Learning with Country: Culturally responsive design education

How can design education genuinely engage with Indigenous knowledge without tokenism? As a non-Indigenous educator, I’ve sought to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing into my design curriculum—not as an add-on, but as an essential part of design practice. In this talk, I’ll share my journey: the challenges, learnings, and moments of reflection as I navigate this space with care and humility. I’ll discuss the tensions of working within institutional structures, the importance of deep listening and reciprocity, and the ways I’ve adjusted my teaching to be more culturally responsive. This is not a presentation of best practices but an honest conversation about the complexities, responsibilities, and transformative potential of Learning with Country in design education.