Tag Archives: 94callstoaction

Module 4 Post 5: First Peoples Guide for Newcomers

The First Peoples Guide for Newcomers developed by the City of Vancouver is a comprehensive guide intended for those new to Vancouver and BC. It offers information on the local First Nations, myths about Indigenous peoples, the relationship with Canadian government, truth and reconciliation, and culture in general. I can see this guide being useful to both immigrants new to Vancouver and even locals who have lived here their entire lives. The information presented in this document fills in many of the gaps BC schools have created for so many years, and I am sure much of the guide will be novel for Vancouverites.

M4P5: AlbertaEd – Walking Together & Talking Together

Alberta Education created a very comprehensive and interactive guide called Walking Together that provides educators with the necessary resources needed to incorporate FNMI perspectives into the curriculum.

One of my goals in my final project is to create a teacher self-reflection tool to determine which Indigenous perspectives are addressed in a particular lesson. The self-reflection tool would be a circle, similar to the front page of Walking Together, with the perspectives around the outside divided into pie pieces and then specific keywords underneath each perspective, to help guide the teacher in really analyzing their lessons.

I think this resource could also be used as a student activity, perhaps with the student reflecting on how the participation in the activity aligned with Indigenous perspectives. The student version would have student friendly language and offer sentence starter prompts for each perspective/keyword.

However, before introducing this self-reflection tool, students and teachers would both need to have an awareness of Indigenous knowledge and these various perspectives before the tool would be used meaningfully. I plan on creating an interactive multimodal game where these perspectives will be explored as a part of my final project.

M4P4: MathCatcher – Meet Small Number

“Mathematics Through Aboriginal Story Telling”

MathCatchers is an outreach program for educators and learners, encouraging numeracy through storytelling, pictures, and hands-on learning. They created a character named “Small Number” who ‘engage(s) Aboriginal learners in math and science through the use of First Nations imagery and storytelling.’ Through various videos, the opportunity for various discussions about anything from basic counting and pattern recognition to exponential growth and probability permutations and combinations. These videos will serve as a foundational part of my final project, with many Alberta curriculum pieces being tied to various sections of the video. I envision these videos being part of the regular classroom routine, with students constantly being brought back to the story and encouraged to dig deeper into the math and culture embedded within.

“The main character in our animations thus far is a boy called Small Number. He is a bright, playful kid, with the ability to recognize patterns and calculate quickly.”

M4P2: Nurturing the Learning Spirit of First Nation Students

“The Report of the National Panel on First Nation Elementary and Secondary Education for Students on Reserve”

The Assembly of First Nations put out this report, which contains principles for reform as well as recommendations for foundations of a strong Indigenous education system. Within the recommendations and principles is an emphasis and importance of a child first and child-centred education. This child-centred approach will be incorporated into my final project as the foundation and backbone of any material and resources created for use in a classroom.

“The First Nation child must be placed at the center of the national priority of building an education system. Improving education attainment, and ensuring that children receive the supports needed to enable them to excel and thrive as learners, while their identity, culture and language as First Nation peoples is strengthened, is essential” (p. 29).

M4P1: Education – Calls to Action

With the focus on creating an Indigenous knowledge-based curriculum/lessons/assessment plan, it is important to acknowledge the work currently in progress in regards to the 94 Calls to Action. There are two Calls to Action in particular that I will be referencing in my final project. CBC News has created an interactive resource (#Beyond94) which measures the progress of the Calls to Action. This resource is something that should be referenced when speaking to teachers about the importance of incorporating Indigenous based knowledge in the classroom.

10: Draft new Aboriginal education legislation – In Progress

Most recent update… “In June 2021, the Yukon government announced the creation of a separate school board for First Nations, paving the way for schools geared specifically toward Indigenous students in the territory.”

12 Develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs – In Progress

In 2018, a framework for Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care was released, and in February 2021, the government proposed to invest $2.5 billion to support this mandate.

This image is an up to date account of the progress being made in the 94 calls to action. It is concerning to see 20 projects not yet started, the majority of them falling under the “Reconciliation” category.

M3P5: Did you live near a residential school?

CBC News created an interactive website called ‘Beyond 94: Truth & Reconciliation in Canada.’ It holds many resources, but one in particular caught my eye – an interactive map titled: Did you live near a residential school?

I typed in my birth year and the address of the home I grew up in, and I found out that there was a residential school only a mere 16 kilometres away. This is a harrowing and stark reminder of the legacy of residential schools, especially with one being so close to where my students and myself live. This is a powerful resource, and it is one that I think needs to be shared widely. If a teacher typed in the birth year of their students and the address of the school, I think this would be a good starting point on a lesson/discussion about residential schools, being sure to encourage students to ask questions and express any emotions.

Module 4, Post 5 | Publishers & Reconciliation in Canada

The Calls to Action do not specifically mention publishers, though these businesses can be important players in the dissemination of knowledge. BookNet recently published some interesting articles on how publishers can find their role in reconciliation by seeing themselves in the Calls to Action. Notably,

We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to (i) make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for Kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.

We call upon the corporate sector[…] to (i) Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects. (iii) Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

We call upon Library and Archives Canada to (i) fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Joinet-Orentlicher Principles, as related to Aboriginal peoples’ inalienable right to know the truth about what happened and why, with regard to human rights violations committed against them in the residential schools.

https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/6/21/taking-action-towards-reconciliation-in-the-book-industry

https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/6/21/what-it-means-to-talk-about-reconciliation

Module 4, Post 3 | Weaving Indigenous and western knowledge

An article focusing on the growing interest in educational and research institutions across the country embracing a holistic approach to its scientific methods, which integrates Indigenous knowledge with classroom teaching methods to decolonize education.

A response to the TRC’s Calls to Action, this collaboration reinforces the cultural values of Indigenous knowledge and highlights applicability across a broad range of subjects.

https://www.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/weaving-indigenous-and-western-knowledge/

Project of Heart (M4P1)

Project of Heart is an artistic inquiry into the history of Indigenous people in Canada and the legacies of the Indian Residential Schools (IRS). Though open to all Canadians, it is geared towards schools and students. The website is organized by Province to help provide local context and resources.

The project’s framework includes 6 steps:

Investigate the History and Legacy of Residential Schools in Canada
Look closer at a specific IRS in your local area, including whose territory it is located on and the children taken to the school
Create a gesture of Reconciliation
Survivor Visit
Social Justice Action
Finishing Up Project of the Heart

For Step 3, the website gives several suggestions for projects, from their traditional commemorative wooden tiles to crafting feather wreaths or writing a song. The provincial pages also provide blog-rolls with examples from schools. An approach that I think would be interesting is a collaborative mosaic. Ideally, this would be done in collaboration with a local Indigenous artist who would create the overall design and perhaps teach the students some art lessons. For examples of Collaborative Mosaics, check out Jen Jolliff‘s school ones, and the Global Roots Project.