1. http://www.pcrs.ca/service-resource-centres/broadway-youth-resource-centre-2/
As I start narrowing down my own research direction, I’m looking for resources and supports for aboriginal students. This link to the Broadway Youth Resource Center is one such resource. The facility includes social services, mental health supports as well as alternate school programs in one site. I am familiar with this site as it is within the district I work in, but I think for teachers who have aboriginal students who experience challenging circumstances, it is important to be aware of what types of supports are out there and how to contact them.
2. http://www.reseaudialog.qc.ca/Docspdf/LoiselleMcKenzie.pdf
The wellness wheel is known in education as a tool to support an aboriginal way of approaching self care and wellness. This paper by Margot Loiselle and Lauretta McKenzie covers the philosophical origin of the wellness wheel as well as the process for using it with authenticity. This is also an approach that can be used with students who have experienced trauma and we know that many aboriginal students are among these. This approach takes into account an aboriginal worldview while integrating good mental health support into a classroom.
3. http://med-fom-learningcircle.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2013/10/CJNR-2013-45-2-.pdf
This, another article, from the BC interior, research with urban aboriginal youth that explored their perceptions as they related to Indigenous Identity and Resistance, Cultural Connectedness, Colonialism and Structural Racism, and Culturally Safe Health Care.
4. http://childtrauma.org/cta-library/child-dev-early-childhood/
This link to Dr. Bruce Perry’s page with resources for teaching early childhood and youth who have experienced trauma is one I’ve used multiple times myself. I had the opportunity several years ago to take Dr. Perry’s training for neurosequential treatment of trauma and as a classroom teacher, find the approach and understanding valuable. Understanding trauma and how it changes development is a key to understanding some aboriginal students who have experienced trauma and how to built a supportive and safe classroom environment.
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZjshXqEk8o
“Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom Moving Forward,” a video put out by the BC Ministry of Education, and talks about the critical importance of including an indigenous perspective in teaching. Including an indigenous perspective in the classroom, curriculum, and the day to day story of the classroom community is an important foundation to creating a safe, caring classroom.