Indigenous innovation and organizational change towards equitable higher education systems: the Canadian experience

Abstract

Indigenous knowledges are largely absent from higher education institutions’ efforts to pursue excellence and innovation. Grounded in decolonization literature and institutional theory, this article examines how Indigenous peoples of Canada have engaged with innovation discourses in higher education. Through document analysis of 15 research-intensive Canadian universities and conversation with 13 Indigenous peoples, the article analyses political, functional, and normative pressures associated with Indigenous knowledges shaping Canadian universities. The article demonstrates how Indigenous groups have been able to push post-secondary institutions towards a normative shift in organizational structure. The article also shows how approaching innovation from decolonizing perspectives can provide a way forward for equitable higher education systems, advocating for re-imagining the dominant market economy, and focusing on learning from Indigenous worldviews that centre around reciprocity, ecological sustainability, and connection to land.