Category Archives: General

Module 4 Post 4: Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Alaska Native Ways of Knowing, Ray Barnhardt and Angayuquq Oscar Kawagley

Barnhardt, R., and Kawagley, A., (2005). Indigensous knowledge systems and Alaska native ways of knowing. Anthropology & Education Quarterly. 36(1). 8-23

In this article, Barnhardt and Kawagley describe some of the programs arising from a gathering of Alaska Native elders and educators challenged with identifying ways in which traditional knowledge and epistemologies can enrich the school curriculum and learning experiences of their students.  The article builds on the premises that contemporary Western education systems lack relevance for many aboriginal students and, for those raised with traditional stories and ways of knowing, it alienates their cultural sense of knowing and being through compartmentalization and decontextualization–approaches that are diametrically opposite to many holistic and integrated aboriginal world views. It also recognizes the benefit to all, native and non-native people alike, of the paradigm shift in recognizing the legitimacy and integrity of indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing.  It is from this same perspective that I will be examining culturally responsive, place-based learning in contemporary education.

Facilitated at least in part by having a greater majority of Aboriginal students in more of their school districts than is common elsewhere such as BC, the University of Alaska fairbanks, under contract with the Alaska Federation of Natives and funded through the National Science Foundation, developed the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI). This initiative has sought and developed numerous “educational reform strategies focussing on integrating local knowledge and pedagogical practices into all aspects of the education system… [that have] provided a fertile, real-world context in which to address the many issues associated with learning and Indigenous knowledge systems.”  These strategies can serve as a model for similar reforms elsewhere.

Whose truth to believe…

Module 4, Post 4

Jolene Rickard, of Cornell University (and a Native American artist), asked a simple question: “The practice of looking at things to remember is our way. In the past it served the truth. Whose “truth” do we observe when we look at photographs?” She is not the first person to ask this phenomenological question, but in light of Native American representation it is a very poignant question to be asking.

In light of her question I leave you with two links:

http://www.aaronhuey.com/#/national-geographic-magazine—pine-ridge/Press_NG_cover

(wait for the pictures to load at the bottom)…

http://www.spiritwrestler.com/catalog/index.php?artists_id=58

Jane Ash Poitras uses photographs from Edwar Curtis’ massive volume (which has been criticized for being racist and objectifying Native Americans), some photographs (actually many) are from nations not her own.

Whose “truth” do we believe?

Module 4 Post 1: Education and Place: A Review Essay, Jan Nespor

Nespor, J. (2008) Education and place: A review essay. Educational Theory. 58(4). 475-489

This article is a review of books published by three prominent theorists in place-based education: Paul theobald’s Teaching the Commons, C.A. Bower’s Revitalizing the Commons, and David Gruenewald and Gregory Smith’s anthology Place-Based Education in the Global Age.  It first examines the theorists’ definitions of “place and place-making,” how their theories address differences and dichotomies of gender, class, ethnicity, etc., and problems associated with implementation of place-based education as defined by these theorists and informed by a few others.

While Nespor’s article is informative of perceptions of place, place-based education and many of the difficulties associated with conceptualizing and theorizing such an educational praxis, it is approached from a Western, and presumptively dominant, culture and thus somewhat antithetical to my purpose of theorizing a culturally responsive and responsible place-based educational approach.  Included in the article are considerations for shifting the for focus from place-based to “place-conscious” (p.480) in which the intent is to make learners conscious about the place(s) about which their education is based acknowledging that it is often not the place in which they live and learn, and is frequently a larger “commons” than would be considered from an aboriginal perspective; and having an ultimate goal of reducing that commons to a more localized scale.

Module 4 Weblog

Post 1 

Aboriginal Content Validation

http://education.alberta.ca/media/646281/content.pdf

This pdf document contains very interesting information that should be used by educators when teachers intend to incorporate Aboriginal resources into an educational context.  The document was created by Alberta education and outlines the many characteristics of resources that should be examined before integrating it as a educational resources for teaching and learning.   The document identifies a very robust set of characteristics which include historical validity, cultural authenticity, cultural diversity, language and technology, and presentation of Aboriginal women.  When resources accurately portray Aboriginal culture, students will better understand the significance of Aboriginal communities to culture and history.

 

Post 2

Storytelling in a digital age: digital storytelling as an emerging narrative method for preserving and promoting indigenous oral wisdom

http://gqrj.sagepub.com/content/13/2/127 (sometimes doesn’t work)

http://www.nasivvik.f5sitedesign.com/media/docs/lega50b7dd866d492-dsforhealthresearch&policy_hamiltonetal2012.pdf

This article describes the research process of a group of individuals who developed storytelling method to engage a rural community in Labrador.  The storytelling narrative served as a means to examine the connection between climate change, physical, mental, and spiritual health.  The study aimed at finding an effective and appropriate method that the community could identify with.  The researchers discovered that Indigenous storytelling, in combination with digital tools and resources, could prove to be an effective platform to engage participants belonging to the Aboriginal community.

