Tag Archives: Aboriginal Education

Dana’s Contributions to Module 4

Aboriginal Nations Education Division (ANED) for School District 61

So many amazing resources from my school district’s Aboriginal Education team. You can find pretty much anything you want here, or use this website as a launch point to bring authentic, Indigenous knowledge into your classroom or workplace.

Having said this, I found this resource on this site, that was developed by the BC government in 2006. It targets Kindergarten through Grade 10, and for the most part, looks like a useful document. However, when searching for material for my ETEC 521 paper, I did uncover something that did not sit well with me on p.82. It suggests that in Mathematics 10, that educators and students research the statistics surrounding Aboriginal graduation rates.  Although graduation rates have been slowly improving over the years, they are still below the provincial average.  An exercise such as this will consequently perpetuate stereotypes amongst non-Indigenous students and potentially send Indigenous students harmful messaging.  This document was produced by the Ministry of Education, who used Indigenous community members and educators to assist with its creation, however, at the end of the day, the MOE was the entity in charge of the final product. Who was the person who added this terrible idea to a government resource? In general, it is difficult to find culturally responsive material for academic Math 10, so did somebody “pad” this section without being informed? I find it very difficult to believe that any Indigenous person would think that this was a good idea!!

Four Directions Teachings

Click on the image to go directly to this interactive website that shares Indigenous knowledge from five First Nations from across Canada.  Drumming, storytelling, sound effects and beautiful graphics are clearly shared and described in these teachings. Be sure to spend time with the Teacher Resource package that is linked on the first page, as well.  My only disappointment is that the Coast Salish was not included in this resource, as this would help my non-Indigenous students connect more to the land that they live on and to the people who were here before colonization.  Barring that, this seems to be a great site for not only learning about specific Nations, but to also dispel stereotypes that promote pan-Indigenous homogenization.

Victoria’s booming shoebox campaign part of “reconciliaction”

This article was recently posted in the Victoria News, a local, community newspaper.  A family of Metis heritage has started a campaign that creates shoeboxes filled with age appropriate gifts for Indigenous youth who presumably are living in poverty conditions, north of Smithers, BC.

Having grown up in a state of lower, lower middle class myself, I think that I would have loved to have received a shoebox full of trinkets as a child. Sometimes when I was young, I did not think that anybody cared about me, and that I was more of a hassle, than anything else. I would imagine that Indigenous youth, in isolated towns, who may not have a heck of a lot to do or to live on, would be prone to feeling this way, as well.  Suicide rates in some communities, definitely exemplify this sentiment, in the worst possible way.

So my hat goes off to these young girls who are not only filling shoeboxes and but rallying others to do the same.  We all need to feel like somebody cares about us, that is the TRUTH!

However, is it fair for the editors of the newspaper to make a play on words, turning “reconciliation”  to “reconciliaction”? Hmmm… that part is not sitting well with me. Is it not the government’s role to “reconciliact”? It seems to me that this family is NOT enacting reconciliation via their noble campaign.  True, they are addressing the oppressive, harmful effects that colonization has had on Nations and their people. But this is not reconciliation…

What does reconciliation mean to you?

So what does reconciliation truly mean? Here are six individuals perspectives from a 2016 CBC article.  Spoiler alert: none of them mentioned shoeboxes…

This.

My Kiwi Godfather posted this on his Facebook feed this week and I had to share.

“Colonization has forced stereotyping

To become a household name

Which resides under our beds

Becoming the monsters that we are now scared of.”

The raw talent of Kia Kaha is unreal and inspirational. When students are given the freedom to have their voices heard, powerful, life changing moments can and will transpire.

