Author Archives: jltarney

SQUAMISH LIL’WAT CULTURAL CENTRE

The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC) is a joint project between Whistler and the Squamish and Lil’wat tribes of B.C. What I love about this website, is that not only is this a cultural centre that is run by First Nations that one can go and visit, but through the website you can look at and even purchase art and products from First Nations’ artisans. This allows one to celebrate a culture, without appropriation. You can also learn about the legends and symbology behind a lot of the images used in First Nation art.

http://slcc.ca

For more information on the histories of the tribes, one can read further through the links below.

http://www.squamish.net

http://www.lilwat.ca

Module 2, Post 5

Native Appropriations

In my search for sites detailing the topic of cultural appropriation, I found this great blog, written by Adrienne Keene (Cherokee), a doctoral student at Harvard University. Through this sit, Keene sheds light on the subject of cultural appropriation which provides a great entry into learning more about the subject of and to begin to have a discourse around the connotation of appropriation.

http://nativeappropriations.com

Module 2, Post 4

Transforming the Teacher in Indigenous Education

In this Ted Talk Darwin, Chris Garner talks about learning lessons from teaching in the 50s and 60s in remote Australia to help combat low attendance and graduation rates for Aboriginal children. He argues that the traditional urban philosophy that potential x effort = success needs to be changed to help increase the success of aboriginal students. After 6 years of implementation and research Garner discusses the increase that they saw in attendance and graduation by changing the formula to potential x effort + relative to their own context = success

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMfBeotD8gc

Module 2, Post 3

Project 562

This engaging Tedx Talk by Matika Wilbur tells stories and histories of Native Americans that she has documented during her Project 562, a quest to accurately and authentically show and tell the stories from each of the officially recognized tribes in the USA. (Now 566)

Makita wishes to compact the stereotypes and one-dimensional portrayals of Native American images in the media.

Ted Talk- Changing the Way we see Native Americans https://youtu.be/GIzYzz3rEZU

Project 562 http://www.project562.com

Module 2 Entry 2

CODECAN Burt Award

CODECAN is an organization which aims to improve literacy around the world through a variety of strategies. One of which, is to acknowledge and distribute high-quality literary resources to students. The Burt Award specifically honours First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature. The Burt Award is given in partnership of the following partners: the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the National Association of Friendship Centres, the Association of Canadian Publishers, the Canada Council for the Arts, Frontier College and GoodMinds. Through this website, educators can access quality literature for students, and First Nations, Métis and, Inuit authors can be awarded and published, spreading their works around.

http://www.codecan.org/burt-award-canada

Module 2, Post 1

Vanishing Cultures Project

The Vanishing Cultures Project (VCP) partners with worldwide indigenous groups in an attempt to safeguard cultural values and practices. They aim to collaborate in order to document lifestyles and traditions; creating a digital archive. I find this a very important issue due to the rapid globalization and loss of traditional knowledge, however I wonder what the best way is to compact that massive loss, and if this is a positive alternative?

The VCP has 4 main functions:

Documentation of an indigenous community facing great change.
Education to raise awareness about the struggles, issues, and customs of indigenous peoples.
Advocacy for global diversity and Indigenous rights.
Fundraising after each documentary after which profits are donated directly back to the indigenous community to help fund grassroots cultural initiatives.

To find out more:

http://www.vcproject.org/about/what_we_do/

Module 1, Post 5

ABC Indigenous Portal

The ABC Indigenous Portal is a fantastic site that collects and distributes Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander stories from around Australia. In conjunction with the Australian Broadcasting Channel, this site offers stories and news features in a variety of formats from radio, news, tv, and more. The reporters are Aboriginal and the stories and reports are all on Aboriginal issues, news, stories, ect.

http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/default.htm

Module 1, Post 4

The Circle of Courage

In my school, we have used the Circle of Courage woven throughout everything we teach. It was developed originally as a program to help at-risk First Nation students to avoid issues like alcoholism, drop-outs, ect. The main tenets are Belonging; Mastery; Independence; and Generosity. It was found that those students most connected to these tenets had more success. This site offers more information about the Circle of Courage and resources.

https://www.starr.org/training/youth

Module 1, Post 3

Tukitaarvik

This site is an interesting project aimed to help Inuit university students in Canada have improved access to university education in the Arctic. This program aims to connect students with helpful resources, and times to research Inuit participation in University education throughout Inuit Nunangat; to promote a national discussion in order to improve program deliver and curriculum development.

http://Tukitaarvik.ca

Module 1, Post 2

Niitsitapiisinni: Our Way of Life

This site is a digital exploration of Alberta’s Blackfoot People. It is infused with language, pictures and videos, with limited writing and allows listeners to hear about traditional ways of life, stories, and to hear the Blackfoot language spoken. Besides the engaging interactivities (which are the best when exploring the Flash version), my favourite thing about this site is that it was made in partnership between the Glenbow Museum and the people of the Blackfoot First Nation. This helps make the site authentic and not an example of cultural appropriation. I appreciate that you can see the names of the Blackfoot people that helped create it. It actually goes along with a physical exhibit and books.

http://www.glenbow.org/blackfoot/EN/html/index.htm

Module 1, Post 5

Module 1, Post 4

Module 1, Post 3

Module 1, Post 2

Module 1, Post 1