Indigeneity, Technology, and Education
While there are many articles available focussing on what residential schools were and the pain and hardship encountered by the survivors, this article highlights what the Government’s goal was for Residential Schools and how they would achieve it. Having a view point from the government is important to providing a balanced view of Residential Schools.
http://www.orangeshirtday.org/
Hearing Phyllis Webstad speak to students in SD28 just over a week ago was inspirational. Hearing her read and share her story, listening to the students asking questions, and hearing about her hopes for Orange Shirt Day and the possibility of being a holiday with Jesus (Christmas) and a Queen (Victoria Day), was inspirational. If you haven’t already checked out this website, I highly recommend it, but if you ever have a chance to listen to Phyllis share her story, you do not want to miss out.
https://www.bctf.ca/HiddenHistory/
This resource is an excellent tool for developing my own understanding of Residential Schools and sharing pictures and stories with my students. The stories are from real people, the pictures are of real places, and helping students understand that Residential Schools are real creates deeper connections.
I participated in my first blanket exercise. I was killed by small pox. My co-worker was taken from her land and moved to a Residential school. Another colleague survived Residential Schools but later died due to the negative impact it had on her life.
These experiences are not our own, but were lived by us during our last Non-Instructional Day. The Blanket Exercise shares First People’s history from across Canada in a unique way. I began to better understand what it meant to be killed by a disease I had no control over, I watched people be removed form their land, to be taken to Residential schools. This experience is one I want to share with my classes in the future.
After the discussions around critically viewing Nanook of the North and how to teach students to critically evaluate what they are exposed to in order to determine the authenticity of the item, I was brought back to a session I attended at a workshop about BCERAC. This group critically analyzes and considers what is an authentic story, or book focussed on First Nations culture, traditions and history.
One of the requirements that was discussed in my workshop was what story is being told and who is it being told by. There are many books about Residential Schools that are written by people who did not experience first hand this part of history, or who have dramatized what occurred. The books that appear on the Evaluated Sources website are written by First Nations people and are factual, to allow the author to share their stories, not for someone else to profit off of.
Late with this blog post as well as my other discussions. Been occupied with visits to the hospital and then trying to catch up with what I missed. In any case, here are five resources. I checked posts by others, and I do not think I have any repeated sources, but apologies if I do.
http://www.orangeshirtday.org/resources–ideas.html
Probably would have been good if I posted this earlier, but this is a great resource for Orange Shirt Day, which is a day to remember the impact of Residential Schools in Canada. Orange Shirt stems from the story of Phyllis and her first day at residential school and promotes “Every Child Matters”. An important day for reconciliation.
http://numerocinqmagazine.com/2014/05/23/the-failure-of-reconciliation-taiaiake-alfred/
Speaking of reconciliation, this is a short post that links to a previous post as well as another video with Taiaiake Alfred. Taiaiake Alfred is an advocate for his people, with eloquent views on how to go about reconciliation and the complex ongoing social issues.
https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-016-0366-0
An article on indigenous young people in Australia. This is a literature review, but has a different conclusion to some of our first module readings. It is suggested that the internet and social media has given power to the people to set up their community and to build identity.
https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/028.nsf/eng/00536.html
Archived page from the Government of Canada that specifically states the need for digital literacy and moving from “inclusion” to ‘transformation”. In the article, the challenges to indigenous communities are clearly laid out and there is a reference to learn from “Australia’s program designed specifically for Indigenous communities”.
With all the focus on reconciliation and technology, it is important to keep in mind a large part of the aboriginal culture and the lens for learning: the connection to the land. Takaya tours is one of many tours available now in Canada that can help students that are typically in classrooms have the chance to experience and connect with the land.
When an article has a headline like the one above, I find that it is directly pointing out the challenges with the education system. Many provinces require education about Residential Schools, but there are limited resources for teachers to use and teachers do not feel comfortable leading discussions on such a traumatic event. I personally struggle to teach my students about residential schools. I can read Shi Shi Etko, I can share Phyllis’ Story, we can watch a video, but to lead a deep and meaningful conversation about the trauma and atrocities experienced in these buildings is extremely challenging. I fit in with many of the non-indigenous teachers who lack the confidence to discuss and teach this topic, and it’s something that I need to learn how to do.
CBC News Article, August 20, 2017: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/residential-schools-edmonton-1.4254947
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?
While working through the readings about the cultural neutrality of technology in education, I could not stop thinking about a link that was shared with me. This link is an interactive map of Residential Schools. While the pain and cultural “white washing” suffered in these institutions is still felt today, this map was an eye opening experience for myself and my students. Realizing the years that some of these institutions closed in, and knowing that was in the lifetime of some of my student’s parents, it made discussing Residential Schools more real. I enjoy allowing my students to explore history through the use of laptops and the internet, and this tool was very useful, both as a research tool and initiating conversations at home.
https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/beyond-94-residential-school-map/
Children posing in front of a school with two nuns. Circa 1950. [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2018, from http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3601415