Papers by Anita Prest
Adapting Acting Education for Pandemic-Friendly Mediums
BRILL eBooks, Oct 31, 2023
Research Studies in Music Education, 2023
In this theoretical article, I examine various conceptions of focused listening—including those h... more In this theoretical article, I examine various conceptions of focused listening—including those held by specific First Nations communities—to determine how each conception might offer insights for listening while conducting cross-cultural music education research. First, I discuss the notion of “Big Ears,” as it is understood by the jazz community. Then, I turn to scholars from various First Nations in British Columbia to learn about their conceptions of listening. I outline decolonial listening strategies as proposed by Indigenous Arts scholar Dylan Robinson, before learning about the role of listening from a settler-Canadian who formally Witnessed the testimonies of Indigenous residential school survivors over a period of years while working for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. I examine the writings of music education researchers who have proposed listening as an important strategy in cross-cultural/intercultural pedagogy and research, albeit in different circum...
Update: Applications of Music Education Research, 2022
Recent curriculum policy changes in British Columbia (BC) require that educators in all subject a... more Recent curriculum policy changes in British Columbia (BC) require that educators in all subject areas-including music-embed local Indigenous knowledge, pedagogies, and worldviews in their classes. Yet facilitating such decolonizing cross-cultural music education activities requires knowledge that music educators may not currently possess. We use four models created by an Indigenous Arts scholar to examine the interface of Indigenous and Western art musics in performing arts settings: (a) integration, (b) nation-to-nation music trading and reciprocal presentation, (c) a combination of the first two models, and (d) non-integrative encounters that are in relationship but have irreconcilable elements. We consider the applicability of these models in music education settings, using them to analyze our findings from a study in which we explored the ways teachers have embedded local First Nations songs and drumming in classes in a single metropolitan school district in BC.
Finnish Journal of Music Education, 2021
Various government bodies in British Columbia (BC), Canada, have established policies in recent y... more Various government bodies in British Columbia (BC), Canada, have established policies in recent years to promote the embedding of local Indigenous knowledges, pedagogies, and worldviews in all provincial Kindergarten to Grade 12 classes. The BC Teachers’ Federation has endorsed these policies and worked proactively to advance them, also emphasizing teachers’ need for support and resources in implementing them. In 2018–2019, we partnered with the Victoria Native Friendship Centre (VNFC) to co-host four gatherings of urban Indigenous Elders, musicians, educators, and cultural workers, plus interested non-Indigenous people, in which we worked together in sharing circles to comprehend the complexities of developing Indigenous resources for choral music classes. The executive director of the VNFC, which supports 18,000 Indigenous people from many Nations, took steps to ensure we followed local Indigenous Protocols (e.g., Elders’ territorial welcomes, smudgings, honoraria and gifts). The Protocols served to foreground the importance of shared process in achieving the goals of culturally responsive and culturally appropriate music education research. In this article, we describe our research procedures and findings and discuss the promise they hold for ensuring that Indigenous voices and perspectives will henceforth guide the enacting of Indigenous ways of knowing in music classes in BC schools.
Language, Music, and Revitalizing Indigeneity: Effecting Cultural Restoration and Ecological Balance via Music Education
Philosophy of Music Education Review, 2021
In this paper, we explore challenges in conveying the culturally constructed meanings of local In... more In this paper, we explore challenges in conveying the culturally constructed meanings of local Indigenous musics and the worldviews they manifest to students in K-12 school music classes, when foundational aspects of the English language, historical and current discourse, and English language habits function to thwart the transmission of those meanings. We recount how, in settler colonial societies in North America, speakers of the dominant English language have historically misrepresented, discredited, and obscured cultural meanings that inhere in local Indigenous musics. First, we examine three ways in which the use of English has distorted the cultural meanings of those musics. Next, we explain how historical discourses in English have intentionally undervalued or discredited the values intrinsic to those musics, also describing how some current music education discourse in English might work against the embedding of Indigenous meanings in school music education settings. We then consider additional factors distinguishing Indigenous languages from European languages (especially English) to show how a people’s “language habits” influence their perception of and thus their relationship with their natural environment. We conclude by considering the role of music education in revitalizing local Indigenous languages and musics and advancing the cultural values of their originating communities.
