Tag Archives: traditional knowledge

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.”

M3P3: Indigenous Storywork Protocols

“Educating Heart, Mind, Body & Spirit”

I came across this site after reading about Dr. Jo-ann Archibald’s Indigenous Storywork framework. It shares various resources for educators but also for the public, and it also highlights and shows respect for the Elders who contributed to the website. The educator resources are not typical lesson plans, but rather they are a set of questions that create a framework Indigenous story telling; Dr. Archibald poses many questions that help guide and prepare educators for various protocols for using Indigenous stories. One important protocol she outlines is to acknowledge the storyteller, and the Indigenous culture from which the storyteller is a member, and then provides some contextual and cultural background for the story. This is a good entry point for me to be able to include Indigenous stories in my own teaching practice.

Module 4- Post 1: The Urban-Aboriginal

 

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.

 

 

M3, P4: Traditional Knowledge Licenses

Most post-secondary learners and staff are familiar (or are becoming increasingly familiar) with license labels for materials (e.g., CC, CC-NC, CCbySA). TK labels are an educational intervention to identify traditional knowledge resources, their original, intended and ongoing uses, and protocols and practices for use. This video (above) introduces core colonial issues around theft of Indigenous materials and knowledge, reconciling practices, and introduces TK labels as an education tool for the future. However, there are inherent issues with the use of blanket labels without local context. One TK label for all TK knowledge resources treats all Indigenous Peoples knowledge as one shared knowledge, which disregards the locality and place-based nature of the knowledge. The resources below address provide more information on TK labels and the issues presented by the use of one label for all TK resources.

Creative Commons– Traditional Knowledge and the Commons: The Open Movement, Listening, and Learning

UBC Program for Open Scholarly and Education — Traditional Knowledge Licenses & Labels

We teach and provide support for licensing in academic libraries. Knowing labels and being familiar with the parameters of labeling systems and potential issues related to labels and licenses is an important area of professional knowledge. There resources would be valuable for professional development and would help library staff better support students and faculty in their work.

Module 1 Post 5

My heart is heavy this week as news breaks of the children found at a former residential school in Kamloops. And once again I look to my role as an educator within a system that has failed so many. Further, Lee Brown’s interview has served as a reminder that the “traditional” forms of education only serve those that see themselves represented within the system. And so I continue to reflect and change my practice. I come back to the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) and their guiding principles on learning. This website also provides rich resources for helping to move First Nations education in BC. While it is generalized in that it attempts to reflect a collective First Nation practice as much as possible, it serves as a reminder of the approaches I take in my classroom.

https://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/

Module 1 Post 1

As a French Immersion classroom teacher, I have been interested in the protection of French culture and comparative lack of protection of indigenous culture within Canada. The immersion program was initially designed as a way of preserving and maintaining Quebec-French culture in Canada. No such program exists with the same participation or funding for protecting First Nation traditions and cultures, though they can exist to some degree independently.

In my first year of teaching, I worked at a school where the students learned Salish as their second language instead of French. I saw firsthand how it helped to grow and expand their understanding of the complexities that existed around them. First Nations students in the class felt represented by the curriculum and their peers gained a cultural lesson while all students benefitted from increased understanding of local history and current reality. As a teacher, it was both humbling and illuminating to have my local knowledge challenged and expanded so quickly.

This interactive website presents some important “first step” information to learning about one of the Nations on who’s traditional territory my school is located: the Sto:lo Nation. I appreciate that it is an authentic voice that can help guide class learning.

http://digitalsqewlets.ca/index-eng.php

M.1 P.3 The Canadian Mountain Network

“The Canadian Mountain Network (CMN) was established in 2019 to support the resilience and health of Canada’s mountain peoples and places through research partnerships based on Indigenous and Western ways of knowing that inform decision-making and action” (CMN, n.d.)

I found this website to be incredibly insightful with links to opportunities, research, events, news, knowledge, training, and a blog that uploads news articles, reports, special events, and podcasts. Below you can see the goals of The CNM, linked to the main website.

Canadian Mountain Podcast: Mountain research through Indigenous and Western knowledge systems

I enjoyed this podcast as it discusses the benefits of using both Indigenous and Western approaches to understanding mountains. This podcast hits especially close to home as it relates to the research my partner is currently doing, working closely with elders to embrace and engage with traditional forms of knowledge and learning where we live in Northern B.C.

References

Canadian Mountain Network. (n.d.). CMN Mountain Portal. https://canadianmountainnetwork.ca/