Land as first teacher: a philosophical journeying

This paper represents a prefatory philosophical journeying that revolves around my initial reflections and inquiries into land as first teacher and the ways those evolving understandings inform my teaching practices. Land as first teacher is an Indigenous philosophy derived out of a land-centred culture that is based on very old pedagogies. This philosophical journeying formed the basis for exploring what it means to have land as first teacher; the concepts of storying, journeying and circle epistemology as a central model for meaning-making; the development and implementation of land-infused course content and activities; the implications of reflexive inquiry for pedagogy and practice; as well as an initial conceptualization around how Indigenous thought diverges from Western thought.