Make Your Mind Strong - My Father’s Insights into Academic Success

Oct 15, 2026

Through interviews, the author examines how her father built academic success by drawing on family and community teachings rooted in traditional Haida pedagogy. By reflecting on his stories alongside the work of other Indigenous scholars in education, she organizes shared teachings thematically. Seven principles emerge: authentic learning, learning that contributes, learning through observation, curiosity, spirituality and protocol, visualization, and the connection between mind and heart.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Learning rooted in traditional Haida pedagogy

Academic success despite educational barriers

Bridging two educational worlds and Indigenous epistemologies

Make Your Mind Strong: My Father’s Insights into Academic Success Sara Florence Davidson University of British Columbia Robert Davidson White Rock, British Columbia * Abstract Through a series of interviews, I learned how my father drew upon his family’s and community’s teachings, which were deeply rooted in traditional Haida pedagogy, to achieve success. I reflected on his stories and their connections and the work of other Indigenous scholars in the field of education to thematically organize the teachings that he shared. I came to understand seven important principles of traditional Haida pedagogy: learning is authentic; learning involves making a contribution; learning occurs through observation; learning involves curiosity; learning involves aspects of spirituality and protocol; learning involves the importance of visualization; and learning involves the connection between mind and heart. * This article was based on a series of interviews with Robert Davidson. Though he did not write the article, hereviewed its contents prior to submitting it, and I made the adjustments and clarifications he requested. Robert Davidson has been listed as an additional author to demonstrate respect and appreciation for his significant contributions. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 39:2 (2016)©2016 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Keywords: Indigenous pedagogy, Haida pedagogy, learning principles, education, Indigenous education, intergenerational learning Résumé À travers une série d’entrevues, j’ai appris comment mon père a créé sa réussite en puisant dans les enseignements de sa famille et de sa communauté, qui étaient profondémentenracinés dans la pédagogie haïda traditionnelle. J’ai réfléchi à tout ce qu’il m’a raconté et me suis penché sur les travaux d’autres chercheurs autochtones dans le domaine del’éducation afin d’organiser par thèmes les enseignements qu’il m’a transmis. C’est ainsi que j’ai dégagé sept principes clés de pédagogie haïda traditionnelle : l’apprentissage est authentique; l’apprentissage implique qu’on apporte sa propre contribution; l’apprentissage passe par l’observation; l’apprentissage suppose la curiosité; l’apprentissage comprend des facettes spirituelles et un protocole; l’apprentissage ne vas pas sans la visualisation; l’apprentissage implique une communion entre l’esprit et le cœur. Mots-clés : pédagogie autochtone, pédagogie haïda, principes de l’apprentissage, éducation, éducation autochtone, apprentissage intergénérationnel Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 39:2 (2016) [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Introduction I do not remember when I first learned that my father did not complete high school in his home community. I suspect it was in preparation for a visit with the family who hosted him in the far away city of Vancouver for his final year of high school. My father was still a teenager when he made the journey from Masset, on the northern tip of Haida Gwaii, toa high school with a larger population than his entire home community, and I have never been able to imagine the adversities that he had to overcome in order to graduate. As an educator who has worked with Indigenous students who struggle academically, I have often wondered about what transpired for my father to accomplish what seemed to me a near-impossible feat: graduating from high school after the school in his home community decided to discontinue Grades 11 and 12 due to dwindling numbers. Like many Indigenous educators, I am concerned about the inability of our current education system to meet the needs of Indigenous students (Sterling, 1992), and I imagined it might be possible to learn from his success. I believed that I could interview my father and use the findings to support Indigenous students so that they may experience academic success as he di

FAQs

What method did the author use to understand her father’s academic success?

The author used a series of interviews to learn how her father drew on family and community teachings and then organized the themes of what he shared.

What seven principles does the author identify in traditional Haida pedagogy?

The author identifies seven principles: authentic learning; learning that involves making a contribution; learning through observation; learning through curiosity; spirituality and protocol; the importance of visualization; and the connection between mind and heart.

Why does the author focus on Indigenous education today?

As an educator working with Indigenous students who struggle academically, she worries about the current education system’s inability to meet Indigenous students’ needs and believes learning from her father’s success can support academic achievement.

Oct 15, 2026

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