APHD Belonging & Solidarity Social Series
Honoring Indigenous Knowledge: APHD Belonging and Solidarity Social
A space to connect, reflect, and create together!
Join us as we celebrate Indigenous Education Month through learning, reflection, and connection. This social is an opportunity to learn from Indigenous knowledge and traditions while spending meaningful time with peers in a warm and welcoming environment.
During the event, you’ll have the chance to:
- Make tobacco ties
- Learn about Indigenous approaches to mental health and traditional medicines
- Enjoy Indigenous-inspired refreshments
All APHD students, faculty, and staff are welcome.
Event Agenda
12:00 - 12:05 PM
Welcome & Opening Remarks
12:05 - 12:30 PM
Sharing & Discussion with Dr. Todd Cunningham.
Over the past several years, Dr. Todd Cunningham and his team have been deeply honoured to be welcomed into multiple northern communities and to walk alongside them on their educational journeys. The Indigenous Language and Literacy Initiative is a meaningful partnership supporting culturally grounded, research-based approaches to teaching and learning in Indigenous communities across northern Ontario, the Yukon, and Nunavut.
Working collaboratively with educators, Elders, and community partners, the initiative focuses on strengthening early literacy through structured, evidence-informed methods that honour local language, culture, and knowledge. The work also includes supporting community members in pursuing teacher education pathways and co-developing community-based curriculum-based measures (CBMs) to ensure that assessment practices are meaningful, responsive, and rooted in the local context.
12:30 - 1:10 PM
Indigenous Mental Health & Traditional Medicines - Meagan Muscat
1:10 - 2:00 PM
Tobacco Tie-Making Activity
Hands-on activity exploring the cultural and spiritual meaning of tobacco ties. All materials provided.
About the Speaker
Dr. Todd Cunningham
Dr. Todd Cunningham is an assistant professor, teaching stream in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Â¥·ïÌìÌÃ. Prof. Cunningham is also a school and clinical psychologist whose research has been focused on academic interventions for student-age child who have learning difficulties: He teaches courses in the SCCP program on psychoeducational assessment, as well as adapting and differentiating instruction for students experiencing learning difficulties.
His recent work focuses on partnering with Indigenous communities to design culturally appropriate benchmarking tools and teacher resources that foster equity in education.
