In a recent article for The Manitoban, University of Manitoba Kinesiology Professor and land-based educator Brian Rice shared how he takes students on walks through parts of Winnipeg to teach them more about the land that they live on. “I have a PhD in traditional knowledges, and I’ve never really been able to apply some of that knowledge into outdoor settings or such, because we’re always confined to a classroom,” said Rice, “And I didn’t want to be a professor who was stuck talking about the Indian Act all the time. And so what I did for my dissertation is I walked about 700 miles through my own territory, knowing all the stories and everything else.” Rice shared that he often takes students to historically significant sites such as the Assiniboine residential school and an Indigenous burial ground. In his classes, students also have the opportunity to take part in physical activities related to Indigenous traditions such as traditional lacrosse—also known as tewaaraton—and Indigenous song and dance.
