Tag Archives: Aboriginal Education

Research findings – Module 1

I’m still in the process of defining my research interest, so my findings have been all over the place (but I’m gravitating towards storytelling/oral traditions, digital media, isolated communities, I think?).

1. http://firstnationspedagogy.ca/storytelling.html

This website explains the importance of storytelling to pass on knowledge from generation to generation. It also includes videos and links for preparing storytelling activities in the classroom.

2. http://www.olpccanada.com/

This one is about the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program in Canada and how it supports Aboriginal education programs. From the website: OLPC Canada is well placed to address the challenge of technological access for Aboriginal youth due to our track record of successful delivery and integrative support of technology to more than 9,000 Aboriginal youth in 60+ communities located in 9 provinces and 2 territories.

3. http://www.wekimun.cl/index.php/en/

I came across this website about a school based in Chiloé (in the south of Chile) that integrates aboriginal (Mapuche/Williche) cultural knowledge with modern knowledge, to produce a unique educational program that will serve the needs of rural Williche communities. This initiative has received substantial financial support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

4. http://portal.acc-society.bc.ca/literacy/storytelling

A wealth of resources and information concerned with promoting literacy and language development in Aboriginal young children.

5. https://indspire.ca/about-indspire/

Last but not least: Indspire. An Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous people for the long term benefit of these individuals, their families and communities, and Canada. Indspire serves First Nation, Inuit, and Métis students in remote communities and urban centres across Canada. It also provides a virtual resource centre (K-12 Institute) that serves educators, communities, and other stakeholders who are committed to improving kindergarten to grade 12 success for Indigenous youth.

Learning Resources For Teaching First Nations Art

We are currently participating in a school-wide inquiry at my school to increase First Nations cultural awareness through First Nations art, music and performing arts. I am providing you with some website links that have helped us along the enriching process.

First People’s Art For Learning

The following website was a group project created in ETEC 511. Our goal was to create a cross curricular resource for teachers that linked Canadian First Nations art and artefacts to the curriculum via a visual literacy framework. Our goal is to continuously add to this resource, with the intention to add oral stories and personal accounts from elders. Please share, make comments or ask questions about this resource.

Authentic Indigenous

This website was created by the Aboriginal Tourism BC (AtBC) foundation who have established the Authentic Indigenous Arts Resurgence Campaign (The “ARC”).

Its initiative is: “aimed at promoting and supporting authentic Indigenous artworks in the retail and wholesale marketplace.”

Its goal is: to “undertake various activities designed to protect Indigenous control over Indigenous artwork and to ensure that its sale benefits Indigenous artists and communities economically.”

This website provides a comprehensive list of First Nations Artists in Canada where they are listed by first name in alphabetical order. Each artist has their own page where viewers can read a short bio, view examples of their work, and search any links that may take them to projects or personal websites. It also posts events, campaigns, and articles, and members can connect with each other through the blog, and social media.

CCCA Canadian Art Database

This informational website provides a database of Canadian artists, including First Nations, located across Canada. Anyone can search for artists by name, location, subject/category, and advanced search options which include curriculum. It is a place where Artists have the showcase their work, mention projects they are working on, and list events that are happening across Canada to promote their Art.

Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre

The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre was founded to showcase the art, history and culture of the Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh (people of the Squamish villages) and the L̓il̓wat7úl (the people of the land) nations. Visitors on the website can learn about the Nations’ past and present history, shop online for authentic artisan merchandise, as well as book tours. During the visits, visitors are taken through a guided tour of the centre, and they also have the opportunity to sign up for interactive workshops which could involve an interpretive forest walk, holistic tour and indigenous tea ceremony, or participation in various indigenous crafting workshops.

Aboriginal Tourism BC

The page dedicated to Arts and Culture, on the Aboriginal Tourism BC website, takes the visitor on an exploration of the many art galleries, studios, museums, cultural sites and cultural centres that are located throughout BC. Visitors to the website are also able to book special visits and tours.

My Research Findings – 1

What is the purpose of aboriginal education and technology? As all of us are researching and find documentation to support any ideas or theories that we are bringing forward, it is quite difficult filtering based on our needs due to the broad nature of our topic.

The following link is in UBC library about Bretts’ dissertation regarding his recommendations of Cowichan education. Cowichan tribes has over 4,800 registered members as is one of the largest sing First Nation Band in British Columbia. From Bretts statistics, 16,000 young people drop out of highschool yearly in B.C. He is using a lot of various resources and statistics to help gain some understanding of what the need is for education among the Cowichan people in School District 79. I found it very interesting as it brings some recommendations for education and possible use of technology.

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/304669575?accountid=14656

1. Betts DP. Continuing education in the cowichan valley. [Order No. MQ49161]. Royal Roads University (Canada); 2000.

This article online discusses some of the problems that Natives face living on the reservation. The article discusses Mike McKenzie and essentially colonialism. Statistics are provided to supplement some of the major issues around reservations. It touches a little around the educational aspects and the presented (or rejected) solutions to bringing education in reservations. I’m sure many British Columbia teachers and educators could agree with some of the financial issues surrounding educational funding. It may not be a direct impact to technology or the influence technology has upon First nations, but it would bring a necessity to having a new form of cheaper education that could prove successful with limited resources.

http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/why-fixing-first-nations-education-remains-so-far-out-of-reach/

This article may have been found by my previous classmates, but I find it relevant to module 1. This article discusses in direct relation to media, aboriginals, and the possible impact it has.

https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/canada/missing-where-are-first-nations-national-media

I like this very simple article because it is showing some other places and positive effects that educational technology is bringing among Indigeous people.

http://fortsevern.firstnation.ca/node/144

I really enjoyed this last page, as it brings forward a lot of module 1 readings. Either supporting or denying some of the ideas brought out from our week 1 and 2 readings.

http://apr.thompsonbooks.com/vols/APR_Vol_6Ch8.pdf

I hope these help people!