大会実行委員会企画 シンポジウム 世界のサウンド・プラクティスに学ぶ音楽教育 (第44回大会報告)
音楽教育学, 2013
Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2021
In 2015, the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Education mandated that
local Indigenous knowledge... more In 2015, the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Education mandated that
local Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldviews be embedded in
all K-12 curricula, but most BC music teachers have been unable to fulfill
this directive because they are unfamiliar with Indigenous cultural practices. We designed this multiple case study, informed by Indigenous
Protocols and worldviews, to address this gap of knowledge and understanding, so educators might learn how to enact the new curriculum ‘in a good way’ (i.e. in a way that aligns with Indigenous peoples’ ways of knowing). We used document analysis and surveys to identify music educators and Indigenous community members who together had already been successful in embedding local Indigenous knowledge in music classes. We interviewed 51 music teachers, culture bearers, cultural workers, and students to learn how they had done this, and whether they found that such embedding had contributed to fostering cross-cultural understanding and respect. Participants reported that singing and drumming, taught orally in tandem with related stories, were the most prevalent forms of cultural practice, and that establishing relationships and following local Protocols led to greater cross-cultural understanding and respect.
Cross-cultural understanding: The role of rural school-community music education partnerships.
Research Studies in Music Education, 2019
The inclusion of local Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldview in music education is increa... more The inclusion of local Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldview in music education is increasingly relevant to music educators globally. This article contributes to the growing body of knowledge already written on the subject by focusing on the contribution of such inclusion to localized societal change. My doctoral study examined the growth and contributions of bridging social capital to rural community vitality in British Columbia (BC), Canada via three school–community music
education partnerships. I found that the members of one of those partnerships, the International Choral Kathaumixw Festival in Powell River, BC, engaged in ongoing cultural dialogue with local Tla’amin First Nation members over a 30-year period in order to foster meaningful inclusion of local cultural practices in that festival. This cultural dialogue ultimately contributed to more harmonious social, cultural, political, and economic relationships between settler and Tla’amin First Nation populations. The mandate of the festival, the ongoing music making activities that featured Tla’amin themes and cultural participation, the large contingent of local community volunteers and performers, and the physical commons created by music making all contributed to a shift in relations between the community of Powell River and the Tla’amin First Nation. I offer that the bridging social capital fostered by this partnership may provide insight and direction for music educators globally who wish to promote Indigenous cultural practices in their schools. A bridging social capital or relational approach based on long-term reciprocity with local Indigenous culture bearers may help music educators work towards more culturally appropriate/responsive curriculum and pedagogy in their practice.
Prest, A. (2016). Social capital as a conceptual framework in music education research. [Special issue on rural music education]. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 15(4). 127-60. doi:10.22176/act15.4.127
Recently, an increasing number of researchers have chosen to examine various sociological dimensi... more Recently, an increasing number of researchers have chosen to examine various sociological dimensions of music education through the lens of social capital. Yet, there has been no systematic discussion of the capacity and limitations of this conceptual framework to shed light on these sociological dimensions. Therefore, in this paper I review this growing body of music education literature in order to understand the ways in which music education researchers have drawn on social capital in their studies and articles. I note critiques of social capital by scholars in other fields and the ways in which some music education researchers have resolved them. Then, I succinctly demonstrate how the findings of my doctoral study contribute to the aforementioned body of knowledge, especially in relation to rural music education practice. I argue that a social capital conceptual framework that highlights relationships is pertinent to music education practice and research in pluralistic societies.
Prest, A. (2016). Editorial introduction: Recognizing the rural. [Special issue on rural music education]. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 15(4), 1–11. doi:10.22176/act15.4.1
The growth and contributions of bridging social capital to rural vitality via school-community music education partnerships
Many rural communities in British Columbia, Canada, currently face social problems associated wit... more Many rural communities in British Columbia, Canada, currently face social problems associated with boom and bust resource development, economic decline due to increased urbanization, and intercultural barriers between ethnic groups. In such settings, school music programs are often limited in scope or non-existent. Yet, in at least one rural community that
undertook a school-community music education partnership, that partnership positively influenced community identity, agency, and vitality and brought greater recognition and support to its school music program. My purposes in this study were to investigate how three such partnerships have contributed to the social, cultural, and economic sustainability of their
communities and to learn how they may have served to shift community members’ conceptions of the value of music and music education.
