Protest as Pedagogy: Teaching, Learning, and Indigenous Environmental Movements ([Re]thinking Environmental Education)

Written during a time characterized by catalyzing Indigenous environmental movements such as Idle No More, political upheaval, and the final years of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Protest as Pedagogy: Teaching, Learning, and Indigenous Environmental Movements was motivated by Gregory Lowan-Trudeau’s personal experiences as an activist, educator, and researcher. Insights from interviews with activists and educators in a variety of school, community, and post-secondary contexts are presented in relation to teaching and learning during, and in response to, Indigenous environmental movements. Looking toward future possibilities, the rise of renewable energy development by Indigenous communities across Canada is also considered. Throughout Protest as Pedagogy, these inquiries are guided by a theoretical framework built on concepts such as decolonization, Herbert Marcuse’s repressive tolerance, Elliot Eisner’s three curricula, and broader fields of study such as social movement learning, critical media literacy, Indigenous media studies, and environmental communication.

Gregory Lowan-Trudeau is originally from Moh-kíns-tsis (Calgary, Canada), and is of Métis, Swiss, and Norwegian ancestry. He is Associate Professor in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. This is his second book in the (Re)thinking Environmental Education series.