5 Helpful links-Indigenous Ways of Knowing

I hope you find some of these links useful as you take your journey.

Cyber-Traveler’s Reflections (Module 1)

http://www.native-art-in-canada.com/woodland-art-symbolism.html

The Meaning of the Woodland Art Symbolism. When Norval Morrisseau first began painting, his intention was to re-introduce the Anishnaabe world view into the contemporary consciousness. The Ojibwa culture had been all but obliterated by the imposition of external governance and the influence of Christian churches. Morrisseau painted the spiritual reality that had been the foundation of Ojibwa life for thousands of years. Raised by his shaman grandfather, Norval was familiar with the symbols used on the midewiwin birchbark scrolls.

http://archive.millelacsband.com/Page_culture.aspx?id=125

An elder of the Mille Lac Band of Ojibwe Reservation writes about the culture and traditions surrounding death and funerals. He writes from his own experiences.

http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/alanis-obomsawin-tells-the-legend-of-nanabozho

A radio story found in CBC digital archives. “The Legend of Nanabohzo” is the story of Nokomis, her daughter Winona, and Winona’s son Nanabozho. It’s one of thousands of legends Canada’s aboriginals have passed down the generations to tell stories about tribal ancestors and to teach children how to behave. Storyteller Alanis Obamsawin relates the Ojibwa legend for CBC Radio.

http://www.nosm.ca/communities/aboriginal_affairs/general.aspx?id=4102

On this website The Northern Ontario School of Medicine explains how the medical school engages and works with Indigenous Elders. For NOSM Indigenous students, the presence and work of Elders can be a key factor which contributes to student success.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/plants-native-uses/

This article outlines the many uses of plants to the Indigenous Peoples. These include food, medicine, utility and spiritual.

Left out of the Conversation: The Digital Divide and #IdleNoMore

This article, written by the Prince Arthur Herald details the #Idle No More movement which is intent on having Aboriginals participate in social media. More importantly it discusses the problem with social media, even ones aimed at facilitating contact among natives. The problem lies with the inequality of internet distribution in Canada. This means that approximately only 50% of aboriginal voices are being heard. This highlights the need to improve infrastructure to make the internet more of a neutral forum.

http://princearthurherald.com/en/author/soo-min-kim-katie-gilfillan-jordana-saab-brault-an

Part 5 of 5

Dr. Suzanne Stewart is a very influential voice in the Native community. In this interview she discusses the importance of understanding education for natives both past and present. She highlights the need to take what was once used to oppress native people (education) and use it as a tool of empowerment. She feels education reform will allow aboriginals to better participate in the global world and also help educate those outside the Aboriginal communities about different, more holistic ways of learning.

Post 4 of 5

Path of The elders

The path of the elders is not a typical gaming experience. They are very aware of the growing problem of culture loss and are “very committed to documenting Elder knowledge that is slipping away in so many communities across Canada.” Elder and traditional knowledge is what was used to create the website and although it challenges the whole concept of “traditional” it does an excellent job presenting indigenous knowledge in a way that is appealing to youth. I’d highly recommend this site to anyone that is interested in exploring how technologies are being used to preserve native culture.

http://www.pathoftheelders.com/index.php

Post 2 of 5

Teaching for Ecological Sustainability Incorporating Indigenous Philosophies and Practices By Dr. Clinton L. Beckford and Mr. Russell Nahdee University of Windsor

This resource is part of the What Works? Research into Practice series supported by the Ontario Association of Deans of Education. The article describes research on ecological sustainability from a number of sources and relates these findings to Aboriginal education theory. The source offers tips on how to implement Aboriginal concepts in mainstream classrooms as well as practical ways to incorporate ideas specific to ecological sustainability.

https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/WW_Teaching_Ecological.pdf

Module 4 Entry 3

Brendan Clark

First Nations Steering Committee

.http://www.fnesc.ca/irsr/

This video introduces teaching resources that can be used to introduce Residential Schools in British Columbia. It includes all of the necessary teaching components needed to introduce the topic sensitively and in a culturally sound way.

Module 4 post 3

Toward a First Nations Cross-Cultural Science and Technology Curriculum

http://www.duluth.umn.edu/~kzak/documents/Aikenhead97-NOS.pdf

This article explores First Nations science curriculum from a cultural perspective. It documents the stark contrast of nature as seen by science and Aboriginal people. These differences are seen both socially, intellectually and how they associate with human action. Typically science is seen as a Western philosophy, so in order for Aboriginal students to learn about western science it is seen as crossing cultural borders for them. Aboriginal people would rather embrace and respect the mysteries of nature rather than conquer it and explain it.

Module 4 post 2