Introducing Community Reimagined From the Third Space Center

I grew up with a tūtūwahine (grandmother) who was a reservoir of care for her community. Her ability to serve those on the margins through advocacy, service and activism was deeply rooted in her kinship with the land she stood on. Her worldview, shared by many kānaka maoli, was grounded in a reverence for the natural elements and place. She believed this kinship enabled her to provide equitable community care, root herself in her identity and radically belong.

Her practices and way of being are an exemplar of the teaching and learning approach of place-based learning. Place-based learning connects learners to their local communities and environments, integrating cultural, historical and ecological knowledge. This approach emphasizes learning from the surrounding land, people, and stories, encouraging students to engage with local communities, elders, and stewards of the land (Gruenewald, 2003). By centering Indigenous and local knowledge, place-based learning fosters communal social justice, environmental sustainability and decolonization, allowing students to deepen their connection to place and cultivate a sense of belonging (Teves, Smith, & Raheja, 2015).

By centering our relationship with the land in our work—by questioning how we engage with natural resources, examining the ethics of ownership, uncovering historical truths, and clarifying our collective responsibilities based on the history of the land—we position ourselves to think and act with equity in mind. The work begins with reflecting on our relationship to place.

Intentional conversations with students in our resource centers and with leaders of our affinity groups revealed a consistent theme: the importance of grounding and localizing the work of equity, belonging and inclusion. They expressed a desire for actionable steps that create safer, more responsive relationships with one another, our campus and the larger community.

In response to campus climate data and Whitman’s responsibility to support our communities of color, the Third Space Center launched the Community Reimagined series. This initiative features the work, research and creative contributions of individuals in the Pacific Northwest who are grounded in place-based learning, anti-racist practices and radical belonging. Through intentional dialogue and knowledge sharing, this series invites us to draw inspiration from each guest’s experiences as we envision and enact meaningful change on campus.

Our inaugural speaker, tia north, will present:

“Cultural Roots and Professional Wings: Indigenizing Academia for Future Leadership and Change-Making”
Thursday, December 5 from 5–6:30 p.m. | Third Space Center, Living Room

This presentation will explore Indigenous knowledge and anti-racist practices in academia, focusing on how these approaches equip students with the skills needed for leadership and community-building roles. Together, we will consider how Indigenized experiences contribute to future success, the benefits of anti-racist leadership and change-making, and the challenges we must address along the way.

About the Speaker:

From the ahupuaʻa of Waiākea and the Hālaulani rain of Panaewa, tia north is an ʻŌiwi poet, educator and ʻāina aloha. north has taught poetry, creative writing, and rhetoric while also training graduate students in pedagogy and teaching. They currently serve as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Division of Graduate Studies at the University of Oregon on unceded Kalapuya territory (Eugene, Oregon), where they were recognized with the A.J. Ersted Distinguished Teacher of the Year in 2022. Their work has appeared in We the Gathered Heat, National Geographic, Hawaiʻi Pacific Review, Hawaiʻi Review, HigherEd, and more.

A dinner featuring Hawaiian shoyu chicken, steamed rice and sunomono will be provided for event attendees.

A note on seating:
Due to the intimate setting of the Third Space living room, seating will be limited. We encourage early or prompt arrival to secure a seat.

We look forward to seeing you there as we come together to learn, reflect and envision meaningful change.

Citations:

Gruenewald, D. A. (2003). The best of both worlds: A critical pedagogy of place. Educational Researcher, 32(4), 3–12.

Teves, S., Smith, C., & Raheja, S. (2015). Land-based learning and its transformative impact on Native student success. In J. B. M. Santos & A. T. Y. Leong (Eds.), Teaching for social justice in higher education (pp. 29-49). Routledge.