Author Archives: ljstott

I am enrolled in the Masters of Education Technology at UBC. I have just begun the program and am currently working through my second course ETEC 565A. It may be a long journey through the program as I am taking it 'one course at a time' but I am enjoying the courses and the opportunity to once again be a student. I have a varied background - my path is a windy one! I studied International relations and economics, worked briefly in international development, studied resource management, worked in the resource management field and now teach a few courses at BCIT in geographic information systems and digital mapping. I run a small website and multimedia company with business partner Rick and we have a lot of fun dreaming of all the things we can create and do in the digital realm. I am married and have one daughter and live happily at the foot of mountains near fields and streams and woods.

Module 3 | Post 2 New Fire CBC program

This is from the new program on CBC Radio One.  This program is described on the website as follows:

From remote reserves to bustling big cities, join Urban Native Girl Lisa Charleyboy as she brings you to the surprising heart of the conversations important to Aboriginal youth. Drop in as they reveal the complexities, challenges and contradictions of what it means to be young and Indigenous today.

The program plays on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 am and on Thursday evenings at 7:30.  I heard the episode this week and it fits very well with Module 3 and with the videos we watched last week.  The title is “What happens when you leave home?”  The link to this episode is at http://www.cbc.ca/radio/newfire/what-happens-when-you-leave-home-1.3138068.

This resource is a link that I will share with my own students as it is an accessible and weekly contact and link to current issues and youth in indigenous communities in Canada (and from where ever their travels may take them).

Module 3 | Post 1 A Journey into Time Immemorial

In my own research for my final project, I have been directed to this site  by staff in the aboriginal services office at BCIT.  It is a ‘research project’ that resulted in an interactive story told by first nations and developed by people who worked closely with or who are first nation members themselves.  It is a beautiful site and gives a sense of the richness and depth of the culture that existed and exists in the Mission, BC area.   Note:  This site is flash based so will not work well on an iPad or iPhone as it relies on the Flash application.

A Journey into Time Immemorial http://www.sfu.museum/time/en/flash/

Module 2 | Post 5 Video Game “Kisima Innitchua” (Never Alone)

This is a video game from the website Games for Change.   The mission statement for this group is “Catalyzing Social Impact Through Digital Games”.  One of their feature games for education is Kisima Innitchua or Never Alone.  The background for the game provided on the site reads “We paired world class game makers with Alaska Native storytellers and elders to create a game which delves deeply into the traditional lore of the Iñupiat people to present an experience like no other.”   Interesting development in the creation of online media that brings awareness to and is built in collaboration with indigenous cultures.  Is this technology adapted to fit the storytelling culture of the community or the storytelling culture adapted to fit in a popular culture of video gaming and entertainment?

http://neveralonegame.com/

Module 2 | Post 4 History of residential schools ignored in Canadian curriculum

This is a story that is playing on the CBC radio 1 in The Current with Anna Maria Tremonti as I write this blog post.  Great interview with Charlene Bearhead, an education coordinator with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that talks about this opportunity to add this discussion to the Canadian curriculum and the value of doing so for students and for the future of Canada.  If there is a transformational change in the curriculum and in our awareness of the history of residential schools and first nation reality, then this report, the process that created the report and the stories that were painfully shared, then this is a commodity that can be leveraged to change the importance, relevance and priority of this history and its inclusion in our education and dialogue as we move forward in our negotiations and discussions.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-june-10-2015-1.3107341/history-of-residential-schools-ignored-in-canadian-curriculum-1.3107389

 

Module 2 | Post 3 IBC: A commodity of value for the Inuit

The Inuit Broadcasting Corporation or IBC has made the stories and creative voice and images of the Inuit community a commodity not only to the many Inuit communities of the north but to the Canadian and global communities as well.  This site translates the stories and resources into French, English an Inuit  allowing users both within and outside of the community to benefit from the unique perspective of the Inuit film makers and story tellers.   I have a young daughter who is in French immersion and she was fascinated by the channel for youth and the ability to hear the stories in both the languages of Canada that she knows as well as the language of another people of Canada that has been largely inaccessible to her.

http://www.nac.nu.ca/

Module 2 | Post 2 List of interesting films

In the second article for week 2 by Faye Ginsberg (, there is a reference to Sak Kunuk.  In a search for his work, I came across this list of film works that were collected as part of Travelling with the Ancients exhibition of video by indigenous directors.   The Museum of Modern Art in New York is the leader or host of this show but I could not find a reference to the films on their site.   I have started a list below references of the videos I have found.  Please add any that you find as well.  It would be interesting to have a list of videos from this course.

Link to Museum of Modern Art Film Exhibition document:
http://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/7295/releases/MOMA_1994_0081_53.pdf?2010

References:

Ginsberg, F. (2002).  Screen Memories: Resignifying the traditional in indigenous media. In F. Ginsberg, L. Abu-Lughod, & B. Larkin (Eds.), Media worlds: Anthropology on new terrain. (pp.39-57) Berkeley: University of California Press.

