commitment to training, mentoring, and learning from the next generation of Indigenous leaders.
Our Educational Philosophy
Our collaborative approach to education prioritizes Indigenous kinship, community, and land relations. We are committed to the restoration of Indigenous sovereignty through training, mentoring, and learning from the next generation of Indigenous leaders.
Our Program Streams
01. The Radical Policy School offers non-accredited educational programming through the Yellowhead School. This innovative program offers a decolonial model of education grounded by theoretical learning and practical application for Indigenous leaders involved in local, community- and land-based initiatives, but might not see themselves as welcome in university spaces or who have been marginalized from post-secondary education. Rigorous, intentional, sustained, and devoted to transformation and revitalization.
02. Yellowhead Fire brings together established and emerging scholars, activists, and artists to discuss pressing concerns and issues, exchange ideas, and offer critical Indigenous perspectives on settler colonialism and the reclamation of Indigenous land and “the good life”.
The theme for Yellowhead Fire 2023/2024 is “A Different Kind of Education” with a focus on Indigenous knowledge and education. Yellowhead Fire hosts four lecture events annually that are free of charge and open to the public. The series is offered in person at Toronto Metropolitan University. It is also available online.
03. Yellowhead Online builds on our critical in-person education with online education through interfaces that engage with Indigenous art, culture and humanities. Facilitating even broader audiences access to Yellowhead tools and resources, it aims at accessibility with local, regional and national scope.
