Author Archives: TREVORSMITNA

Module 4 Weblog from Trevor Smitna Education and Health Resources for Aboriginal Youth

1. http://aboriginalstudents.ca/resources/
For the final weblog, I want to shift from resources for understanding and teaching Aboriginal students to resources for Aboriginal students themselves. This first entry is a repository of links to a variety of scholarships and employment opportunities. It also includes employment preparation for several jobs, such as police officers. The links on this site would be most suited for late Secondary to Post-Secondary level students.

2. http://rccbc.ca/education-and-cmecpd/health-career-preparation/aboriginal-ementoring/
This link is to the Rural Coordination Center of British Columbia. This organization serves to advise the BC Government as well as the Doctors of BC (the former BCMA). The purpose of this website is to provide resources and mentoring to recruit rural doctors, especially targeted at Aboriginal youth to support them moving into the health care field. The site provides contacts and a process to enhance education and obtain a mentor. There is great value in helping Aboriginal youth become doctors and medical practitioners for their own communities.

3. http://aboriginal.ubc.ca/students/prospective/
This link is for prospective and current Aboriginal students at UBC. It connects to resources and information specifically for Aboriginal post-secondary students around Indigenous programs, housing, financing etc. I included this as an example of what Universities and other post-secondary institutions are doing to support Aboriginal students. I found that all the post-secondary institutions I searched have similar resources. This is especially important for Aboriginal students, as it is understood that these students are more likely to fail or drop out of their post-secondary studies (Whitley, J., 2014).
Reference
Whitley, Jessica. “Supporting Educational Success for Aboriginal Students: Identifying Key
Influences.” McGill Journal of Education 49.1 (2014): 155-81. Print.

4. http://canadaworldyouth.org/apply/programs-for-aboriginal-youth/
This link is to the Canada World Youth; Indigenous Youth Leadership Program. This program is designed to provide opportunities to build leadership and employability among Aboriginal youth. The program has four components, youth exchanges, youth forums, internships, and United Nations Seminars. Aboriginal youth have the opportunity for an exchange to live and volunteer in other Indigenous communities around the world.

5. http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/visions/wellness-vol7/connecting-the-dots-promoting-the-wellness-of-urban-aboriginal-youth-and-families-in-bc
My final link is to the “Connecting the Dots” initiative, which, under the umbrella of the Canadian Mental Health Association and the network of Aboriginal Friendship Centers works to provide supports for Aboriginal youth who struggle with mental health and addiction issues. This is an important resource, as many Aboriginal youth struggle with these issues and struggle with finding support. For Aboriginal youth who struggle with mental health issues or addiction, being healthy and well is a vital foundation for being successful with the educational and leadership opportunities above.

From Trevor Smitna, Module 3 Resources for Teaching Trauma Affected Aboriginal Students

1. http://ineducation.ca/ineducation/article/view/75/560
This link is to an article written by Elaine Mordoch and Rainey Gaywish, both of the University of Manitoba Aboriginal Focus Programs. The article is titled Is There a Need for Healing in the Classroom? Exploring Trauma-Informed Education for Aboriginal Mature Students. This article links the difficulty aboriginal students at the post-secondary level have succeeding, to the cultural trauma and PTSD that many aboriginal students live with. I found this an informative piece written with a distinct aboriginal cultural style, the “four lodges”.

2. https://fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/School%20Resources%20Grade%209-12.pdf
This resource is for Grades 9-12 Reconciliation and Social Justice by the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada. For this third and final Weblog I focussed on practical, classroom useful resources and information that teachers can use to understand and support aboriginal students in the classroom. This link has links to resource and information that can be used as a jumping off point for lessons, units, or building one’s own understanding.

3. https://fncaringsociety.com/i-am-witness
I included this link, even though it is part of the previous entry because the power of a Human Rights Tribunal declaring that the Canadian government is still actively discriminating against over 163,000 aboriginal children. This activist style page contains up to date information about the tribunal, background, and can be tailored for younger, Middle School grades as well.

4. http://portal.acc-society.bc.ca/literacy/storytelling
The BC Aboriginal Childcare Society puts out this web resource for educators with the goal of promoting literacy and language development in aboriginal children. I find this link very rich with material for teachers and includes teaching materials and links to classroom ready resources. In my own practice, I find it truly helpful to have resources ready to go that I can use once the school year is steaming along. I appreciate the quality here, and the variety of different Indigenous cultures represented.

5. https://www.edonline.sk.ca/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_127437_1&course_id=_3514_1
My final entry is a resource for teachers who wish to take on the daunting task of educating students about Residential Schools and the resulting cultural trauma. This particular link is a response by the Saskatchewan government to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and includes educational material as well as resources for bringing this incredibly sensitive subject to the classroom. There is a comprehensive section that includes learning resources for students, broken down into appropriate grade levels.

Module 2 from Trevor Smitna Narrowing Research and Resources to Support Aboriginal Students

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.

Module 1

1.  https://sweden.se/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Sami-in-Sweden-low-resolution.pdf

The Sami are indigenous to the arctic in the Nordic countries.  In this information brochure, Sweden provides a brief history of the treatment of the Sami people over time and expounds on how the Swedish government is working with the Sami communities to preserve and support a recovering traditional lifestyle.  Schools are taught in the Sami language, and skills such as reindeer herding, traditional cooking and handcrafts.  This resource can serve as a comparative study between types of government support and legislation for Canadian indigenous communities.

 

2.  http://globalnews.ca/news/2930314/who-was-chanie-wenjack-the-first-nations-child-behind-gord-downies-new-solo-album/

This short heritage minute and accompanying article is a good primer for middle school students, introducing them to Chanie Wenjack, an Indigenous boy who died alone after trying to run away home from a residential school.  I used this link as a jumping off point to introduce Gord Downey’s album and accompanying graphic novel.  There are useful links on the site to allow students to explore further.  I am only able to skim the surface of this topic with students as it is so emotional and traumatic but also something they understand is important to learn.

 

3.  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30079906-wenjack

My third entry is the book Wenjack by Joseph Boyden.  This is the story of Chanie Wenjack, written from the perspective of the various spirits who inhabited the animals around Chanie to observe his final journey along those railway tracks.  With the foundation built in my second link, and some work around oral storytelling and spiritual beliefs, I did this as a read aloud while looking at the music of Gord Downey, videos and writings on the topic.  Residential schools, like studying the holocaust in middle school, can be too broad and graphic to look at in general, depending on the group of kids.  The approach is to look at the topic through individual characters who experienced it.  With the holocaust, it is often told through the story of characters like Anne Frank, for Middle School age students.  For residential schools, this book tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, and is a tragic and emotional read, sometimes difficult to get through, even as the teacher/reader.

 

4.  http://www.cbc.ca/8thfire/aboriginal101.html

CBC’s Eighth Fire series hosted by Wab Kinew, is complete with teaching materials, and links for further elaborations.  The series looks at the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada, and focuses on how young Indigenous people are changing that relationship.  Great for Middle School level or higher.

5.  http://www.vsb.bc.ca/sites/default/files/publications/aeea-june8.pdf

This is the publically available Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement that gives direction to Vancouver schools and reflects how the VSB is working and taking steps to address the learning of aboriginal students.  I work for the VSB, so I am a bit biased, but I think the district is a good example of how public school districts can support both aboriginal learners and teachers to be able to more genuinely support their aboriginal students.