For this multiple case study of Powell River, Nelson, and Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, I examined school and municipal historical records and conducted interviews with individual community members and school staff to determine the circumstances that made possible their partnerships. I spoke with focus groups comprising partnership committee members to learn how the dynamic and structural properties of the partnership networks have impacted the ways in which social capital functions in them. Finally, I conducted 6-8 semistructured interviews at each site with key community members to elicit their conceptions of changes over time regarding 1) identity, agency, and vitality, and 2) attitudes toward and scope of musical engagement inside and outside of their schools.
I found that partnerships that promoted local attributes, high levels of community engagement, and a physical commons fostered social capital and provided more opportunities for community members to address local social justice issues (e.g., equitable access to music education, cultural inclusion), drawing upon shared values as bases for resolving those issues. I also found that reciprocity gives rise to social capital only when, in addition to a
simple exchange, it entails a sincere recognition of efforts (e.g., moving beyond traditional rational actor or habitual conceptions). The bridging social capital emerging from these partnerships contributed significantly to vitality in these three communities, also favourably shifting community conceptions of the value of music education.
Prest, A. (2013a). Challenges and place-based responses for music education in rural British Columbia: A UBC Study. Canadian Music Educator, 55(2), 11-19.
One of the purposes of this research inquiry was to identify the administrative, pedagogical, and... more One of the purposes of this research inquiry was to identify the administrative, pedagogical, and curricular challenges administrators and music teachers in rural British Columbia encounter in the funding, delivery, and scheduling of music classes, and in the provision of music education curricula that are relevant to students living in rural regions of the province. The other aim of this study was to determine administrator and educator place-based responses to these challenges. I interviewed fifteen school district superintendents, directors of instruction, district music staff, and music teachers by telephone, using a semi-structured interview format to elicit information on issues regarding student access to music education in rural areas, especially with respect to school structure, professional skills, and community connections (three broad categories determined from a previous survey). In this descriptive article, I summarize research findings, which reveal that many rural schools in British Columbia struggle to deliver substantive music education programs in circumstances that are exacerbated in most districts by pronounced declining enrollment. Community ties prove to be an important means to broaden musical opportunities and to provide musical relevance to rural students.
Prest, A. (2013). Michigan Music Educator, 51(1), 12-13.
Prest, A. (2013). The corporatization of schooling and its effects on the state of music education: A critical Deweyan perspective. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 12(3), 31–44.
Prest, A. (2013c). The importance of context, reflection, interaction, and consequence in rural music education practice. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 28(14), 1-14.
In this paper, I argue that aesthetic music education philosophy, which undergirds many current m... more In this paper, I argue that aesthetic music education philosophy, which undergirds many current music teacher education programs, textbooks, practices, and networks, fosters assumptions that are not applicable to rural settings. I outline and critique the main principles of this philosophy and demonstrate the ways in which music teachers’ habits and assumptions, informed by aesthetic music education philosophy, might change due to doubts and reflection incurred by experiencing the structural and dynamic realities unique to rural music education practice. My viewpoint is derived from my personal experiences, conversations, and observations as a music educator in rural British Columbia over a sixteen-year period. I explore the themes common to Aristotle’s conception of praxis, pragmatist philosophy, and praxial music education philosophy that might better inform British Columbian rural music teachers’ practice and inquiry, and teacher education programs. I specify the ways in which rural music educators, by adopting a praxialist orientation, might consciously interact, deliberate, and make imposed structural and attitudinal boundaries more porous and less potent (Doll, 2006), thereby setting the stage for the ongoing transformation of their educational practice to better suit their rural context. Finally, I suggest that music teacher education curricula adopt a praxial music education orientation that will assist music teacher candidates to comprehend the notion of “enabling constraints,” the importance of developing relationships and networks, and the vital role of community in rural education.