List of films found:

  1. Tuqliaq (Ice blocks).  http://www.isuma.tv/en/isuma-productions/tugaliaq-ice-blocks
  2. A Dancing People.  http://aifg.arizona.edu/film/dancing-people-yupiit-yuraryarait
  3. Quilliq (oil lamp).  https://www.isuma.tv/arnaitvideo/qulliq-oil-lamp

 

Module 2 | Post 1 Playing with stereotypes

Why White people are Funny.   I found this video on the National Film Board site of Canada.  This is playful poke at the white community from the Inuit perspective.  Filmmaker Mark Sandiford and Inuit writer and satirist Zebedee Nungak created this short video as part of a larger series called Unikkausivut – Sharing our Stories.  I like this video because it is humorous and allows the outsider a window into the perspectives, humor and values of the Inuit people through their amusement at the behavior, attitudes and oddities of visitors to their communities.   This is an example of how stereotypes can provide a useful role in breaking down boundaries and potentially eliminate a defensive or painful reaction to white or colonial behavior and impacts on Inuit people.

https://www.nfb.ca/playlists/unikkausivut-sharing-our-stories/viewing/qallunaat_why_white_people_are_funny

Module 1 | Post 5 A link to my own place

As I stated in an earlier post, I grew up in Salmon Arm which is located on Shuswap Lake and is located approximately 500 km to the North and East of Vancouver, British Columbia.  The Neskonlith band has a community that lives on the outskirts of Salmon Arm and they also have several communities near Chase, BC.   Chief Judy Wilson is the current leader of this band.  She is an interesting person and has an varied background in technology, communication and education.  Her experience includes audio-visual production, book publishing, broadcast journalism and web planning. She has completed the second year of a First Nations Public Administration program and is working towards a Master’s Degree in Public Relations.  She is a role model for her own community as Derik Joseph defines one in his paper and talk.

I found a wealth of resources and links on this site and want to share them here with ETEC 521 students.  It is a wealth of information about issues and content important to the community and it is an example of how technology is being used to build and share knowledge both within and outside the community.

For a past class, we were asked to create a digital story.  I created one and tied it to the places I have been and worked.  I thought it appropriate to share it here as we start the course and tie myself to place and share in the tradition of providing my own context and perspective before embarking on my journey in this course or sharing my perspective on the readings and my view of the world.

 

Module 1 | Post 4 Technology, Language and Education

A few months ago, I visited the Royal BC Museum and the exhibit they are currently hosting on Our Living Language-First Peoples’ Voices in British Columbia.   The link to the website is available at the bottom of this post and in the link here.   If you have a chance to go to the museum and experience it yourself, I would highly recommend it as it an excellent introduction into the rich and diverse array of languages and cultures that exist in BC and it also a shock to see how little remains of the population who is fluent in these languages.  Give the age of many of the fluent speakers, audio and video recording technology as well as online technology provide great opportunity for capturing and preserving the language for future generations as well as for sharing and engaging youth in learning their own language and heritage.  Not only that, but in many cases it is the young that are taking the initiative to learn, record and then distribute language in their community and this gives them a sense of purpose and the ability to contribute and define how education and technology define learning for their generation and for future generations.   I have included the link to the museum and a link to a 2010 report on the status of First Nation Languages in BC. On page 15 of this report, they reference recordings, curriculum materials, and computer-based archiving as the three most important areas of resources in language revitalization.

Our Living Languages  | Royal BC Museum   http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/our-living-languages/

Report on the Status of B.C. First Nation Languages 2010.

Module 1 | Post 3 Educated and Clueless

This should have been the first post.  I have had the experience of feeling clueless with regard to my understanding of the perspective, culture and means to relate and connect to indigenous people on many occasions.   It started in my own community where the Shuswap nation lived on the edge of town but I knew nothing of them beyond the boundary of the the reserve lands, a place we did not go and were forbidden by our parents to enter.  There was a brief reference to First Nation culture in our school teams and games where we divided the school into Nootka, Haida, Nisga and one more that I no longer remember and likely a name that is no longer used.  It was as if they did not exist and even though I had very well educated parents who had a number of friends from the First Nation community, I as a child and young adult do not remember any stories or cultural references that were shared and incorporated into my education.  I learned greek myths, norse myths, irish myths and even a few chinese myths but none from the First Nations of BC.

In highschool, one boy was from the local reserve and I remember only that he was the lone representative from his community though there must have been many youth his age that could have come to the school.  In college, he was given an apartment and well funded for his education and I remember discussions of resentment that his education should be ‘for free’ while the rest of us paid for ours.    I did not cross the ‘border’ between he and I and ask questions though and the opportunity to understand or at least inquire was lost.

Despite my utter lack of education and understanding of my own country, I remained very interested in the plight of indigenous in other places and eventually went to work in southern Mexico because I wanted the chance to learn more about the Mayan and the ecological and economic challenges they face.  After 4 years of education in a degree that focused on indigenous issues in Latin America, I was ill prepared to deal with the realities of the Mayan and the complexity within each community and region that made the efforts of outsiders bent on improving the situation ridiculous.  If anything, much of what we did made it worse and most of this due to a poor understanding of the culture, worldview and actual needs of these communities.  Marker’s article (2006) on the limits of multicultural discourse rung true for my own experience, not only in Mexico but for a number of projects I have participated in since upon return to my own home and place in BC.  In Hare’s article too, the idea of two-worlds is true and I agree with him that all Canadians would benefit from the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in our education (2011).   Had I learned from indigenous knowledge as a child, I believe I would have had a far richer understanding of the Shuswap area and its history, the people who shared the valley with us and this would have greatly improved my own ability to travel, grasp and integrate the understanding of others into my work abroad and greatly increased my capacity as a professional in both the education and the resource management sector.

References

Marker, M. (2006).  After the Makah Whale Hunt: Indigenous Knowledge and Limits to Multicultural Discourse. Urban Education,  41(5), 482-505.

Hare, J. (2011). Learning from Indigenous knowledge in education. In D. Long and O. P. Dickenson (Eds.), Visions of the heart, 3rd Edition (pp. 91-112). Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.