IMPulse is a mentorship program that connects indigenous youth to university mentors in the field of STEM. This service provides 1-on-1 or group sessions which allow both mentors and mentees to develop strong relationship and build discussions around STEM. This program is FREE to join and will give youth an opportunity to get advice from the mentors to help make key decisions about their future or from choosing a university to moving away from home.
https://stemfellowship.org/impulse/
As there is a lack of Indigenous participants in STEM careers, fixing this problem requires changes at all levels of the education system. In order to better equip youth for future careers in STEM, high school must provide targeted services including financial aid, financial guidance, social and cultural activities, and designated spaces.
Supporting access and retention programs for Indigenous students at Canadian colleges and universities is equally important. The Engineering Access Program at the University of Manitoba, for example, has helped 134 Indigenous student engineers graduate over the past two decades. The Aboriginal Access to Engineering Initiative at Queen’s University has increased the number of Indigenous student engineers from four in 2011 to more than 50 in 2020.
These inclusive programs help improve the experience for all indigenous students to help them succeed in the long run.
https://financialpost.com/pmn/press-releases-pmn/globe-newswire-releases/high-schools-can-do-a-better-job-preparing-indigenous-students-for-stem-studies-access-and-retention-programs-for-indigenous-learners-need-to-be-supported-and-expanded
Less than 2% of the people in STEM occupations are Indigenous. The Conference Board of Canada is researching leading practices in STEM education for Indigenous learners in Canada. The Board:
https://www.conferenceboard.ca/research/how-can-more-indigenous-people-access-stem-careers
The disparity of post-secondary education (PSE) completion between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians (40% vs. 55.3%) continues to persist (Statistics Canada, 2016). However, there are several notable indigenous individuals who have been making waves in the STEM field in Canada!
https://www.sfu.ca/wwest/WWEST_blog/7-indigenous-people-in-stem-you-should-know.html
The Urban Aboriginal Primitive Technology Studies & Practice page is a site targeting urban indigenous people that provides information on how to make things like dreamcatchers, crossbows, cattail visors, shelters and pretty much everything other traditional aboriginal practice you could think of. The site demonstrates a practical approach to technology and how it can be used to support cultural transmission.
Although there is no vision statement included, it appears that the goal of the website is to support the development of traditional skills by offering resources and instructional materials (often in video format) among people who do not have opportunities to learn these practices through elders or community members.
To tackle a problem as large as climate change, we need both science and Indigenous wisdom, says environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim. In this engaging talk, she shares how her nomadic community in Chad is working closely with scientists to restore endangered ecosystems — and offers lessons on how to create more resilient communities.
With our recent class discussions on the cultural neutrality of technology and the difference of educational goals in our Indigenous communities, I realize there is strong evidence for and against Indigenous use of technology and the extent of its benefit. However, for the non-Indigenous community, I believe that technology been an invaluable tool to help increase awareness and understanding as well as helping to promote advocacy for Indigenous communities.
Many have a willingness to learn but not always the tools or resources at their disposal. Technology helps reduce boundaries by increasing our learning networks. One of these learning networks is the MOOC/EdX course run by Jan Hare through UBC on Reconciliation through Education.
https://www.edx.org/course/reconciliation-through-indigenous-education
This free online course is currently achieved (future date to be announced) but it covers the following program outcomes:
Developed by Google engineers and Actua experts and aimed to engage Aboriginal youth into the area of computer science, this code Making program called “Codemakers” provided an opportunity for students to code and remixing their voices. This opportunity by Google is able to provide Aboriginal students something that’s new and cutting-edge tech but still rooted in their culture. For many young students participating in this program, throat singing is how they have learned to pass on the traditions of their past. Being able to mix and digitize the stories they shared in song allows them to connect culture with technology. A breakoff of this project has students “throat boxing” using recording software on mobile devices and computers. A CBC article further explains how Aboriginal students can still embrace their culture but stay connected at the same time.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/google-s-codemakers-program-launches-in-iqaluit-1.3009996
Highlighting Aboriginal perspective in the classroom seems like an easy first step for teachers. Some of the unease for teachers remains in differentiating between when we are highlighting culture and when we are teaching religion, an uncomfortable distinction for many teachers, which often leads to simply ignoring the topic. An easy first step seems to be the integration of the Aboriginal perspective in the science classroom. APTN Kids provides teachers with bilingual links to powerful, research-based programming like Coyote Science that demonstrates that including the Aboriginal perspective in classrooms is as fundamental as the characters in the story. When Coyote helps to explain science concepts, includes a joke of the week and the medicine wheel is included in the set design, students see a valuable perspective. This is a good example of what happens when the First Nations perspective is woven through the resources used in the classroom. Great to supplement teachers who need a little more support in teaching indigenous content in the class.
APTN Kids: http://aptn.ca/kids/
Coyote Science: http://aptn.ca/coyotescience/
As my research question narrows down to the indigeneity in the field of STEM, I have been looking particularly at how story could fit. There are many teachers who feel the Aboriginal perspective doesn’t fit into their curriculum because they “don’t teach that unit”. Rather than a “one and done” approach, I would like to look at how stories told from the Aboriginal perspective in the voices of First Nations peoples can be woven through our classroom work particularly in science and math.
Show Me Your Math is a site developed by Lisa Lunney Borden and supported by her doctoral research that highlights the Aboriginal perspective in math learning. It highlights inquiry learning for students related to math that begins with authentic artifacts and continues through the use of authentic voices in telling the stories of the artefacts and the related math. There are a lot of great ideas to take from here into our classrooms!