Author Archives: tiffany tseng

Biology 20 Aboriginal Resources (Alberta)

Biology 20 Aboriginal Resources

This University of Alberta website provides various topics in biology that follow the Alberta education curricular outcomes.  These resources include the Indigenous climate, herbal medicine, photosynthesis, sustainability.  These resources provide excellent ideas for teachers to introduce biology and science from the aboriginal perspective.

Indigenous Knowledge & Sustainability

Indigenous Knowledge & Sustainability

This “Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future” is a program launched by the United Nations system, UNESCO, in the hope to reach teachers in the world to teach our younger generation about sustainability.   The website clearly outlines the dimensions of sustainability and discusses how to incorporate a sustainable future across different curriculums.

Sealaska Heritage Foundation

Sealaska Heritage Foundation

Sealaska Heritage Foundation is a Native non-profit organization.  Their mission is to “perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures, and promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding”.  This website offers programs regarding the aboriginal culture, tools for teachers, as well as language resources.  The foundation also works with local schools and produce Alaska’s second-largest Native gathering

Bioregional Education Curricula & Essays

Bioregional Education Curricula & Essays

The Planet Drum Foundation was founded in San Francisco in 1973.   Their focus is on researching and promoting bioregionalism.  By definition, bioregionalism is “a grassroots approach to ecology that emphasizes sustainability, community self-determination and regional self-reliance” (taken from the website).  This website offers various reports, workshop information, and events related to bioregionalism.

Culturally Responsive Teaching (Brown University)

Culturally Responsive Teaching

This Brown University website recognizes the importance of culture in learning.  It lists the “What”, “Why” and “How” of  the seven aspects of culturally responsive teaching.   These aspects include positive perspectives on parents and families, communicating of high expectations, as well as allowing students to learn within the context of their culture. Furthermore, teacher instruction should be student-centred and culturally mediated.   These principles can be applied to our everyday classroom.

Living Knowledge: Indigenous Knowledge in Science Education

http://livingknowledge.anu.edu.au/index.htm

This website is a project put together by the Australian Research Council.  The goal of the website is to find good ways for teachers to incorporate aboriginal traditional knowledge in the NSW (Australian) high school curriculum.  Resources are provided to bridge the gap between the indigenous traditional knowledge and western science.  This website also provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide on how to introduce indigenous perspectives in western education.

First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada

www.fncaringsociety.com

This non-profit organization was developed in 1998 at a national meeting of the First Nations Child and Family Services Agencies.  First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada provide care and resources to aboriginal children, families and youth.   They also promote equity and social justice movements to help aboriginal youth make a difference in their own future.

West Coast Environmental Law

http://wcel.org/resources/environmental-law-alert/aboriginal-traditional-knowledge-and-environmental-decision-making

West Coast Environmental Law is an organization in B.C. that provides information and guidance to those people who want to protect the environment.  This website contains numerous resources on various environmental issues and topics in B.C.  In particular, they discuss how indigenous traditional knowledge can be incorporated into the decision making process in environmental issues.

Indigenous culture and intellectual property

http://www.aitb.com.au/information-sheets/entry/indigenous-cultural-and-intellectual-property-icip

ICIP stands for “Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property”.  As stated on the website, “ICIP refers to all the rights that indigenous people have, and want to have, to protect their traditional arts and culture”.  This website explains what the ICIP covers, and how the Australian law protects the ICIP.

Parliament of Canada – indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights

http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/prb0338-e.htm

This website contains information released by the Parliamentary Research Branch of Canada.  It explains how the indigenous traditional knowledge is different from western science, and why it is important to protect traditional knowledge.  A list of references, as well as electronic copies of reports are included.