Tag Archives: decolonization

Considering Cultural Appropriation in the Art Classroom (M3P5)

In my investigation into using digital art as a means of decolonization, I came across this article (Taylor, 2021) on The Art of Education University’s website. I feel that it helps solidify the distinction of when appropriation is acceptable (such as with remixing) and when it is not. It is both easily digestible and practical for a classroom teacher. One sentence in particular stood out to me, for its simple flip-the-idea-on-its-head approach:

“Instead of using kente cloth to teach weaving, teach weaving to introduce kente cloth.”

This phrase echoes what Kawagley and Barnhardt said about learning about the greater ecology before focusing in on one particular niche. In the case of the kente clothe (a Ghanaian textile), Taylor outlines how to guide students through intentional decision making, towards creating their own personal textiles, rather than mimicking an aesthetically pleasing one from another culture.

References:

Kawagley, A. O., & Barnhardt, R. (1998). Education indigenous to place: Western science meets native reality. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Knowledge Network.

Taylor, J. (2020, October). Considering Cultural Appropriation in the Art Classroom. The Art of Education University. https://theartofeducation.edu/2020/10/23/considering-cultural-appropriation-in-the-art-classroom/

Indigenous Media, Remix & Revolution (M3P1)

This is a presentation at the Indigenous New Media Symposium (2014) by Jarrett Martineau, an award-winning Indigenous media maker, scholar, artist, and storyteller. He is nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) and Dene Sųłiné from Frog Lake First Nation in Alberta, and he is currently based in Vancouver.

He opens the presentation with this quote from Louis Riel (Métis)

“My People will sleep for 100 years, and when they awake, it will be the artists who give them back their spirit.”

In the presentation, Martineau emphasizes the fundamental components of Indigenous New Media. Building community, asserting strength, and taking back control over self-representation. He also discusses how the pervading background of colonialism, and thus how everything Indigenous artists do is political. “Indigenous media, Indigenous cultural production, Indigenous art, and creativity is always a contestation of [colonialism]” [8:15].

Remixing Cycle: Respond/React > Restore > Revision > Represent > Revitalize/Regenerate > Reconstruct > Reimagine > Reclaim > Repeat

Of particular note is his discussion on the power of Remixed media, as a means of “resistance and asserting resurgence” [10:50]. Remix is reflexive, recombinant, and regenerative. One example he shares is Sonny Assu’s Coke Salish (pictured below). The power of Remix is its power to convey more than aesthetics and to invite conversations.

Coke Salish by Sonny Assu

Martineau’s Decolonize Media project is still online at the time of this posting.

 

Module 2 Post 5: Hul’q’umi’num’ Language Project

The Hul’q’umi’num’ Language Project (reference below) is a case study completed by Hul’q’umi’num’ elders and teachers, the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, and Royal Roads University. The group led workshops with adult groups that combined story, music, and art that allowed for language learning. For Coast Salish communities, the act of storytelling is ingrained in the culture. Doing so maintains language. When combined with visuals, movement, and physical participation (immersion), language learning can be a fun and enriching experience for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. This sharing of culture cross ethnicity has seldom been experienced for Indigenous cultures when compared to other minority groups in Canada. The resources that are planned to come out of this case study should be beneficial for educators trying to decolonize the system.

Reference:

Sadeghi-Yekta, K. (2019). Hul?q?umi?num? language heroes: A successful collaboration between elders, community organisations, and canadian west coast universities. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 24(3), 368-375. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/13569783.2019.1615829 

Module 2 Post 4: Guide to Indigenous Languages in Canada

This “Guide to Indigenous Languages in Canada” was compiled by Owona McIvor (associate professor of Indigenous Education at the University of Victoria). This guide is part of a larger language revitalization project put on by 9 Indigenous-led communities and the University of Victoria. The guide highlights key facts about Indigenous languages in Canada as well as 8 ways anyone can support the efforts to revitalize so many lost and dying Indigenous languages.

Module 2 Post 3: Voices on the Rise (Docuseries)

Voices on the Rise: Indigenous Language Revitalization in Alberta is a 3 part docuseries made in collaboration with Telus and Victoria filmmaker/visual artist Eli Hirtle ((nêhiyaw(Cree)/British/German). The series follows Eli and his journey of self-actualization by visiting his ancestors’ communities and learning more about his language. He focuses on the revitalization of Indigenous language and its intimate connection to culture, family, and life. Much can be learned from Eli’s story for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike.

Module 2 Post 2: Indigenous Corporate Training Inc.

Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. (ICT) is a B.C. based organization that provides training in the workplace with the goal of creating more informed and safer Indigenous relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike. I have specifically linked their blog post on guidelines for using Indigenous terminology, a place in which settlers may want to start when decolonizing their vocabulary. Their site contains paid and free resources that support Indigenous awareness and answers to questions many settlers may be too afraid to ask.

 

Module 2 Post 1: First Voices

First Voices is an initiative by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council that provides a library of Indigenous language learning tools and information. The site offers dozens of Indigneous languages to explore. Clicking into each language provides links to see, hear, and practice high frequency vocabulary through audio clips or games. This site will serve useful in the K-12 setting in which educators may discuss the decolonization of language in our school system.

 

M2, P1: Decolonizing is for everyone

In this Ted Talk, Nikki Sanchez talks about our collective responsibility to decolonize our present and work toward a better, equitable future. She talks about the historic and social reasons for decolonizing; why it’s so essential; and what decolonization looks like. In her talk she says:

“This history is not your fault, but it is absolutely your responsibility.”

This really resonated with me and is going to form the basis of my library decolonization action plan.

M1. P5

The following question was posed under the Theme of Decolonization, Intellectual Property Rights, Virtual and Actual Reality:

Indigenous peoples are diverse, but they share the common experience of being colonized by western and imperialist powers. Can technology be useful in supporting Indigenous communities’ efforts to de-colonize values and thoughts?

This is a topic that I am most interested in, especially how oral tradition and story can be integrated with technology so that it doesn’t lose the authenticity and voice of a face-to-face sharing of lived experiences.

The paper below is one that I have found invaluable in this endeavor and spoke to an interactive mapping tool. This made me connect back with an introduction to Thinglink from Jorden Habib in her Introduction Post on Canvas.

You can read the paper HERE and learn more about Thinglink HERE – or you can watch the video below.

– Sasha Passaglia