The youth at Standing Rock are shown in this YouTube video. The video highlights how the youth piloted the movement to protest their sacred burial grounds and drinking water from potential contamination caused by the Dakota Access pipeline. The video highlights active youth involved in this movement, sharing their stories and experiences on an open platform. The youth council’s goal was to be at this location and pray, not to antagonize the police. I found it very eye-opening to understand the heart of the protest and gain a better understanding about how and why the Indigenous Youth Council fought so hard for this movement. It was interesting to hear their personal stories, outlining how they feel perceived by others and what they want to change.
Category Archives: Module 3
Module 3 Weblog: Post 3
https://www.mitacs.ca/en/impact/well-being-indigenous-youth-enhanced-arts-and-culture-activities
As we discussed in the Week 8 postings, it was evident in the module videos that youth in many communities have limited involvement with traditional ways of life, aside from what they are taught by elders. Many of the youth expressed a desire to learn more about traditional sewing, singing, language and other art forms. The Mitac program funds students to complete research in Canada. This particular student Jessica Blain from Australia focused on evaluating arts based cultural programs in an attempt to fully understand their effect. She focused on theatre based programs to improve mental health and well being. I found this article interesting because it highlighted Jessica’s experience in Canada and made connections between her experiences with Indigenous culture here in Canada and in Australia. I think it is positive to draw connections where appropriate and make links to programs that are creating positive impact in Indigenous communities globally.
Module 3 – Weblog – Tanya Walsh
Below you will find some additional resources on Spirituality in Indigenous Education:
- Battiste, M. (2008, March 26 -29). Nourishing the Learning Spirit: Elder’s Dialogue. Saskatoon, SK: Aboriginal Education Research Centre, University of Saskatchewwan. Retrieved from http://aerc.usask.ca/downloads/Nourishing-the-Learning-Spirit-Elders-Dialogue-8.pdf
- This is an outline of the proceeds from a conference of elders from diverse language groups gathered to discuss the concepts of lifelong learning and the learning spirit.
- They define the ‘learning journey’ as a “holistic outcome of diverse conditions, contexts, relationships, education, training, and connections with a living universe” (Battiste, 2008. p. 12).
- They discuss how an acknowledgment of the spirit world is an integral part of the learning journey and must be honoured through ceremony and relationships with spiritual leaders in the community.
- George, N. (2008). Aboriginal Adult Literacy: Nourishing Their Learning Spirits. Saskatoon, SK: Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre, University of Saskatchewan. Retrieved from http://fneii.ca/NourishingSpirits_LitReview_en_1_.pdf
- This is a literature review on Aboriginal literacy designed to provide information and direction for those working in the field of Aboriginal literacy.
- It describes people as having a body, heart, mind and spirit, with spirit being the most important part because that is the essence of who you are. Therefore, they state that it is imperative that adult educators engage learners spiritually by helping them make meaning out of what they are learning, in order to help them answer their deepest questions, as these are a people who believe that we are one with creation, not separate from it.
- The learning spirit is the state of being that facilitates learning and will help a person fulfill his/her purpose for being in this life.
- Kitchen, J., Cherubini, L, Trudeau, L., & Hodson, J. (2009, Fall). Aboriginal education as cultural brokerage: New aboriginal teachers reflect on language and culture in the classroom. McGill Journal of Education, 44(3), 355-376. Retrieved from: http://mje.mcgill.ca/article/viewFile/2853/3980
- This is an interesting report on six Aboriginal teachers in Ontario using a talking circle to explore their roles as teachers as they prepare their students to walk between two parallel but very different worlds.
- They state that Aboriginal education is oriented around a ‘spiritual centre’ and that it is important that aboriginal teachers attend to their own healing if they are going to be expected to heal and teach others.
- Micallef, S. (2017, January 23). Our dreaming: The Indigenous link between the physical and the spiritual. SBS Radio. Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/culture/article/2017/01/18/our-dreaming-indigenous-link-between-physical-and-spiritual-world
- “Our Aboriginal spirituality is a link from the past to the present a shared pathway that helps us to understand more about where we come from and who we are as people.” (Micalleff, 2017, para. 16).
- This site tells a particular creation story. However, more importantly, it explains the importance of handing down ‘dreaming’ stories as part of Aboriginal education in Australia. These stories link people over time to physical places in creation. Micallef also describes how the land then becomes a cultural connection to their prehistoric history.
