As I am exploring my topic for my research, I am finding myself finding new and unexplored areas of thoughts and ideas and research that I am completely unaware about. As I was focusing on 21st century learning, Indigenous STEAM and Indigenous perspectives of learning. I found myself reading more and more into decolonizing 21st century learning and how globalization is another form of colonization. These following links were ones I found interesting…
A report on the decolonization efforts of the United Nations
The book is a research study on how the UN has contributed to decolonization efforts in the past 10 years. It looks at 3 different critiques about the UN. “The first is the fact that the decolonization process is out-dated, because the Special Committee has to stick to a mandate created in 1960, when there was still a lot of colonialism. The notion is that the colonies that are left can not be treated the same. The second is the fact that the there is a one-size-fits all approach to decolonization. This means that there are only three options in which the remaining non self-governing territories can be removed from the list. The third criticism on the decolonization process at the UN holds that Western interests are still seen as the most important and the non self-governing territories are decolonized according to a Western model.”
Nichee Gear -Possible Controversial?
I found this clothing site interesting. Nichee Gear is a company that was founded by Kendal Netmaker from the Sweetgrass First Nation, Saskatchewan. He donates 5% to proceeds to underprivileged students to play sports. With our BC curriculum, it focuses on entrepreneurship as one of its key focuses for curriculum. I wrestle with this idea because its almost taught in a way to create a product to sell and to “fix’ something.
I posted the site because he is a successful Indigenous entrepreneur. He is giving back to his community and other underprivileged children and focuses on community. Though I wonder though with some of the images that is on his clothing line. Is this a possible contentious issue within Indigenous communities?
Project 562
Changing the Way we See Native Americans TED Talk Video
I found the video and website inspiring.. Matika Wilbur is a journalists who started a project to travel the United States and photograph every Federally recognized tribe in the United States and share the diverse spectrum of art, media, curricula and the rich and complex twenty-first century imagery and reality of contemporary Native Americans.
Decolonizing the layout of the classroom:
The article looks at a few different areas of the classroom that still continues to be influenced by colonial thinking. It shares a story of a Indigenous student who request the teacher if they could change the layout of the classroom. The student changed the classroom in a circle and pointed out that European centric education is in rows and lecture based. This was new to me because I grew up in this style of learning!