 

Post 3

Community-based Indigenous Digital Storytelling with Elders and Youth

http://www.ourelderstories.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/CommunityBasedIndigenousDigitalStorytelling_2011.pdf

This research article describes the process and impact of digital storytelling and how Indigenous communities, including elders and youth, should be involved to share a cultural perspective and narratives.  The benefit of researchers working with a community provide avenues for the Indigenous to control their portrayal in order to better express their culture to a wider audience.   This article delves into the many stages of digital storytelling including capturing images, editing, converting to film, and most importantly honoring the stories and traditions.

 

Post 4

Stories of My Life: Sharing Aboriginal Experiences Through the Written Word

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/waubgeshig-rice/aboriginal-literacy_b_3618190.html

As part of a four-part series by the National Reading Campaign, five participants with experience in writing, education, and journalism, describe their joy of reading.  This article represents Waubgeshig Rice’s perspective and she dicsusses  the role of reading within an Aboriginal context and it’s significant impact on culture.  Rice discusses her childhood and the importance of stories that were told to her by the elders and her parents.   The stories shared and passed down to her, instilled in sense of a pride in her and an enthusiam for stories.  She feels that the role of new media and reading resources that could benefit young readers and encourage and enhance literacy.

 

Post 5

Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC)


http://www.abtec.org

The Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace Project/Site housed at the Concordia University in Montreal.  This site provides information and resources that are web-based.  The resource available on the network are aimed at the youth and empowering youth to take a more active role in the creation of technology rather than just consumers.  Learning material on the site also include digital stories, 3d games, animations, performance art and workshops.

Impact of Residential Schools – Weblog 4 – 5

The Impact of Residential Schools

http://zone.biblio.laurentian.ca/dspace/bitstream/10219/382/1/NSWJ-V7-art2-p33-62.PDF

The article was found through a search, but comes from the Native Social Work Journal, volume 7.  Ideally, what the article outlines is the idea that residential schools not only impacted those who went to the schools, but generation after generation following those survivors.  It discusses the sordid history of colonialism.

It is interesting to note, the author, Cheryl Partridge discusses the traditional learning styles of Aboriginal peoples using the medicine wheel.  She then discusses the history of residential schools following the Davin Report of 1879.  The idea that churches must run schools.

What I really found interesting was the description of self view from residential schools.  Children were being taught that their way of life, their parents, everything about them was wrong and dirty.  They were told their rituals would condemn them to hell.

She explains further that the punishment put upon these students impacted not only who they were, but the kinds of parents they would make.  Think about that for a second, we know the damage done to victims of abuse, yet are surprised at the long reaching impact of residential schools.  It is an interesting dichotomy between the impact of the schools and the subsequent impact by future generations.

I will probably use this article in my project to highlight that the ramifications of residential schools was not only on the survivors, but impacts generations and communities as well.

TM

Honour the Apology – Weblog 4 – 4

It’s Time to Honour the Apology

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Carleton+student+wants+residential+schools+documents+released/8712899/story.html

I chose this story because it is very recent (3-4 days ago). For those who haven’t followed it, I will recap it.  A student at Carleton University, Geraldine King, has asked the government to release documents to the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission).  She helped spearhead a protest on July 25th, in Ottawa.  The government has responded that they aren’t holding many documents  and that some TRC searches have been irrelevant.

The TRC sees it differently.  They have asked, repeatedly, for millions of documents the government is still holding onto.  King, whose grandmother attended St. Joseph’s (not the one in William’s Lake), is still trying to get the release of documents.  This follows closely on the revelation a few weeks ago on the nutrition experiments the government conducted on students in residential schools.

I am planning on using this, among some more recent stories, to showcase that the TRC was the only thing the government has done since the apology by Stephen Harper.  This, coupled with Annett’s allegations from the ITCCS, may show the government has been dragging its feet, after all the promises in the apology.

TM

Two Rows – Weblog 4 – 3

Two Rows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxnYrm2cHi0

Two Rows is a documentary by Freedom Central featuring  Kevin Annett, who is an ordained minister and has been investigated residential schools and what he calls the “Holocaust of Native Peoples in Canada.”  Annett is called Eagle Strong Voice by the Anishinabe Nation in Winnipeg.

