Category — Module 2

ETEC 521:

Resource #8:

http://curvelakefirstnation.ca/services-and-departments/library.php

This website provides another example of a First Nations library in Southern Ontario, within the region of Curve Lake. Under the heading of ‘Services and Departments’ this site offers a great list of library services that it offers to its members. From the pictures the atmosphere of the library seems quite updated and inviting. The website is very professional too and seems like this First Nations group takes pride in the library.

Looking at some of the other tabs on the website, it was interesting to note that part of the Curve Lake Library is funded by the Ontario Lottery & Gaming (OLG) Corporation. I am not sure of the exact amount or if other Reserves receive this monetary support from the OLG. It would also be interesting to research how closely the funding is linked to the existing operation of the library. If the funding increased or decreased how would this impact the library in the future?

Thanks.

-Regen

I blogged previously about the Disneyfication of The Indian in Children’s movies – with negative portrayals in films like Pocahontas and Peter Pan. I found an article  today in a grade 11 textbook that states it in a different light. In a recent interview, Cree singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, from the Piapot region in Saskatchewan, stated “In Canada, Native people ourselves have overcome amazing odds—to become teachers and lawyers and tribal leaders and telecommunicators and well-known artists, in spite of everything trying to Pocahontasize us.” Academy Award winning Sainte-Marie received an honorary doctorate from UNBC in May 2012 (the latest of 6 honorary degrees) to add to her rich and diverse Curriculum Vitae. Find the interview at http://staff.gsacrd.ab.ca/~cmadill@gsacrd.ab.ca/FOV2-00065971/FOV2-00065974/FOV2-00065977/FOV2-000659A4/Between%20the%20Line,%20Unit%202.pdf

ETEC 521: Final Paper Resource

Website #7:

http://www.uregina.ca/gencal/ugcal/FNUC/ugcal_399.shtml

Although my study will focus on youth library access and service, this website will provide some future direction to First Nations students within Western Canada.

This website highlights library & student service details of the University of Regina’s First Nations University of Canada. From the website, the library has…”70,000 items, including 66,200 volumes, monographs, periodicals, newspapers, vertical files, archival materials, government publications, microform, compact discs, videotapes, and DVDs. This collection provides a specialized collection that focuses on the Indigenous Peoples of North, South and Central America, of Indian, Inuit, and Métis ancestry and supplements the courses offered by both the First Nations University and the University of Regina.”

Thanks.

-Regen

While looking for Canadian Indigenous films to augment Nanook of the North, I found myself visiting the National Film Board of Canada.  The NFB site has a section dedicated to the Aboriginal Perspective in film from 1940-2004.  The thirty –two Aboriginal documentaries are organized thematically: arts, cinema and representation, colonialism and racism, history and origins, Indigenous knowledge, sovereignty and resistance, and youth.

Within this collection there are films made by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.  Stereotypes are rampant, however the collection provides a starting point for critically analyzing Indigenous stereotypes in Canadian Film.  The 1943 Eskimo Arts and Crafts film perpetuates many stereotypes of the Inuit.  Upon seeing Robert Flaherty’s name as a consultant on the film, I began to further understand his role in creating the media’s Aboriginal persona of the time.  This documentary, along with many others, would be appropriate Canadian content for teachers wishing to compare and contrast historical media stereotypes of Indigenous people.  It would be interesting to analyze Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal films, thereby encouraging critical thinking about Indigenous stereotypes and media literacy in our students.

A  documentary film created by a Canadian Cree filmmaker to highlight and then debunk the stereotypes of Indigenous people in film.  The Reel Injun website has reviews and clips, as well as a link to their Youtube channel with clips from films that perpetuate Indigenous stereotyping.  This film and the website helped me understand and deconstruct indigenous stereotypes in film.  A review of particular interest is Xavier Kataquapit’s, an Indigenous comedian, who wrote a blog post and orally recorded it for the website.  “In one hour, ‘Reel Injun’ gave me a healthy and informative perspective on the history of how my people are perceived in this world.”  His perspective helped me further understand storytelling and the importance of this film to Indigenous people, as well as the general public.

Viewing this film in the Social Studies or English classroom, along with a historical documentary such as Nanook of the North or an NFB film, would enable students to actively visualize indigenous stereotypes and critically assess their impact.

Stereotyping of Indigenous people has been an issue since first contact with European explores, and it is a problem still today.  The Urban Aboriginal People’s Study strove to examine “values, experiences and aspirations” of Aboriginal people living primarily off reserve.  This research project provides perspectives of Aboriginal people living in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Ottawa. 2,614 Aboriginal people are surveyed in this report.  This study should be reviewed critically.  It was not conducted by an Indigenous Group; however Aboriginal people were interviewers, guides, experts, and data analyzers.

I believe this is an excellent resource to help teachers understand their Aboriginal students, as well as a source for students to assess their own and their city’s stereotypes of Indigenous people.