Book Chapters by Anita Prest
Toward a Sociology of Music Education Informed by Indigenous Perspectives
Routledge Handbook to Sociology of Music Education, 2021
Music education researchers have long called for the meaningful embedding of non-Western musics i... more Music education researchers have long called for the meaningful embedding of non-Western musics in K–12 educational settings (Abril 2013, Akiwowo 1999; Bradley 2006; Goble 2010; Hess 2015; Schippers and Campbell 2012) and for culturally responsive pedagogical practices to support it (Dunbar-Hall 2009; Locke and Prentice 2016; Lum and Marsh 2012). Moreover, in some jurisdictions, current curriculum documents requiring such embedding also promote teaching the distinctive cultural worldviews that inform those musics in order that students can learn the meanings ascribed to them (e.g. British Columbia Provincial Government 2015). Drawing from Wright’s (2014) notion of a fourth sociology of integration, we argue in this chapter that research in the field of music education and its applications of sociological theory must also be informed by the knowledge systems of the specific societies that have produced those musics. Specifically, we demonstrate how a sociology informed by local Indigenous perspectives could make possible a more ethical sociological investigation of the embedding of local Indigenous musics in school settings. We draw upon writings of scholars from several First Nations and use data from a recent federally funded study – in which we examined the embedding of local Indigenous cultural practices in music classes in seven British Columbian communities – to show how terms commonly used in social theories (i.e. society, relationships, reciprocity, identity, agency) are understood differently by many Indigenous peoples, including those in whose territories the study took place (McAllan 2012; Watts 2013). In drawing distinctions between Indigenous and conventional (i.e. Western European) understandings of sociological terminology, it may become possible to develop new, syncretic understandings (Atleo 2011; Butler-McIlwraith 2006) and bi-directional (Akiwowo 1999) terms for use in the fields of both sociology and music education.
Published Conference Papers by Anita Prest
Prest, A. (2012). In S. Goble, & T. Imada (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th Biennial Seminar Commission on Music Policy: Culture, Education, and Media of the International Society of Music Education (ISME) (pp. 119-126).
In British Columbia, Canada, music curriculum documents, or Integrated Resource Packages (IRP’s),... more In British Columbia, Canada, music curriculum documents, or Integrated Resource Packages (IRP’s), include very few references to First Nations music making despite the fact that, in many rural school districts, First Nations students form a large percentage of the student body. In 2006, the British Columbia Ministry of Education produced the revised curriculum document Shared Learnings: Integrating BC Aboriginal Content K-10. The document contains instructional strategies and resources to encourage the integration/inclusion of First Nations content and ways of knowing into all school curricula. This paper will critique Shared Learnings, examine its recommendations for planning a program that integrates First Nations musical practices into music classes transparently, and describe recent initiatives of British Columbian rural school districts, in partnership with local First Nations communities, to help teachers link local knowledge to standard school curricula.
In Hung-Pai Chen, & Patrick Schmidt (Eds.). (2016). Proceedings of the 18th Biennial International Seminar Commission on Music Policy: Culture, Education, and Media. International Society for Music Education (pp. 384–413). Birmingham, UK: Birmingham City University. ISBN: 978-0-9942055-6-8, 2016
In this paper, I examine two British Columbia Ministry of Education policies calling for the inte... more In this paper, I examine two British Columbia Ministry of Education policies calling for the integration of local Indigenous knowledge and worldviews in all curricula, pedagogical practices that are aligned with that curricula, and greater collaboration between public schools and local Indigenous communities. Although music is an ideal vehicle for Indigenous knowledge dissemination and cultural collaboration, there are inherent challenges to the implementation of these policies in music classes. I submit that radical change without adequate music teacher preparation may result in some teachers taking the role of either " bystanders " who ignore these policies, or " consumers " who apply them thoughtlessly, thus engendering ill will among participants. Yet this curricular and pedagogical work is vital, because it may serve to shift attitudes at a societal level. Therefore, I turn to existing literature that scholars have written on this topic in order to understand the nuanced issues that they have unpacked and then examine the ways in which music teacher education programs in other countries have responded to similar challenges. I outline actions that all stakeholders in British Columbia might take to create new music opportunities for students that implement the intent of these policies and produce new knowledge, thus contributing to cross-cultural understanding via a broadening of musical practices in schools. Last, I speculate on potential difficulties that may need to be circumvented or resolved in order to carry out this action plan effectively.
