Author Archives: andrew shedden

Research Weblog #4

By Andrew C. Shedden

I decided to focus on Indigenous Ecological Literacy for this research Weblog. I feel that Indigenous ways of knowing and conceptualizing the world around us are absolutely crucial for ecological sustainability. Take for example the current issue surrounding resource extraction globally. At the forefront of the water protection movement has been Indigenous people.

Teaching for Ecological Sustainability- Incorporating Indigenous Philosophies and Practices

Author: Dr. Clinton L. Beckford and Russell Nahdee, University of Windsor

Location: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_Teaching_Ecological.pdf

This monograph is an Ontario Government document that outlines ways in which educators can attempt to include Indigenous conceptions of ecological sustainability into the classroom. It gives a brief overview of “Key Tenets of Aboriginal Philosophy”, acknowledging that this is a broad overview and oversimplification of Indigenous culture. This document makes suggestions about the ways in which Aboriginal content can be presented within mainstream classrooms. The authors go on to make suggestions on how to make this work in a practical sense.

My one criticism of this article is that “Utilize Aboriginal Expertise” is at the bottom of the last page, and the last of the suggested tips for practice. I feel that Indigenous people have had their voice marginalized and silenced for many years. A classroom setting should be empowering Indigenous people to speak for themselves, particularly when it comes to articulating things about their own culture. I feel that classroom teachers who reach out to local Indigenous groups in a respectful manner can help build trust between Indigenous and non Indigenous communities.

Opinion- Education Must Focus Efforts on Ecological Literacy

Author: Matt Henderson

Location: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/education-ecological-literacy-1.3487583

This article by a high school teacher outlines “two fundamental gaps” in our society and media regarding ecological understanding. He discusses a knowledge gap, in which the general public does not have the ability to contemplate the ecological crisis that is happening. Secondly, (and I would argue more importantly), he suggests that there is a knowledge-action gap. This knowledge-action gap suggests that the general public, even if aware of the ecological crisis the world is facing, feels powerless to do something about it. The author advocates for K-12 education to provide skills to mitigate ecological crisis and to create sustainable communities. Henderson suggests that ecological literacy is extremely important.

I agree with the author that we desperately need to encourage ecological literacy in students. Climate change is a reality, regardless of what some politicians might say. I do feel that he should be looking towards Indigenous ways of knowing and understanding in his quest to improve the curriculum. I also think that real world examples of the impact of climate change on Indigenous communities (especially Northern communities) would be a way to humanize the Science, and give students a practical understanding of sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Integrating Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Science in Natural Resource Management: Perspectives from Australia- Ecology and Society Vol 18 No 3 Article 20

Author: Erin L. Bohensky, James R.A. Butler and Jocelyn Davies

Location: https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol18/iss3/art20/

This article begins by outlining Ecology and Society’s previous special issue from 2004 that focused specifically on the integration of Indigenous knowledge into scientific conceptualizations of ecology. This article deals specifically with natural resource management regarding Indigenous communities in Australia, but this is a huge issue in Canadian Indigenous communities as well. In particular, the current push for pipeline development, as well as resource extraction in Indigenous communities.

This article acknowledges that there has been an increased integration of Indigenous knowledge with science (referencing the early 2000’s). It also acknowledges the challenges when Indigenous communities assert their rights over resources, in that the integration can dilute the cultural meaning and undermine conceptions of equality due to pre-existing cultural and racial biases.

Indigenous ways of knowing were denigrated in the science community, but this attitude is changing. There is a long way to go to reconcile Indigenous knowledge with science. I feel that there needs to be an emphasis on collaboration, a sense of open-mindedness and respect.

Indigenous Ecological Knowledge

Government of Canada, Parks Canada Website

Location: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/nature/science/autochtones-indigenous

This is a Government of Canada website, and a subtopic under “Science and Conservation” section of the Parks Canada site. The landing page asserts: “Indigenous peoples have specialized and wide-ranging knowledge of the land and its ecology.” This is an explicit acknowledgement of the importance of Indigenous knowledge to environmental stewardship in Canada.

This site outlines numerous projects that highlight Indigenous collaboration and participation with Parks Canada staff. For example, Folly First Nation helped the salmon return to the Bay of Fundy, or restoring the clam gardens of the Coast Salish peoples.

Of course, it’s important to take this site with a grain of salt. This is a Government of Canada site and thus the information presented is likely to present the relationship between Indigenous people and the government in a positive light. That being said, I think it’s great to see that there are numerous projects that are happening in which Indigenous knowledge is integrating with science. Traditional knowledge about the environment should be playing a role in government policy development.

Towards An Understanding of the Ecology of Indigenous Education

Author: Angelina Weenie- First Nations University of Canada

Location: http://mfnerc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/007_Weenie.pdf

This article looks at some of the challenges in implementing Indigenous education from an epistemological and ontological standpoint. The author begins the article with a beautiful and articulate introduction to herself. She explains that she is Nehiyawak (Cree) based upon her Indigenous identity. She goes on to state that she is by virtue of the 1867 Indian act a treaty Indian, and by virtue of the 1982 Constitution is is an Aboriginal Person. I think this is such a powerful way for the author to present herself, in that it speaks to the multiple ways in which Indigenous people conceptualize themselves, as well as the multiple way in which they are framed culturally or by the government.

