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Niltze. Na Nōtoca Ixchel Bennett.
I am a Nahua and Zapoteca educator, researcher, and Assistant Professor in Indigenous Education at Wilfrid Laurier University. For more than 20 years, I have worked as a teacher, teacher lead, and administrator alongside First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities in both urban and rural educational settings.
I am also a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education at York University, where my research explores the experiences of graduates from the Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education Program through the tlayōlli/maize cycle as an Indigenous pedagogical methodology. Prior to my current role, I was seconded to York University's Faculty of Education, where I was a member of the planning team that helped establish Waaban, the first urban Indigenous Teacher Education Program in the GTA. I also served as a Course Director and Practicum Facilitator within the program.
My research program focuses on Indigenous teacher education, Indigenous pedagogies, identity, belonging, relationality, and Indigenous resurgence, while honouring Indigenous knowledges and community voices.
My teaching and research are guided by the principles of Nation-to-Nation kinship, accountability, transparency, and reciprocity. I strive to cultivate relational learning environments that honour community knowledge, foster belonging, and support the flourishing of Indigenous learners, educators, and communities.
My research program examines Indigenous teacher education, Indigenous educational spaces, Indigenous pedagogies, educational leadership, identity, belonging, relationality, and Indigenous resurgence. Using Indigenous and community-engaged methodologies, I explore how educational systems can strengthen Nation-to-Nation relationships, transform lateral violence into lateral healing, advance Indigenous educational sovereignty, and support Indigenous student success. My current research focuses on Waaban, relational accountability, and the role of culturally relevant and responsive pedagogies in creating transformative learning environments.
- EDFE 3100-Teaching for Diverse and Equitable Classrooms in Ontario
- EDPJ 1000-Language and Literacy in the Primary-Junior Divisions
- EDUC 3820-Teaching English Language Learners in Mainstream Classrooms
- EDUC 2200-Issues in Indigenous Education
- EDFE 1300-Inclusion, Disabilities and Education
Contact Info:
Office location: Brantford, ON
Office hours:
TBD
Languages spoken: Spanish, English