ISME Policy Commission Proceedings, 2018
In 2015, the British Columbia Ministry of Education introduced radical changes to K–12 curricula... more In 2015, the British Columbia Ministry of Education introduced radical changes to K–12 curricula in all subjects. The new British Columbia (BC) curriculum documents, influenced in part by a prominently marketed educational framework,
Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), articulate a need to facilitate “great flexibility in creating learning environments that … give consideration to local contexts and place-based learning” and “inspire the personalization of learning … [to meet] the diverse needs and interests of BC students” (BC’s Redesigned Curriculum, n.d., p. 1). Notably, the new curriculum is intended to facilitate the embedding of Indigenous culture, pedagogy, and perspectives (Aboriginal worldviews and perspectives, 2015a; First peoples principles of learning, 2015b), since 11% of all K–12 students in BC self-identify as Indigenous. Its context-particular approach is evident in the curriculum documents for Music, where “Big Ideas” and corresponding generalized content and competencies are set forth, along with requirements that music teachers embed the musics of local Indigenous communities appropriately, as determined by local protocols (Herbert & Wherry, 2017). Following on the Ministry’s call for local Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldviews to be embedded into all K-9 classes in BC by the 2015–16 school year, all subject areas in Grades 10–11 by 2018–19, and all subject areas in in Grade 12 by 2019–2020, we undertook a study of ways in which some public-school music educators in rural BC have already been working with Indigenous community members to facilitate the embedding of local Indigenous knowledge and musics in their K-12 classes. Our research has led to the creation of a conceptual roadmap—a set of guidelines—that will assist K-12 music educators in British Columbia in their efforts to support the provincial requirement. In this paper, we argue that the BC Ministry of Education, while advancing progressive initiatives with the new curriculum (e.g. righting historical wrongs, addressing concerns for the environment), has not provided the means and support necessary for their successful implementation. Using the Music curriculum documents as examples, we demonstrate how recognition of Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldviews without a corresponding allocation and distribution of resources (Fraser, 1996) may in fact work against those efforts. In addition, we show how the new curriculum’s focus on individuality and technology may compromise the role of schools in promoting responsible democratic citizenship. In conclusion, we explain how, by facilitating ongoing and substantive professional development opportunities for teachers and providing materials to support students’ learning, the Ministry could effectively realize the newly established provincial goals.
From policy to practice in decolonizing Indigenous music education: Facilitating teacher understanding of Indigenous worldviews
ISME Policy Commission Proceedings, 2022
Several government policies and recommendations instituted in British Columbia (BC), Canada, have... more Several government policies and recommendations instituted in British Columbia (BC), Canada, have advanced the appropriate embedding of Indigenous content, pedagogies, and worldviews in all Kindergarten through Grade 12 classes—including music classes—in BC public schools and independent schools that receive government funding (British Columbia Ministry of Education 2015, 2021a, 2021b); British Columbia Teachers’ Council, 2019; Office of the Auditor General, 2019). These policies uphold the legitimacy of Indigenous communities’ cultural practices and the role of education in fostering respect among students for Indigenous knowledge and perspectives through music education. Recognizing the divide between these aspirational policies and the actual practices of BC music educators, the overarching aim of our research was to bridge this gap. In this presentation, we describe what we learned from co-designing, co-organizing, and carrying out with Indigenous partners a large, two-day, in-person and online conference for music teachers and Indigenous leaders from 40 BC school districts, Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and other interested parties. Following local protocols, some participants shared wise practices in decolonizing and Indigenizing music education, and (in small circles) all imagined and planned ways to embed Indigenous ways of knowing and being in music classes in their respective school districts. This collective imagining enabled music teachers and their community partners to make decisions about their next directions, informed by their relationships to local landscapes and ecosystems (Atleo, 2011; Basso, 2006). Using conference (Bascunan et al., 2022; McGregor, 2018) and sharing circles (Kovach, 2010; Wilson, 2008) as research methods, we documented the knowledge created and shared during these activities. We describe the recent conference we had co-designed with Indigenous partners to bridge these barriers and what conference delegates reported as their most important learnings following the event.
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Papers by Anita Prest
local Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldviews be embedded in
all K-12 curricula, but most BC music teachers have been unable to fulfill
this directive because they are unfamiliar with Indigenous cultural practices. We designed this multiple case study, informed by Indigenous
Protocols and worldviews, to address this gap of knowledge and understanding, so educators might learn how to enact the new curriculum ‘in a good way’ (i.e. in a way that aligns with Indigenous peoples’ ways of knowing). We used document analysis and surveys to identify music educators and Indigenous community members who together had already been successful in embedding local Indigenous knowledge in music classes. We interviewed 51 music teachers, culture bearers, cultural workers, and students to learn how they had done this, and whether they found that such embedding had contributed to fostering cross-cultural understanding and respect. Participants reported that singing and drumming, taught orally in tandem with related stories, were the most prevalent forms of cultural practice, and that establishing relationships and following local Protocols led to greater cross-cultural understanding and respect.
