Indigenous Education Leads' Stories of Policy Enactment: A Sociomaterial Inquiry

Investing in Indigenous education has been identified as a key priority by provinces and territories acrossCanada. In response, the Ontario Ministry of Education (OME) introduced the Ontario First Nation,Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework (the Framework). This policy directive outlines the OME’scommitment to working in partnership with Indigenous and non-Indigenous educational stakeholders toincrease the capacity of the public education system to respond to the learning and cultural needs of theestimated 50,312 Indigenous students who attend Ontario’s 5,000 elementary and secondary schools.While substantial progress has been made since the Framework’s release, more work is needed to ensureall students gain an understanding of, and appreciation for, Indigenous cultures, experiences, and perspectives. One way the OME has shown their continued investment is through the sustained allocation of fundsfor Indigenous Education Leads (Leads). Since the Framework’s release in 2007, these individuals haveplayed an invaluable role in supporting the implementation of the Framework. However, little is knownabout their lived experiences. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative paper is to share Leads’ stories of policyenactment, particularly their approaches to fulfilling a provincial mandate that carries with it the legacyof historical and contemporary trauma and mistrust between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Theprinciples of Critical Narrative Research (CNR) combined with the sensibilities of Actor-Network Theory(ANT) are drawn on to foreground how Leads understand their own actions and interactions throughoutthe policy implementation process, as well as how they come to understand the actions, interactions, andintentions of other materialities of practice (e.g., professionals, standardized tests, curricula, bodies, androutines) within their milieus