Weenie advocates for curriculum to be developed within Indigenous communities as a way to foster and develop sustainability. Instead of depending on the pre-existing curriculum, curriculum needs to be developed in conjunction with Indigenous pedagogies that reference Indigenous ways of knowing.

Weblog Post for Module 3:

Andrew Shedden

The general thread I wanted to follow for the research weblog is Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights.

Cultural Survival: https://www.culturalsurvival.org/

This site is dedicated to “advancing Indigenous People’s Rights and Cultures Worldwide”. This site offers opportunities to donate to support Indigenous People’s right to participate and have a voice to speak in their own language. You can donate either “resources” or “time”, giving multiple opportunities to participate. I think that one of the best ways to empower Indigenous groups is to bring them together. This organization seems like a good way to connect cultures and communities in a way that is mutually advantageous.

Who owns Indigenous cultural and intellectual property- Article by Andrea Bear Nicholas

http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2017/who-owns-indigenous-cultural-and-intellectual-property/

This recent article is a fascinating look at the current Canadian laws surrounding Indigenous Culture and Intellectual property in Canada. Nicholas outlines specific issues with this policy, in which she asserts: “Canada’s laws, on the other hand, have worked not only to ignore and/or specifically deny the rights of Indigenous peoples to practice and maintain their cultural and intellectual property but also to legalize the theft of Indigenous cultural and intellectual property through the Copyright Act”. Nicholas asserts that the government of Canada must implement changes to the law to protect these rights.

IP back to the future: Special Report: Intellectual Property- Article by Jennifer Brown

http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/6047/IP-back-to-the-future.html

This article also deals with legal specifics about Indigenous traditional cultural knowledge, and how this is protected by copyright laws. The author suggests that the current laws aren’t totally suitable to protect Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights. I think a legal perspective is very important on this matter, particularly to how this pertains to Canadian law. Emerging digital technologies are disrupting previously held legislations regarding copyright, and it’s interesting to see how this applies to Indigenous culture and custom.

Inside Views: No Need of IPRs For Protecting Traditional Knowledge- Article by R.S. Praveen Raj

https://www.ip-watch.org/2015/09/03/no-need-of-ipr-route-for-protecting-traditional-knowledge/

This article presents an interesting perspective on Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights. The author here is suggesting that we need to be very careful in assigning Intellectual Property Rights to Traditional Knowledge because this produces “private spaces” in what is traditionally public knowledge. According to the author, Traditional Knowledge Docketing Systems is a way to preserve the location of traditional knowledge, information about the community that possesses traditional knowledge and specific information about community protocol. This author is dealing with primarily Traditional Knowledge from India, but it’s interesting to see this perspective, and to consider how this could be used to inform the future of Canada’s copyright laws in regards to Indigenous Intellectual Property.

World Intellectual Property Organization and Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property- Arts Law: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f66m77mp2m0&t=53s

This video outlines the role of the World Intellectual Policy Organization (WIPO), and how it relates to the protection Indigenous Cultural Expression. This video outlines work done by WIPO to address the needs to protect Indigenous Cultural Expression in terms of international copyright law. It’s interesting to see how this organization is a subset of the United Nations. Most countries have their own specific copyright laws. I would like to know how much real power WIPO has in enforcing copyright considerations for Indigenous people

Module 2 Web Blog- Andrew Shedden

Imagine Native Indigenous Film Festival

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival

This website outlines the Imagine Native Film Festival. There are opportunities for Indigenous content creators to submit their work, networking opportunities and numerous other events. I feel that festivals such as Imagine Native are hugely important, because they are supporting independent media production. I believe that being able to work outside of corporate considerations allows artists to produce art that can be 100% pure to their vision.

Ontario Arts Council Indigenous Artists Grants
http://www.arts.on.ca/grants/priority-group/indigenous-artists
This site outlines the grants available to Indigenous artists funded through the Ontario Arts Council. These include multi-disciplinary artistic mediums, and also include travel and presentation grants. The Ontario Arts Council also offers grants to professional Indigenous Artists to be able to work in schools. These granting programs help support professional artists, and the artist development.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada Aboriginal Arts, Culture and Heritage
https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100012788/1100100012792
This site outlines some of the work that INAC does to help “celebrate, raise awareness of, and preserve Aboriginal arts, culture and heritage”. It outlines INAC’s art collection, as well as providing an artist directory. The site is rather dated looking, and is primarily text based but does provide several excellent resources.

Authentic Identity through Indigenous Art- Bianca Beetson Ted Talk

This is an excellent Ted Talk by Bianca Beetson. In it, she connects her individual identity as an Aboriginal Australian, with the history and culture of Australia itself. I feel that creation of art (regardless of medium) is so crucial to identity. There have been many studies supporting how artistic creation can be therapeutic. I also feel that the arts perform an important role in cultural creation.

Wawatay News
http://wawataynews.ca/
Wawatay plays an important role in isolated First Nation communities in the North. In many communities there aren’t the facilities or the equipment for video productions. Radio has a much lower cost and is easier to produce. In both communities where I have worked (Sachigo Lake and Kashechewan), Wawatay is listened to by many people in the community. Having the radio facility in the community also allows the Chief and Council to communicate directly with members, for instance during the evacuation in Kashechewan. Down south, radio is primarily controlled by corporate interest. In the north, radio still plays an important cultural function.