education partnerships. I found that the members of one of those partnerships, the International Choral Kathaumixw Festival in Powell River, BC, engaged in ongoing cultural dialogue with local Tla’amin First Nation members over a 30-year period in order to foster meaningful inclusion of local cultural practices in that festival. This cultural dialogue ultimately contributed to more harmonious social, cultural, political, and economic relationships between settler and Tla’amin First Nation populations. The mandate of the festival, the ongoing music making activities that featured Tla’amin themes and cultural participation, the large contingent of local community volunteers and performers, and the physical commons created by music making all contributed to a shift in relations between the community of Powell River and the Tla’amin First Nation. I offer that the bridging social capital fostered by this partnership may provide insight and direction for music educators globally who wish to promote Indigenous cultural practices in their schools. A bridging social capital or relational approach based on long-term reciprocity with local Indigenous culture bearers may help music educators work towards more culturally appropriate/responsive curriculum and pedagogy in their practice.
undertook a school-community music education partnership, that partnership positively influenced community identity, agency, and vitality and brought greater recognition and support to its school music program. My purposes in this study were to investigate how three such partnerships have contributed to the social, cultural, and economic sustainability of their
communities and to learn how they may have served to shift community members’ conceptions of the value of music and music education.
For this multiple case study of Powell River, Nelson, and Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, I examined school and municipal historical records and conducted interviews with individual community members and school staff to determine the circumstances that made possible their partnerships. I spoke with focus groups comprising partnership committee members to learn how the dynamic and structural properties of the partnership networks have impacted the ways in which social capital functions in them. Finally, I conducted 6-8 semistructured interviews at each site with key community members to elicit their conceptions of changes over time regarding 1) identity, agency, and vitality, and 2) attitudes toward and scope of musical engagement inside and outside of their schools.
I found that partnerships that promoted local attributes, high levels of community engagement, and a physical commons fostered social capital and provided more opportunities for community members to address local social justice issues (e.g., equitable access to music education, cultural inclusion), drawing upon shared values as bases for resolving those issues. I also found that reciprocity gives rise to social capital only when, in addition to a
simple exchange, it entails a sincere recognition of efforts (e.g., moving beyond traditional rational actor or habitual conceptions). The bridging social capital emerging from these partnerships contributed significantly to vitality in these three communities, also favourably shifting community conceptions of the value of music education.
Book Chapters by Anita Prest
Published Conference Papers by Anita Prest
Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), articulate a need to facilitate “great flexibility in creating learning environments that … give consideration to local contexts and place-based learning” and “inspire the personalization of learning … [to meet] the diverse needs and interests of BC students” (BC’s Redesigned Curriculum, n.d., p. 1). Notably, the new curriculum is intended to facilitate the embedding of Indigenous culture, pedagogy, and perspectives (Aboriginal worldviews and perspectives, 2015a; First peoples principles of learning, 2015b), since 11% of all K–12 students in BC self-identify as Indigenous. Its context-particular approach is evident in the curriculum documents for Music, where “Big Ideas” and corresponding generalized content and competencies are set forth, along with requirements that music teachers embed the musics of local Indigenous communities appropriately, as determined by local protocols (Herbert & Wherry, 2017). Following on the Ministry’s call for local Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldviews to be embedded into all K-9 classes in BC by the 2015–16 school year, all subject areas in Grades 10–11 by 2018–19, and all subject areas in in Grade 12 by 2019–2020, we undertook a study of ways in which some public-school music educators in rural BC have already been working with Indigenous community members to facilitate the embedding of local Indigenous knowledge and musics in their K-12 classes. Our research has led to the creation of a conceptual roadmap—a set of guidelines—that will assist K-12 music educators in British Columbia in their efforts to support the provincial requirement. In this paper, we argue that the BC Ministry of Education, while advancing progressive initiatives with the new curriculum (e.g. righting historical wrongs, addressing concerns for the environment), has not provided the means and support necessary for their successful implementation. Using the Music curriculum documents as examples, we demonstrate how recognition of Indigenous knowledge, pedagogy, and worldviews without a corresponding allocation and distribution of resources (Fraser, 1996) may in fact work against those efforts. In addition, we show how the new curriculum’s focus on individuality and technology may compromise the role of schools in promoting responsible democratic citizenship. In conclusion, we explain how, by facilitating ongoing and substantive professional development opportunities for teachers and providing materials to support students’ learning, the Ministry could effectively realize the newly established provincial goals.