 

 

The need for supporting Indigenous students from the top down and the ground up. (Mod 4- Post 1-5)

Watching the interview with Tim Michel sparked my ideas for discussion for Web Blog Module 4 because the connections he made about the lack of understanding and foresight surrounding Indigenous post-secondary education connects with the area of my group’s research about Indigenous students in STEM/STEAM education and careers. Michel mentions that a career fair, he witnessed universities continually asking prospective students to sign up to their mailing lists.  He realized after discussion with many of the Aboriginal students that about 40% didn’t have an email, couldn’t access e-mail, or didn’t have access to a computer at home. It seems there is still quite a disconnect between post-secondary education and our indigenous communities.  We can commend many Canadian universities for reducing barriers Indigenous students face, one of which is financial, by providing substantial scholarships and bursaries to help financially support Indigenous students.  Moreover, the government of Canada “To ensure that First Nation and Inuit students have the same opportunities for success as other Canadian students… …will increase funding to the Post-Secondary Student Support Program by $90 million over two years, beginning in 2017–18.”  This is in addition to “[t]he current budget for the Post-secondary Student Support Program is $340 million which supports approximately 23, 000 First Nation and Inuit Students.”

For more details click here

However, the focus on providing financial means is a bit like putting the cart before the horse if we are unable to support Indigenous youth completing high school with the checklist of requirements, or even at all.

The Canadian labour market is critically understaffed in many technological fields.  So much so, that many fortune 500 companies are hiring students before they even graduate and starting them with a six-figure income.  Yet despite this, universities are finding lower enrollments in STEM/STEAM courses like computer science. (CBC News)

In an article by Ellie Bothwell from Times Higher Education, she discusses how Canadian Universities can bring more Indigenous Peoples and knowledge. In her article, she notes that “Aboriginal people are the fastest-growing demographic in Canada. More than 1.6 million people – or 4.9 percent of the country’s total population – self-identify as indigenous, according to the 2016 National Household Survey, representing a 42.5 per cent increase since 2006.”

Universities need Indigenous peoples. To help fill out a workforce in STEM/STEAM careers is just one of the many reasons why.  But not enough is being done prepare and provide skills for Indigenous students.  A report by Randstad looks at Canada’s technical shortage and addresses the need to expand the talent pool to more individuals.  Randstad notes: “Statistics for STEM skills among Aboriginal people are even more discouraging. In 2013, 10 percent of the total working-age population of Aboriginals had a university degree compared with 26 percent of the non-Aboriginal population. Making up 3.7 percent of the adult population, only 2.6 percent of people with a post-secondary degree are Aboriginal. Clearly doing more to promote the study of STEM-related disciplines among the Aboriginal population is necessary. As the study points out, the inclusion of people with diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas creates a wider talent pool with deeper assets. ” (p. 5).

What we can see in statistics is reiterated in the academic research and literature and that is the need to couple Indigenous knowledge with 21st-century learning in order to increase the success rate of Aboriginal learners. As Munroe, Borden, Orr, Toney, and Meader (2013) write that it’s essential “to ensure that Aboriginal children maintain their cultural identity while achieving their formal education” and  “that schools that respect and support a child’s culture and language demonstrate significantly better outcomes for students” (p. 319).

Click the following articles for more on culturally response education.

Munroe, Elizabeth Ann; Lisa Borden,; Anne Orr,; Denise Toney,; Jane Meader,. “Decolonizing Aboriginal Education in the 21st Century.” McGill Journal of Education (Online). McGill Journal of Education. 2013.

Nicol, C., Archibald, J., & Baker, J. (2013). Designing a model of culturally responsive mathematics education: Place, relationships and storywork. Mathematics Education Research Journal (Springer), 25, 73-89.

That’s why programs like ANCESTOR (AboriginNal Computer Education through STORytelling) are not only successful but essential.  Students at LÁU,WELNEW Tribal School in Brentwood Bay have animate stories that hold meaning to them and in return, produce outstanding results. As their teacher notes: “Translating arm and arrow movement into animation involved an incredible level of problem-solving and I’ve seen it spill into other parts of his education such as improvement in math. He has turned into the classroom problem-solver,”. For more information on the ANCESTOR project, review the link below.

Weston M., Biin D. (2015) The Ancestor Project: Aboriginal Computer Education Through Storytelling. In: Isaías P., Spector J., Ifenthaler D., Sampson D. (eds) E-Learning Systems, Environments and Approaches. Springer, Cham

 

 

Promoting and protecting language through media, technology, and connected communities.

First Peoples’ Cultural Council

The First People’s Cultural Council is a BC Provincial Crown Corporation formed in 1990 and supported by the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Act with a mandate to assist BC First Nations in their efforts ot revitalize their languages, arts, and cultures.