Kevin Annett was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for his work on the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS).

Annett tells the story of his life in Pt. Alberni where he was first exposed to the troubling lifestyle following residential schools.  He founded the ITCCS to bring to justice the people behind residential schools in Canada.  He makes some broad claims about the government ‘buying silence’ through remuneration.  Also he documents many of the students plight.  He also tells about suspicious circumstances following some of the people he has worked with, uncovering the truth of residential schools.

I am not sure how much of this film I will use, however, there are lots of Annett videos online, which I will probably filter through.  I chose this one because it was award winning and offers allegations of resistance from the government about finding out the truth about residential schools.

TM

St. Joseph’s Commemoration – Weblog 4 -2

St. Joseph’s Commemoration

http://www.sjmcommemorationevents.com/

This site is the official St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School Commemoration page.  It is an overview of all the events that occurred in April 2013 at the Commemoration of the school.  Included is the SD27 Pro-D day, complete with a special presentation by Quesnel students and their tile project.  It was great to see so many of my students do their part and decorate tiles.

April 28th, marked the viewing of We Were Children, a film written by Jason Sherman which discusses the impact of residential schools by following 2 children (Lyna and Glen) through the residential system.   It also invites survivors to share their stories with the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) in Williams Lake at Thompson Rivers University (North) in May of 2013.

During this Commemoration there is also a Town Hall:

What does reconciliation mean to everyone in the Cariboo Region which was hosted by Justice Murray Sinclair, Conference Chair and Chair, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

However, the part of the site which interested me most and will probably have the greatest impact on my project is the videos page.  It includes 4 videos including the Commemoration, stories from survivors and two videos from William’s Lake Secondary students ‘Survivors from Alkali Lake,’ by Sadie Johnson & Ses Jack and ‘What is Reconciliation?’ by Tiffany Boston. “These stories [were] created to build an awareness and recognition of the residential school experiences of First Nations in the Cariboo region of British Columbia.”

I am not sure how much, if any, of the videos I will use, but they are part of the public domain.

TM

Commemoration video

St. Joseph’s Timeline – Weblog 4 – 1

St. Joseph’s Timeline – Weblog 4 – 1

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~bccaribo/StJoseph.html

This site is interesting.  It is hosted by ancestry.com which is a site that allows you to search out your ancestry, through various records, including school histories.  I stumbled on it by accident, but it piqued my interest.  It chronicles, in timeline format, the history of St. Joseph’s Mission in William’s Lake, BC.

It starts with Father James McGuckin being assigned to the William’s Lake are in 1886.  The one thing I liked about this site was that it provides background to the residential school, prior to it becoming a residential school.  The site lists the priests who have worked at the mission, as well as a list of many of the marriages that took place at the mission, starting in 1873.

The mission school officially started in 1872, serving 11 “white” and “half-white” boys.  Aboriginals were not allowed to attend.  This piece is important because, although perhaps prevalent at the time, the school began as a racially segregated school.  Within, 6 years the school population was 75 – 42 boys & 33 girls.

In 1886, St. Joseph’s Mission became a residential school.  The white children were forced to attend other schools in the William’s Lake area.  The ‘Sister’s of St. Anne’ were the primary teachers. In 1957, the school burned down, but was rebuilt.  In 1981, St. Joseph’s became the “Cariboo Indian Education and Training Centre.”

What I like about this site is the easy to follow format and although heavy with non-necessary items (for my purposes) such as wedding listings, it does provide some interesting background to the school.  I will likely only use this site for some brief background to the school, and to highlight the fact that after it closed, it was made into something positive, the Cariboo Indian Education and Training Center (which I believe is now called the Cariboo Chilcotin Aboriginal Training Employment Centre or CCATEC)

TM

Fiddling with History

Module 4, Post 3

I came across a very poignant statement by Vicki Goldberg from a New York Times Article about Edward S. Curtis:

“In this year of Columbus, white Americans have not yet figured out how they should think about Indians, nor are Indians united on how they wish to be regarded. While curators debate whether ancient skeletons dug up by zealous anthropologists should be returned to sacred burial grounds, while collectors drive up the prices of baskets and blankets made by cultures that had no “fine art” category, some Indians are demanding that the Atlanta Braves change their name and make their fans stop doing the “tomahawk” chop in the stands.

This is the difficulty in re-presentation. Do you tear down what the dominant society has built up or do you offer a different view of what it means to be a particular nation? Or do you do both? If so what is the strategy to accomplish this and what is the ultimate goal? You can tear something down, but what is it replaced with? None of the research I have read really answers this. The best I have seen is Vicki’s encapsulating paragraph.