- Weenie, A. (2012). Toward and understanding of the ecology of Indigenous education. Retrieved from http://mfnerc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/007_Weenie.pdf
- This article discusses the concept of ‘spiritual ecology’ which is the “application of special intellectual, ritual, psychological, and spiritual teaching tools that facilitated deep levels of learning and understanding” (Cajete, 1994, p. 223, as cited in Weenie, 2012, p. 59) and which is the essence of meaningful and constructive Indigenous curriculum.
- For Weenie, ceremonies and traditional activities, like storytelling, provide a ‘spiritual sustenance’. In time, the deep significance of these teachings can induce direct and powerful understandings of basic truths about how to interact with the world.
- The Elders teachings that ‘everything has a spirit’ leads to the principle of living in harmony with the environment and developing healthy communities.
Module 3 Weblog: Post 2
By using a format common among youth to spread a message, I think the IndigenousEnviroNet are being proactive and raising a great deal of awareness. With over 30,000 followers, they have found a way to channel Indigenous voices and reach a large platform of individuals. Twitter is an interesting platform because of its restrictive and concise nature. I find that in many cases, this is a benefit to the platform. Twitter posts often break down more complex themes and messages and make them accessible. Sometimes things may be over simplified, but I think it is an excellent way to inspire interest. The IndigenousEnviroNet tackles topics from politics, environment, social and ecological justice and much more.
Module 3 Weblog: Post 1
http://actua.ca/en/programs/national-aboriginal-outreach-program
I found the Week 8 discussions and videos quite eye opening. So, in finding postings for this Module’s weblog, I wanted to focus on Indigenous Youth and what opportunities exist for them. InSTEM is a culturally relevant program that is community based and aims to connect Indigenous Youth with STEM projects. The program has a very broad reach of around 30,000 youth in over 200 communities. It was recognized by Indspire and is regarded as a successful practice in Indigenous education.
The programs are designed to build upon previous knowledge and facilitate collaboration and creativity. Programs are designed as camps, clubs and workshops. There are workshops related to mining, coding, mentorship, northern ways of life and many others. InSTEM has found a way to marry traditional ways with current educational practices and focuses. They have taken in to account ecological and cultural practices to ensure safe and appropriate workshops that will benefit its participants.
Module 3 Weblog: Jocelynn Mortlock
In this module and in preparation for my project on digital language revitalization, my goal was to seek out case studies and resources, to help communities strength their language, identity and culture. Below is a collection of a few sites that provided some valuable information towards the attitudes of various Indigenous communities trying to renew their familiarity with their cultural identity through language.
Galley, V. (2012). Reconciliation and Revitalization of Indigenous Languages. Speaking my truth.
http://speakingmytruth.ca/?page_id=765
- The Speaking My Truth website holds a collection of articles and essays by and for Indigenous people looking to revitalize a culture disrupted by Residential schools, government neglect and colonialism. The site includes personal narratives of community members and their encounters with cultural conflict within themselves and the community. This chapter in particular discusses the challenges Indigenous communities of Canada have faced so far in the pursuit towards revitalizing a language, therefore, a culture. The author points out a number of historical events and neglectful actions on the part of the Government of Canada in acknowledging and pursuing proper Indigenous languages laws. The author concludes by stating:
“A substantial long-term and sustained investment for language revitalization would be in keeping with the spirit of reconciliation as would official recognition in the form of federal statutory legislation.”
Much is still to be done on the part of the government in reconciling the loss of language, but with the support of the Federal Government and public education system, revitalization of indigenous languages is possible.
Parkhill, M. Indigenous Language Revitalization. Say IT First.
- Mike Parkhill is an active promoter of revitalizing Indigenous languages. He is the founder of the children’s books Say IT First, which are tailored to children aged 2-5 for optimal language learning. He believes that in order to prevent the complete loss of language and culture for Indigenous communities, we need to “digitize the older peoples’ knowledge and incorporate it in a way that this information will get consumed by the younger generation”. His goal with the Say IT First children’s books are to reach out to all kindergarten and grade 1 classes with Aboriginal students, to ensure they have copies of the books, or access to the online versions of them. The site contains links to the youtube channel for the books, information about the project, and resources for High School culturally relevant curriculum, where Our Connections videos have been produced in English and in Ojibwe, to enable language learning to continue at the grade 11 & 12 level.
Baloy, N. (2011). “We Can’t Feel Our Language”: Making Places in the City for Aboriginal Language Revitalization. American Indian Quarterly. 35 (4), 515-548.