As my research is focussing on the use of technology for the preservation of language, I was interested to see this site outline First Nations’ language support across various funding categories, including:  Mentorship-Apprentice, Language and Culture Camps, the BC Language Initiative, and the FirstVoices resource that I have mentioned in previous posts.

This site is a fulsome resource for many facets of language learning and language preservation including a Language Toolkit for communities wishing to develop language revitalization projects.

 

Status of Aboriginal Languages in Canada

This page is not so much a tremendous resource, as it is a great infographic (and who doesn’t love infographics) provided by a company called WinTranslation, which is an Ottawa-based for-profit translation service.  Providing language translation is important for many reasons in the corporate, advertising, and communications world, and I was very pleased to see that this company provides peer-reviewed translation services into over 35 of Canada’s Aboriginal Languages.

Census 2016: The Aboriginal Languages of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit

This Statistics Canada webpage is a summary of information from the 2016 Canadian census and is current as of October 25, 2017.  It contains a number of significant highlights including a growth of over 3% in the number of Aboriginal People who could speak an Aboriginal Language over the past decade.  So much of what we read speaks of a decline in Aboriginal language use, and more concerning, the growth in the number of Aboriginal languages in Canada that are in danger of becoming extinct – in that light, this census data is encouraging.

The census data also points to young Aboriginal people learning their languages at a younger age, and an uptick in Aboriginal language instruction.

First Haida language film offers rare, powerful glimpse of Haida people

OK, perhaps this is veering off the web-based resource as well, but it is very connected to my research theme, and super relevant to the discussions in the course.  I stumbled across this CBC – The National article (and then, as one does, many other articles on the same topic) this week, and was excited to see how film and technology are playing a role in preserving language and culture in this surprising project.

Creating a feature-length film in a language that only a few people speak is both a tremendous undertaking (who can learn and speak the language well enough to fill the roles?) and a significant financial investment.  While the first is a logistical challenge, the second represents a pattern of hope in the restoration of traditional languages and can only mean good things to come.

Pathways to Technology – Interactive Map

Pathways to technology is a project aimed at bringing high-speed, reliable, and low-cost internet to First Nations.  Recognizing that connectivity brings access to health care, education, employment, and economic growth, this project looks to remove some of these barriers for remote, and typically under-connected communities around BC.

The link (in the title) directs towards an interactive map of the 203 First Nations around BC, and displays their name and connection type.  As an educator who visits these communities from time to time, this information is more than informative, it directs the kids of supports that we provide, and opens doors to different conversations.

Continuing the journey

Throughout this course I have been really opening my eyes to resources that are coming directly from Indigenous communities or community members, that are being shared out into the “mainstream media”, and that can be utilized in our education system. I have been looking for articles and resources that open up the conversation and that help to bridge communities.

I have been having great discussions with colleagues within my school community, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and these conversations include resources, topics for discussion, and areas for further investigation. Taking the time to seek out information and resources has certainly opened my eyes to concerns I was unaware of, and has given me more perspective.  I am looking forward to continuing this journey and seeking out additional resources and information to support the curriculum and all of our students.

 

Post 1 – The Water Walker

This CBC news article, and the book to which it speaks, is helping look at clean water from an Aboriginal woman’s perspective. It is based on actual events that “marries the First Nations’ sense of oneness with the natural world with 21st century concerns for the environment” and written and illustrated by AnishinaabKwe author Joanne Robertson.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/thunder-bay-students-learn-about-clean-water-from-new-indigenous-children-s-book-1.4386036?cmp=rss

http://www.motherearthwaterwalk.com

 

Post 2 – Home Economics and Culture

This article is from the November 3 Langley Times and brings forward an interesting and controversial topic. When educators are bringing in Indigenous practices, in this case food sources and preparation, into a high school classroom, controversy erupts. One practice is considered “inappropriate” by a group, while many comments (on social media….) support this teachers’ decision. They speak to the hypocrisy that our Home Economics classes can use beef or chicken in their cooking, but when it comes to something such as rabbit, it is inappropriate. Cultural practices collide. I am looking forward to the discussion that evolves from this.

