Tag Archives: Aboriginal

Module 1-Post 1: First Peoples’ House

https://www.mcgill.ca/fph/home-page

While in Montreal, I worked closely with the First Peoples’ House. The first people house provides a “home away from home” for Aboriginal students who are studying at McGill. They bring in speakers, perform workshops and also serve as a resource centre not only for students who are currently at McGill but also for prospective McGill students, as well as Aboriginal high school students from neighbouring reserves. I used to bring my students to the annual powwow and this organization focused on post-secondary retention as well as promoting Aboriginal culture to all students at McGill.
I was introduced to Inuit throat singing at one of these events and I also loved that my students got to experience campus life of a Canadian university. Many of my students did not have any members of their family attend a post-secondary establishment and these experiences that the First Peoples’ House presented them with showed my students that there they can attend university and not feel alone.

Module 1: Post 5 (Aboriginal Affairs)

The Aboriginal Affairs website provides contemporary news articles and perspectives on Aboriginal roles in Economy, Business, Culture and Education. For researchers it serves as an effective resource to gain insight on the underrepresented issues faced by the Aboriginal community. This resource also provides real-world examples of successes and failures in government programming and investment strategies pertaining to the Indigenous Population in Canada.

Module 1, Post 5 – ICT for the Adivasi community

In spite of Howe (1998) contending that Cyberspace is no place for tribalism, few efforts have been made to bring ICT to the tribal community. However, these efforts are contentious according to many. An argument for use of ICT in tribal lives can be found below –

http://vixra.org/pdf/1405.0046v1.pdf

An actual effort in this direction has been documented here –

http://www.e-agriculture.org/sites/default/files/uploads/media/e-Arik%20article.pdf

http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/india/education-for-change/e-arik-center

Sayali

 

Module 1, Post 4 – Adivasi perception of life and development

As pointed out by Marker (2006), the Adivasi (aboriginal) world view of development and purpose of life is dramatically different from the conventional view. Following are a few websites and articles which illustrate this worldview beautifully –

A website of Adivasi perceptions on development – http://www.notprimitive.in/

http://newint.org/blog/2013/07/15/india-adivasi-survival-international/

A blog on Adivasi perceptions of fulfilment – http://reflectionsofindia.com/2015/03/05/adivasifulfilment/

A lengthy article by Dr. Ganesh Devy  who has worked with the tribal community in India, rethinking on the definition of development and its effects on the Adivasi life – http://publications.aidindia.org/content/view/474/130/

Sayali

Module 1, Post 3 – Adivasi Education Status in India

Similar to the results pointed out by Hare (2011), the status of Adivasi education in India shows poor progress due to a variety of reasons.

Results published by the National Institute of Advanced Studies –

http://www.nias.res.in/docs/NIASReportR7-2012.pdf

Status of primary education for tribal students –

http://www.dhaatri.org/dhaatri/publications/Study%20on%20Primary%20Education%20of%20Adivasi%20Children_3%20Jan%202012-finalsmall.pdf

The results of the UNESCO backed study –

http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/unicefbacked-study-paints-poor-picture-of-adivasi-education/993978/

Sayali

Module 1, Post 2 – Self Esteem of Adivasi (Indigenous) students

As pointed out in the experiences illustrated by Hare (2011), the Emotional Health of the Indigenous students in India also suffers considerably in the mainstream educational system.

A comparative study on self -esteem among tribal and non-tribal students in India-
Impact of Self concept on attitude towards education of Adivasi students in India
Sayali

 

Module 1 Post 4 – The Aboriginal Head Start Association of British Columbia

This incorporated, nonprofit association was mentioned in an article so I decided to look into it further. The Head Start program is designed for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit families across Canada to offer children an Early Childhood Education with an emphasis on culture and language, school readiness, health promotion, social support, nutrition, and parent and family involvement.

Link: http://www.ahsabc.com/

Module 1 Post 2 – Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools on the Alaska Native Knowledge Network

This is a website designed to encompass and exchange information relating to the knowledge and ways of knowing of the Alaska Native. The standards indicated on this site are designed to complement the current State of Alaska curriculum and ensure that schools and communities are taking the cultural identities of students into consideration. The standards hope to emphasize cultural heritage instead of the traditional teaching and learning. The standards are categorized for educators, students, curriculum, schools, and communities.

Link: http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/Publications/Standards.html

Module 1 Post 4 – Tumblr: “Aboriginal Space”

Doing just a quick google search I found a tumblr (that seems to be dead, the last post was 2 years ago) that was collecting online resources and stories about Indigenous communities in digital spaces.  Some of the posts are about apps in development, some are links to websites or projects, and some are resources directly provided in the blog (such as videos).  Although it’s not active, I will be browsing through it as a starting place for my inquiry, as one potential direction I’m considering for my research is the ‘re-indigenization’ of digital space (or the possibility of it).

Online link:  Aboriginal Space

Module 1 Post 1 – Re-Indigenizing Digital Spaces

Based on the readings from week 1, there is the question of whether or not or to what extent can/should technology be incorporated into Aboriginal education, especially when it seems to contradict pillar forms of Indigenous knowing and learning.

I was able to meet with at least one Aboriginal Educator who believes that the internet will be vital in spreading awareness about his people (specifically the Anishinabe) and Indigenous people in Canada and wants to build his digital toolbox.  His name is Eddy Robinson and he is part of Morningstar River – their website is here: http://www.morningstarriver.com/index.html

When he came into speak he used Keynote through his Mac, and did mostly lecture-style teaching.  He left things open for student questions, but the group was shy, unfortunately.  He opened and closed the time with a song, and had brought a drum with him.  Afterwards, he spoke about how he on the one hand wants to make some resources available online, but is conflicted about making all knowledge available to anyone.  For example, he mentioned creating a video about the process of smudging that he would post but make private, with a limited time-frame of viewability to groups that had invited him in.  I think he was feeling aware that a ‘safe space’ (his words) is created where he is invited, but the internet is not equally safe.  That said, he cited his friend and colleague Wab Kenew (and specifically his ‘8th Fire’ series) as a way that technology is spreading what he sees as important work.  I’m very interested in doing further research and reflection on this juxtaposition, and what practical learning can be derived from it as an educator.