An Indigenous Cultural Contextualization of Engineering in First Year at the University of Saskatchewan

In Canada, Indigenous Peoples are underrepresented in the engineering profession. In a step towards reconciliation, USask’s Re-Engineered first year program includes a fall-term course that introduces fundamental concepts of an Indigenous Cultural Contextualization of Engineering. The course aims to provide structured discussion about engineers’ responsibilities to the recommendations of the TRC and UNDRIP commitments, the importance of meaningful consultation, and the notable Indigenous traditions of technology and design, while allowing students to learn about Indigenous worldviews and reflect on their own positionality. The course assessments provide opportunities for feedback and adaptation through the competency-based assessment system used in Re-Engineered. The course has now been offered three times since the fall of 2021. The development and refinement of the course and the way in which collected student feedback has been used to guide its general evolution will be discussed with hopes that aspects of the course may be adopted more broadly within the profession.