http://www.langleytimes.com/news/skinning-rabbits-at-abbotsford-high-school-called-inappropriate/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Post 3 – First Nations Child & Family Caring Society

https://fncaringsociety.com/educational-resources

 

This site provides a number of educational activities to help support children and families. With links to books, digital resources, and films (to name a few), educators have resources to “touch on several topics in Indigenous history and culture, an aim to broaden perspectives and encourage critical thinking”.

https://fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/Primary%20Resources%20template.pdf

Post 4 Native Lit and Culture

Twitter @NDNLit 

https://dragswolf.com/ndnlit

Native Lit and Culture is a bi-weekly newsletter on Indigenous literature and culture. While from New Mexico, posts on their website and blog highlight a variety of issues, challenges and opportunities of Indigenous peoples all around the world. They share resources, poetry, books, and other website that share culture and a variety of perspectives to keep conversations and awareness happening.

Post 5 – Youth, Technology, and Empowerment

 

Continuing with our discussion of youth and technology, I have found several links to stories where Indigenous youth are making a difference and sharing their stories through social media, film, music. These youth are sharing their thoughts, feelings, and perspectives and putting it out into the world.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-land-rapper/brazils-young-indigenous-musicians-rap-for-land-rights-idUSKBN1CZ1P1?utm_content=buffer23759&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

http://news.psu.edu/story/490970/2017/10/30/research/research-suggests-american-indians-are-finding-image-power-social?utm_content=buffer1d22a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

 

http://michiganradio.org/post/ojibway-brothers-sault-ste-marie-tell-tribal-stories-new-film?utm_content=buffer42ff3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Solutions for Aboriginal Education or Aboriginal Education AS the solution? (Mod 3, Post 1-5)

It seems that these past few weeks discussions, as well as my research, has been setting me towards similar paths in searching for solutions to help promote Indigenous learning in education.  While student choice over content and project delivery have always increased engagement, I’ve come to realize how projects that provide a real voice and personal narrative are particularly important to Indigenous students.  Moreover, although the content might not fit neatly within the confines of western learning outcomes, with vision, resources, and risk tasking (both on the part of teachers/facilitators and students) new programs can take flight like N’We Jinan and could contribute towards school credits and ultimately student/youth success.

But as I was researching for solutions to education barriers I was also frequently reminded of the successes many Indigenous youths have enjoyed. Too often the media is used to only highlight the issues and problems facing indigenous communities, but rarely highlights the remarkable and impactful ways these youths are empowering themselves and/or their communities.  From Ashley Callingball who was the first Canadian and first First Nations to win Miss Universe, to musical talents such as Tanya Tagag and Leonard Sumner, to activists like Tracie Leost.

The average Canadian impression of Indigenous communities in crisis is not limited to youth, but for most Canadians, expands outward to all of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.  This perspective needs to shift, and quickly, in order to accommodate the change that is coming with regards to “…Canada’s indigenous people’s involvement in the economic growth of this country; the initiatives they have under way for preparing the large numbers of indigenous youth poised to enter Canada’s labour force; or even the names of two or three aboriginal organizations achieving remarkable success with their enterprises.” (Calliou, 2012).

In addition, “By 2020, there is estimated to be a shortfall of one million workers in Canada, mostly in high skilled and knowledge-oriented occupations” and “In Canada, the Aboriginal population is the fastest growing demographic in Canada. It’s growing at roughly twice the annual rate of the general population. In the next 15 years, more than 400,000 Aboriginal young people will reach labour-market age” (Charleyboy, 2017).

Image result for 2020 aboriginal youth in workforce canadaImage result for stats can Community well-being scores, 1981–2011

Source: Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada – 2017–18 Departmental Plan

So unbeknownst to many Canadians, improving the Community well-being of Inuit and First Nations and repairing the western education system to be more inclusive to Indigenous learners is not solely for their benefit alone, but also selfishly for Canadians as well if they wish to keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus’ trend of a successful and prosperous Canadian economy.

