Chapter 8: Indigeneity in the Supervisor-Graduate Student Academic Journey

Supervision of graduate students is a responsibility that requires commitment to an iterative collaborative process that is dependent on respect, reciprocity, and renewal. Kimmerer (2013) provides an image of reciprocity: “Will you hold my braid? Hands joined by grass, can we bend our heads together and make a braid to honor the earth? And then I’ll hold it for you, while you braid, too” (pp. ix–x). The intent should be to do things “in a good way” so a supervisor-student relationship inspires creativity, imagination, innovation, and “to think outside the box, live within the circle” (personal communication, Cajete, 2014). “In a good way” can be defined as the sincerity and intention behind our actions—ways of being and doing that benefit “all my relations” (Ottmann, 2017). Doing things “in a good way” also requires reciprocity in relationships: