The Bill Reid Centre is located at Simon Fraser University, a forty-minute hike from my school, but I did not realize its website was so rich in resources. It uses digital technologies such as photographs, drawings, videos, and other visual media to highlight the depth and vibrancy of Northwest Coast culture. Each section is so plentiful in resources that an entire year of curriculum could be developed with the website as a starting point. Its stated mandated is to (1) encourage community and academic conversations regarding the visual culture of Northwest Coast First Nations, and (2) promote public understanding and respect for the First Nations of the Northwest Coast past and present. The digital village project, in particular, could be of particular value in my class when using Minecraft to showcase knowledge.
Tag Archives: land
M3P3: Indigenous Plant Knowledge
In my class, I have historically used Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples by Nancy J Turner to help my students learn about the plants that grow around them. And while it is a comprehensive book, through this course I have begun to wonder, in a book like this, who is getting credit for Indigenous knowledge. While Dr. Turner seems to be supportive of Indigenous rights and works with Elders to gain her knowledge, I could find no indication that the proceeds are being returned to the people who helped her. As a result, I have been looking for resources that are made by Indigenous people that could help inform my plant instruction. This website by the Comox Valley School district, produced by their Aboriginal educators, offers some rich material that would certainly work in the elementary classroom. Island Health also has this video (below) on Indigenous Plant Healing that I thought was very interesting and would tie into many areas of the curriculum.
I have also found these school-appropriate plant cards published by Strong Nations publishing that I will be adding to my classroom as well.
M3P2: Location and Minecraft
The importance of location was highlighted in this module, and I was inspired by the Anishinaabe World in Minecraft, a collaborative project between the Louis Reil Foundation and Microsoft, that “honours, celebrates and explores a Manitoba Anishinaabe community” (Minecraft Anishinaabe World, n.d.). It made me wonder if a similar project could be created that reflects the locality of First Nations on whose territories my school resides. To that end, the Cobblestone Collective offered a more in-depth look at Minecraft and the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge through an Elder led three-part session. The sessions focused on local plants, medicines, traditions that guided cultural practice and allowed students to engage in an immersive experience. It was full of relevant information for an educator looking to expand their use of Minecraft to remove the colonizing focus while responding to the cultural knowledge of their students.
Cobblestone Project three part series: https://cobblestonecollective.ca/manito-ahbee-aki-minecraft-education-edition/
References:
Minecraft Anishinaabe World. Louis Riel School Division. (n.d.). https://www.lrsd.net/What-We-Offer/Pages/Minecraft-Anishinaabe-World.aspx.
Module 2 – Post 4 Decolonize Technology
While not focused specifically on Indigeneity, this blog by Beatrice Martini offers some hard truths and a well-developed reading list on how to decolonize technology use. I particularly appreciate the introduction to the term “borderless colonial phenomenon” as a result of digital technology. Understanding how technology continues to impart colonial values throughout the world can only help enhance my understanding of its use within Canada and my classroom.
First Nations Governance – M2 P5
Grade 6 Social Studies focuses so much on looking at government. It seemed extremely fitting to look into First Nations governance, before colonization, after colonization, and what it’s like now. Hearing my Indigenous Advocate talking about traditional leaders being chosen based on respect instead of elections made me very curious about the traditions. This resource from the First Nations Education Steering Committee is a great resource to help kids of all grades understand the past, present and future of First Nations land, title and government in BC. This would be a fantastic resource for early elementary all the way up to grade 12.
Module 2 Post #5 Rooted in Honour and Deep Respect
Carolyn Roberts spoke on March 20, 2018. She was a result of the 60’s scoop. Her mother still does not hug. She went to St. Mary’s residential school. Carolyn Roberts’s children are the first in more than three generations that were not taken away from her. Aboriginal people make up 4% of the population but more than 60% of the children in foster care are of First Nations descent.
She asks an important question – Why does it matter? She goes on to say that we need to have this conversation and we need to educate ourselves. To educate yourself you need a sense of decency and a sense of justice.
What can you do?
- You as a Canadian can learn whose land you are on. You can learn the languages that the First Nations people speak where you work, live and play. Where is the community and how can you give back to them?
- Governmental systems in place today still hold back and suppress Indigenous people. Find out about the land claims and treaty rights and what does it mean to them? Ask questions and be curious – why does the Federal Government have two white non-indigenous females leading all departments in First Nations issues.
- The honourable Murray Sinclair states that education got us into this mess, and education is what will take us out of this mess.
We need to move together side by side and our decisions need to be rooted in honour and deep respect.
Module 1, Post 3
This website is run by a non profit organization and strives to map Indigenous lands. They work to “map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages across the world in a way that goes beyond colonial ways of thinking in order to better represent how Indigenous people want to see themselves.”
This map amplifies the voice of Indigenous communities and is a visual representation of their fight for land which was taken from them. You can focus on locally, national, or global communities and narrow your search by territories, language, or treaties.
I think that this resource is a great provocation for discussion about land, ownership, borders, and the right anyone has to any of those.