 

References

Calliou, B. (2012, October 15). Let’s hear more indigenous success stories. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/lets-hear-more-indigenous-success-stories/article4610389/?arc404=true

Charleyboy, L. (2017, October 11). The Problem with Aboriginal Education in Canada and what you can do about it. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from https://www.jobpostings.ca/career-guides/aboriginal/problem-aboriginal-education-canada-and-what-you-can-do-about-it

From music to helping others Indigenous youth take the lead. (2017, June 09). Retrieved October 30, 2017, from http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/from-music-to-helping-others-indigenous-youth-take-the-lead-1.4152032

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada – 2017–18 Departmental Plan. (2017, March 09). Retrieved October 30, 2017, from http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1483561566667/1483561606216

Morin, B. (2016, January 14). 16 Indigenous movers and shakers to watch in 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2017, from http://aptnnews.ca/2016/01/14/16-indigenous-movers-and-shakers-to-watch-in-2016/

Indigenous Veterans

Module 3

Post 1

As we prepare to honour our veterans and current members of the armed forces, our school has being acknowledging the diversity of those who serve or have served for our freedoms. For our Remembrance Day assembly, students will be honouring Indigenous individuals who sacrificed for Canada. One of our Grade 6 teachers shared this video we me, by Gordon Powell;  a tribute to these brave soldiers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekTSo-4-Yss

 

Post 2

The second resource is from Veteran’s Affairs Canada and is entitled, Remembrance Moments: Canada’s Indigenous Veterans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Z6RSKbrw0

 

Opening up my eyes to the history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and seeing that they sacrificed so much for the very country that did not treat them with the respect and recognition they deserved. Taking the time to acknowledge and honour these individuals and groups is important for our students.

 

Post 3

Veteran’s Affairs Canada also has a site dedicated to Indigenous Veterans. http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/those-who-served/indigenous-veterans

This site provides a number of resources and learning activities for elementary, middle and high school students.

I was surprised to learn that Aboriginal Veteran’s Day is commemorated on November 8.

 

Post 4

Indigenous War Heroes – Secondary School Teacher’s Guide

I continued looking for resources related to November 8, Aboriginal Veteran’s Day and came across this guide for Secondary Teachers.

http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/deepeningknowledge/UserFiles/File/Teacher_sGuide.pdf

 

Post 5

 Continuing my search for more resources, I found this Indigenous Inquiry Kit Created and Written by Tamara Hancock

“War and Remembrance: Aboriginal Veterans and Their Contributions to War Efforts from World War I to the Present”. It is for the middle school level and has students examine Indigenous veterans contributions through a variety of cross curricular activities.

Aboriginal War Veterans and Their Contributions to War Efforts

Filling in the Gaps- When Students Become the Teachers (Mod 2-Post 5)

BC has recently revamped its curriculum and one of the main new components is the focus on Canada’s Indigenous Peoples. However, the teacher training and educational resources to support this new curriculum are not all in place.  This article from the Tyee Newspaper is a reminder that sometimes the best sources of knowledge and teaching can come from the students.  While I would never advocate putting a child on the spot to talk about their heritage in front of the rest of the class, if a student is willing to share his/her personal experiences and ideas on a subject, it often has a much more impactful and intrinsic connection with the students (and teacher) receiving this teaching.

https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/09/05/Bumpy-Start-for-BC-First-Peoples-Curriculum/

Overcoming Barriers Starts with Funding and Education (Mod 2 Post 4)

Coming off my last post and in my search for financial support for Indigenous girls in post-secondary education, I came across an Indigenous-led registered charity called Indspire.  In addition to it dispersing financial aid, it also provides an online resource for teachers with a variety of lesson plans, online webinars, in-class seminars and links to upcoming events.

In my research so far about the barriers facing Indigenous women in STEAM and tech-related fields, two trends are emerging- funding and teacher education.  Funding is one way to support Indigenous students becoming successful in education, but another large indicator for success is the education of teachers and their knowledge and understanding of how to deliver curriculum and better help support Indigenous students.  There are two upcoming conferences that will have Indigenous students and Indigenous educators sharing their experiences and practices of what works and providing teachers with some of this knowledge and understanding about Indigenous needs in education.

The first event is coming up this Oct 19th at Simon Fraser University where a panel of 3 Laureates (Dakota Brant- First Nations, Maatalii Okalik- Inuit, and Gabrielle Fayant- Metis), will “discuss issues such as being the first person in the family to go to university or being the only Indigenous student in the class, and how schools can better support Indigenous students.”  Registration is still open. 

Another upcoming conference is the 23rd Annual Aboriginal Education Conference “Renewing our Relationship” put on by the First Nations Education Steering Committee and happening in Vancouver Nov 30- Dec 1-2 at the Westin Bayshore.  As stated on their website this conference will be:

“Showcasing innovative curriculum, inspiring people and excellent networking opportunities, the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) Annual Aboriginal Education Conference draws over 800 educators each year. Our conference theme, Renewing Our Relationship, will explore the role of education in reconciliation as part of the ongoing conversations about Canada’s 150th celebrations and planning for the future of First Nations education in British Columbia. This will include examining how we can work together to transform our relationships in order to advance quality First Nations education.

There are a variety of workshops to choose from and several keynote speakers,  including one of the authors from our course readings- Dr. Jan Hare who is the Associate Dean for Indigenous Education (UBC).

 

Women in Tech- or Lack Thereof (Mod 2-Post 3)

Thinking about the recent initiatives set forth by the BC government to recruit and train British Columbians in skilled trades, I wondered if there was an for technology training specifically for Indigenous peoples.  It was here where I found out about the 2.2 Million invested into Indigenous skills training for the tech sector. 

The Bridging to Technology program was created by the First Nations Technology Council and when reviewing the team making up the council I was pleasantly surprised to see a team full of women.  However, I was disappointed to find the board of directors consisted of only men.  This was a stark reminder of the gender gap in authoritative roles that women of all ethnicities face.

As the CNET article highlights, the tech industry is already male-dominated:

And this is for white women. The statistics get worse if you’re a woman of a minority.  According to a study done by Michelmore & Sassler (2016), “Black women, Latina women, and Indigenous women especially, earn less than white and Asian American women” (Rao & Lunau, 2017).

The dominance of men over women in higher paid, higher power positions is a trend in most sectors but is especially pronounced in the tech sector.  As Blanche (2016) highlights “The problem is when diversity programs focus on “women” as a whole, they often fall into the trap of prioritizing the majority: White Women”.

If we truly want to make our tech industry more diverse, we need to analyze the barriers that Indigenous women face specifically.  Grants for an example are a start, but while I did find technology grants for women, I was unable to find grants dedicated specifically to Indigenous women

References

Blanche, A. (2016, December 20). Diversity in tech too often means ‘hiring white women.’ We need to move beyond that. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.recode.net/2016/12/20/14013610/gender-diversity-women-race-age-geography-initiative

Michelmore, K. & Sassler, S. (2016). Explaining the Gender Wage Gap in STEM: Does Field Sex Composition Matter?RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 2(4), 194-215. Russell Sage Foundation. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from Project MUSE database.

Rao, A., & Lunau, K. (2017, April 04). You Can’t Close the Gender Gap in Science and Tech Without Equal Pay. Retrieved October 16, 2017, from https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/4xeevp/stem-science-technology-women-pay-gap-equal-pay-day

 

Indigenous Girls and Technology (Mod 2 Post 2)

For our final research assignment, Kathryn, Sara and I have decided to look at the relationship of technology and STEAM learning and Indigenous girls.  We were drawn to focus our research on girls because of the unique differences they have in learning compared to boys as well as the fact that Indigenous girls, already from a marginalized community, are even more vulnerable as they face gender bias and stereotypes in a male-dominated technology industry. In our research of current programs and initiatives in place, we found “Native Girls that Code” .  The goals of this program are:

  • Build leadership of women and the capacity of women-led projects and organizations
  • Build the capacity of our youth to develop strong identities through Indigenous knowledge and stronger supports for their education
  • Advance the preservation and revitalization of traditional Native knowledge through environmental justice programming that focuses on following the original teachings of Mother Earth

This program has found a way to incorporate STEAM learning with place-based learning that connects the girls with the land around them.

The success of this program but shows the promise and capability of integration between Indigenous girls and technology and could pose as a model for other similar programs.