Tag Archives: CBC

Post 4- Decolonizing the Curriculum

CBC Beyond Beads and Bannock – Indigenous Curriculum

Listening to Deering’s interview with the CBC about decolonizing her teaching and classroom was really inspiring. Her classroom decolonization began when she introduced the First Peoples Principles of Learning to her students. By allowing students to question her and her teaching methods and providing them with inquiry projects, she has created a more holistic learning environment. A major challenge I have found in my own practice is finding support and being able to support others who are working to indigenize their classroom, their courses, and their school.

 

Post 2- Burn Your Village to the Ground

This video was shared with me around Thanksgiving, a holiday that often celebrates colonization and brings about stereotypical images of when the  “Pilgrims and Indians sat down together”. The truth about what happened after the Europeans arrived and colonization began is shared in this song. The uncomfortable feeling this song gave me helped me realize that I have not done enough in my own teaching surrounding the truth of what has happened to our First People.

Post 1 – Truth and Reconciliation in the Classroom

While researching Truth and Reconciliation in the classroom, I came upon this resource, focussing on the 94 calls to action. I found the variety of multimedia articles and interviews to be very engaging and helpful to support student understanding. Many of the videos on this website allow students to realize how our past history influences people today, and puts a face to the the history to create a more personal connection.

https://curio.ca/en/collection/beyond-94-truth-and-reconciliation-in-canada-2586/

POST 5 – What is the significance of acknowledging the Indigenous land we stand on? – David Loti

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/territorial-acknowledgements-indigenous-1.4175136

Visited 11 October 2018

CBC journalist Ramna Shahzad provides an overview of land acknowledgements, a tradition “that many Indigenous people say marks a small but essential step toward reconciliation” as they become more commonplace across Canada. Shazad interviews Alison Norman, a Trent University researcher and Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation research adviser, who says that land acknowledgements are not enough, but they are the start of a personalized learning process which leads to questions about the people referenced in them and the history of the land.

POST 2 – How to talk about Indigenous people – David Loti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEzjA5RoLv0

Visited 25 September 2018

 

Journalist Ossie Michelin provides a quick overview of the use of the terms Indigenous, First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Aboriginal and encourages people to choose the term to “be as specific as possible.” One take away from this video is that Inuit means people; thus as Michelin says, “Don’t say Inuit people because that’s redundant.”

Module One Resources – Scott Pike

For my Module One contributions, I was initially focused on resources that attempted to preserve oral traditions and stories essential to Indigenous learning.  I feel I was successful in finding a sample of such resources, but the #next150 site was the resource that stood out for me, not for its ability to preserve stories, but because of its innovative blend of technology and social media employed for the purpose of spreading awareness and understanding of Reconciliation.  This is something I would be able to use in my teaching almost immediately.

 

First Nations Pedagogy Online

https://firstnationspedagogy.ca/about.html

As described on the website, First Nations Pedagogy Online is an “online resource that builds on research, consultation, and community-based activities. This site provides best practices and support for online learning initiatives that are intended for Indigenous students, Elders, educators, curriculum developers, and educational leaders.”

The site appears to be a hub for various resources concerning indigenous education. Provided are various summaries of indigenous education best practices, and a portal to a forum that provides members the opportunity to share thoughts and experiences regarding indigenous education.

 

Indian Horse

http://www.indianhorse.ca/en/education

This site serves a promotional vehicle for both the movie Indian Horse, based on the Richard Wagamese book of the same name, as well as general awareness and education for the Reconciliation movement. The #next150 section is of particular interest, as it combines social media with a series of initiatives that challenge the audience to “push [thinking and understanding] of Indigenous issues forward.”

 

Four Directions Teachings

http://fourdirectionsteachings.com

 

This site is a multimedia showcase of indigenous oral teachings, specifically from the Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk, and M’ikmaq nations. It is an interactive experience, combining animation and audio, which relates foundational stories, teachings and customs. Teacher resources are provided.

 

Our Voices

http://www.ourvoices.ca/index/about

From the website, “the OurVoices.ca website is intended to provide access to a wealth of audio material on the history and culture of the People of Canada.” The site is an archive of recorded stories and interviews from Louis Bird, aboriginal scholar and storyteller. The site provides hundreds of hours of audio documenting Cree oral traditions, and is provided in English and Cree.

 

The Legends Project

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/topic/Tag/Legends

 

The Legends Project is a series of podcasts created and presented by CBC Radio, which tell foundational stories from several nations. According to the site, “CBC Radio’s Legends Project compiles traditional oral stories, legends and histories of Canada’s Inuit and First Nations, gathered in communities across the country.” Some of the featured nations include: Blackfoot, Mi’kmaq, Shuswap, Inuit, and Ahtahkakoop.

Post 3 – Educating the Educator

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/st-paul-questionnaire-residential-schools-1.4831707

 

This article created a lot of dialogue on my Facebook and Twitter feeds this week. This article and the comments that followed created a lot of discussion about blaming the teacher, blaming the school district, and blaming the provincial curriculum. Asking “A positive effect of residential schools was…” is problematic on numerous levels and how this was ever approved to appear in any course shows the lack of education and for some, the lack of compassion and understanding of such a traumatic time in Canadian history, that is needed to educate future generations. 7 years ago, I entered into my Education Degree in Regina. 7 years ago it became mandatory that all students graduating with an Education Degree from the University of Regina must have completed an “Aboriginal Studies” course. 7 years ago, there were many universities that I had considered attending in Western Canada that did not require a single course on Aboriginal or Indigenous studies in Canada.

How are teachers supposed to teach about Residential Schools in an appropriate manner, when they have no education on that area or event themselves?