- The author of this article argues that there is a hunger for traditional knowledge and thirst for aboriginal language from the Squamish nation youth within the confines of the city, yet educational efforts need to be pursued beyond the classroom to assist in “promoting connections between land, language, and identity. She presents three challenges aboriginal people face when trying to learn the language and culture of their ancestry: a separation of identity through limited opportunities to learn in the city rather than on the reserve, a lack of public language addressing the diverse language needs of urban aboriginal communities, and finally a need to “make places” for language for nonlocal members who feel the need to connect to their homeland while living in an urban setting. Baloy presents a number of possible solutions to combat the challenges of “making places for languages”, including ways in which the internet, cultural expression through song and dance, and language immersion camps can be utilized to promote change.
Wood, S. (2014 January 22). Despite limited resources, indigenous-language programs persevere in B.C. Georgia Straight.
- This article from the Georgia Straight paints a hopeful perspective on Indigenous language revitalization efforts for communities of the Squamish Nation and beyond. Wood details the integration of “language nests modelled after those introduced in New Zealand” for language modernization and revitalization. Wood describes these language nests as immersive programs, similar to French Immersion, where preschool and early elementary-aged children receive instruction in the aboriginal language of the community. Wood also points out the importance of the website First Voices, that I have mentioned in an earlier weblog, which provides rich language content and resources for learning an indigenous language in Canada.
Squamish Nation Education Department (SNED)
- The ‘About Us’ section of the Squamish Nation’s Education Department website provides an in-depth, modern, and relevant information regarding the Squamish nation, from the history to the culture to government protocols and agreements. The culture page emphasizes the importance of the Skwxwú7mesh Snichim (Squamish language) and its meaning as a Coast Salish people, who used to not include the word “nation” as everyone was considered a “people”. The site also provides plenty of links and resources for youth and community members wishing to keep updated with news within the Squamish Nation. Furthermore, the website includes an ‘Opportunities’ page where teachers may apply for jobs within the Education Department, from language teachers to program coordinators.
Module 3 Resources (Lindsay Spencer)
Throughout Module 3, I was struck by the term “decolonization” and what educators can do to respond to existing structures within society. As such, I chose to focus my research in this module around changes to curriculum, particularly regarding the incorporation of indigenous languages.
Resource #1: “Decolonizing the curriculum: it’s time for a strategy”
I found this article useful because first, it reminds us that this changes to curriculum are not specific to Canada but rather, a challenge that exists in numerous places throughout the globe as a result of imperialism. Second, it breaks down the challenges and necessary changes that need to take place. Ultimately, it leaves us with a note, or a call to action. Unless a policy change is made soon, content and educational strategies will be no different in 10 years- this is not something that we can wait to change organically.
Resource #2: “Indigenous principles decolonizing teacher education: What we have learned”
This resource outlines the need for change within post-secondary teacher education programs by using the Lil’wat principles as a reference for guidance. When I reflect on my own experience in the B.Ed program, I was not equipped with the skills nor understanding to inform my practice with regarding to indigenous ways of knowing. With this in mind, how can I appropriately respond to the changes in the new curriculum? I certainly have a lot of work to do to catch up. In any case, this resource outlines where distinctions need to be made. What was of particular interest to me is the comparison of Euro-American and Indigenous ways of knowing.
Resource #3: “First Nations Languages and Improving Student Outcomes”
This paper was submitted to the Assembly of First Nations and demonstrates that there is a positive correlation between teaching students in their native language and their performance in school. The paper outlines international efforts to combat the disappearance of indigenous languages all over the world. What I found most interesting was the argument concerning immersion programs. Rather than simply offering a class in a language specific to a community,bilingual immersion programs where students learn in both English and their community’s language rendered positive results. These positive results were not just specific to their academic performance but also student engagement, self-esteem and cultural identity.
Resource #4: “What more schools need to teach bilingual education to indigenous children”
This article was published recently (June 2017) to voice the need for teaching indigenous children in bilingual environments. The argument in this article echos the ideas in my third resource. However, it also notes that the significance of this strategy was first recognized in the 1960s. Unfortunately however, due to a lack of qualified teachers and the need for community support, establishing these kinds of programs has been difficult. The article finishes with a call to support more action and investment in Aboriginal education in Australia.
Resource #5: National Geographic- Enduring Voices Project
This resources is a little different from those I have noted above. National Geographic has formed a project to digitally archive language in an attempt to combat the disappearance of indigenous languages throughout the globe. This might me a useful resource moving forward- particularly in our classrooms as we seek to improve our understanding of various communities.