The blatant stereotyping and exaggerations of Nanook of the North reminded me of the importance of deconstructing stereotypes in film, thus I gravitated towards finding appropriate Indigenous film resources for the classroom.   8^th Fire is a CBC documentary film series about the relationship between Aboriginal people and other Canadians.  The website has a plethora of resources on Aboriginal perspective, history and stereotypes.  Although only a couple of clips from 8^th Fire can be viewed on line, there are multiple other videos in which Aboriginal people are interviewed.  These short videos provide perspective on Aboriginal tradition, culture, politics, stereotypes and rights.  The videos have the potential for sharing Aboriginal culture and issues with non-Aboriginal students, but also with Aboriginal students.  As with any media, teachers would have to encourage critical viewing and media literacy when viewing the videos.

Another interesting aspect of the site is the Aboriginal Filmmaker section.  Because I am researching how to support Aboriginal students in their studies, I found the personal stories about the filmmakers quite engaging.  The written word combined with the digital stories about their experiences, family and traditions provided another layer of depth to this site.  I would be interested to see how Aboriginal students receive these stories, if they connect with the filmmakers, and if students would be motivated to create their own videos.

I stumbled across this website when I was researching the commodification of totem poles   On further exploration, I realized this UBC website is an excellent resource for finding information on Indigenous stereotypes and Indigenous people.  Particularly, the article Aboriginal Identity and the Classroom discusses the historical and current issues indigenous people have faced in the Canadian education system.  The article also highlights stereotypes Aboriginal students face and the importance Aboriginal identity plays in education.  The writer presents a historical context for teachers wishing to understand Aboriginal educational experiences and their students’ perspective.  This article is part of the larger What I Learned in Class Today: Aboriginal Issues in the Classroom Project. which highlights political, cultural and identity issues faced by Aboriginal students in the classroom.

For my weblog this module I started looking at different aspects of Indigenous identity in relation to ecological issues.

The Six Faces of Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Challenges and Opportunities for Canadian Co-Management Arrangements

This website is about natural resource co-management. It discusses First Nation involvement in making decisisons and incorporating the values and worldviews of First Nation’s groups. Also discussed is the idea that there are 6 faces of TEK that need to be considered when negotiating co-management arrangements.

First Nations Land Rights and Environmentalism in British Columbia

This is a very different sort of website than the others I came across. The website opens with “We were never conquered and we have never surrendered the right to govern or be stewards of our traditional territories.” The website also states “Disclaimer: strategies of dispossession of First Nations have included representing them in degrading ways. This website promotes a re-iconization of some of these illustrations by placing them in a new context to serve indigenous peoples.” The author of the website is a German woman, Dr. Karen Wonders and the site is very political in nature and continues on with the very clear standpoint taken on the first page. There are links to the websites of different First Nations groups as well as all kinds of lectures, symposiums, exhibitions, articles and media that relate to these topics.

LASA 2003 Meeting Article

The focus in this article from the Latin American Studies Association is on Indigenous people in Columbia. The author looks at how “representations of indigenous peoples have changed from ‘the savage colonial subject’ to ‘the political-ecological agent.'” This is a point that I think is important with respect to our discussions this module and also when I am doing my research and writing my paper. Even positive steretypes must be examined. In addition, the political aspect of environmental issues and resource management is an important consideration. The main website of LASA provides links to a variety of articles, some of which involve Indigenous issues.

First Nations Environmental Network

Incorporating traditional values, this network of individuals and groups encourages and supports others who are trying to protect traiditonally important areas. There is an area where members can post news updates and links and a link to the forum Turning Point,which offers up a place for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal individuals to egnage in discourse. Even though the site does not appear to have been active since 2009/2010, the way the site, and particularly the forum, is set up and the guiding principles are interesting and useful when considering how Indigenous communities could network and share their experiences.

Assembly of First Nations: Environmental Stewardship

This is a fantastic resource with respect to First Nations’ environmental conerns and current stewardship examples. The areas of Earth, Air, Water and Fire each have a variety of link to videos, factsheets, First Nations funding, articles and other resources to do with environmental stewardship within an Aboriginal context.

Hello,

Here’s a site I came across during a ‘yahoo’ search….

http://www.forum2008.cmec.ca/en/presentations-aboriginal-literacy.html

This site provides access to past (2008) webinars and webcasts geared towards improving First Nations Literacy for students and adults alike within Canada.

Some overviews of the webcasts include the following….

“This presentation looks at the story of how people interested in improving literacy levels came together from Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation to turn talk into action and respond to the literacy needs of their community. Sandi and Marlene walk participants through the development of a literacy plan for their community, and talk about some results of that plan.”

“This panel presentation brings together representatives from northern Saskatchewan communities and the Saskatchewan ministry of education’s Early Learning and Child Care Branch who are involved in early-literacy programming initiatives. Hannah and Bernice are literacy-committee members of the Pinehouse community. Rebecca is Kids First Program Manager for ELCC in LaRonge. Kathy is responsible for the pre-kindergarten programs.”

“In this presentation, Elmer, a journalist with the Regina Leader Post, reflects on the negative image he believes Aboriginal people have received in the mainstream media, where he did not see himself reflected. This session reviews how Elmer worked with Glenda McNab of the Gordon First Nation on a newspaper that told positive stories of Aboriginal people, with the Regina Leader Post printing and distributing the paper.”

What drew my attention to this website was the first account presentations that deal with specific regions of Canada. Even though I plan to focus my final paper on Library Services for First Nations youth, Literacy is a definite issue that can be supported under the umbrella of Library Services.

Thanks.

-Regen