Tag Archives: Indigenous Education

Circle of Stories

“Indigenous storytelling is rooted in the earth. Years upon years of a kinship with the land, life, water and sky have produced a variety of narratives about intimate connections to the earth. In a call and response lasting through time, Native peoples have experienced a relationship of give and take with the natural world.” (Circle of Stories)

PBS hosts an interactive multimedia site, Circle of Stories, which explores Native American storytelling.

The site features documentary film, photography, artwork, music and includes discussions and lesson plans.

 

Native Resistance: Women Warriors

 

Pine Leaf, the Indian Heroine

The article, Fight the Power: 100 Heroes of Native Resistance, Women Warriors, by Vincent Shilling lists Native women warriors who fought heroically against colonization. The stories of these warriors illustrate non-stereotypical depictions of historical Indigenous women. This article is part of a series posted on the Indian Country Today Media Network.com.

 

Empowering the Spirit – First Nations, Metis and Inuit Education

Empowering

The Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium in conjunction with Alberta Education has created a website to assist educators in providing an authentic learning experience which reflects the values and traditions of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit populations.  These groups have chosen to provide resources which focus on both literacy and numeracy.   In addition to free resources which are embedded within this website, there is a travelling classroom library which can be requested by educators.  This library provides students with culturally responsive books for loan.  The cultural awareness section is meant for educators and administrators who are unaware or require additional information on the needs of these students and their families.  This website is an excellent resource for teachers of Aboriginal students.  For the purposes of our course, this website provides an insight on the reality of how few literary resources are available for students.  For students reading (or seeing) literary representations of themselves is important for empowering them within their communities.

To access this website, go to: http://empoweringthespirit.ca/

Ronaye Kooperberg (Module 3 – Post 5 – Community Reality)

Edmonton Public School Board – FNMI Education

EPSB

Having completed my B Ed at the University of Alberta, I was quite aware that the Edmonton Pubic School Board (EPSB) had a large program in place to reach the Aboriginal student, family and community as well as the educators of Aboriginal students.  The resources within this website are plentiful.  Documents for First Nations, Metis and Inuit families to maneuver the educational system, documents to guide young adults in future career pathways, Cree language resources (as many schools K-12 provide Cree as an option for students), family resources for health and well-being.  This all-encompassing website replicates the values of the First Nations people as it does not solely deal with education, rather the development of the whole person (and those who support the student).  This website is not only useful for those teachers who have First Nations, Metis or Inuit students but it provides an example of how educational boards are reaching out to meet the needs of all learners.  From an Aboriginal perspective, I feel this could be seen as a form of media outreach to showcase the efforts of the school board to connect with the Indigenous communities.

To access this website, go to: https://sites.google.com/a/epsb.ca/fnmi-education/home

Ronaye Kooperberg (Module 3 – Post 4)

Chiefs Assembly on Education

Chief Assembly on Education

This website summarizes the findings of the Chiefs Assembly on Education.  This document provides an in depth look at Aboriginal education from a First Nation’s perspective.  The notes from this meeting highlight gaps within the system from K through post-secondary education.  The Chiefs end with the need for more financial assistance to assist with the higher incidents of special needs of students, repairs to a vast majority of the schools as well as the resources to meet the needs of these specific learners.  Overall, this document is useful for an insider’s perspective on the state of aboriginal education in Canada and provides a snapshot of the reality of the current educational system within the Aboriginal communities.

To access this website, go to: http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/events/fact_sheet-ccoe-3.pdf

Ronaye Kooperberg (Module 3 – Post 2)

Module 3.2 Turtle Island Voices

I am not really sure what I think of this series. The Turtle Island Voices books, that are offered through Pearson publishing, have fans and enemies. Some proponents say, “Yay, look it is Aboriginal and there is a teacher’s guide.” Opponents complain the reading level is too low. It is, however, what many schools have in their collections to support First Nations content. You can check them out for yourself here.

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Native Languages of the Americas

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http://www.native-languages.org/

This site is a catalog of various Aboriginal languages. The site provides linguistic and cultural links for those interested in researching the subjects. Their mission is “dedicat[ion] to the survival of Native American languages, particularly through the use of Internet technology.”

This site is very basic in design but contains an enormous amount of content. Those researching protection of Aboriginal culture through technology and specifically protection of languages will benefit from its use.

Module 2 – Post 4
Ryan Silverthorne

First Nations Education Council

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http://www.cepn-fnec.com/

This organization is focussed on education and more specifically on the use of information technology as a means to support and serve Aboriginal communities. The site contains information on how the organization promotes educational technology in Aboriginal communities as well as links the various related article links on native perspectives on education, integration, information technology et.

I feel this is an excellent site for those who want to explore First Nations Organizations who are advocates for technological advancement in aboriginal communities, understanding philosophies and how action is being taken.

Module 2 – Post 3
Ryan Silverthorne

CBC Digital Archives: Native Issues

By Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The CBC Digital Archives website includes a collection of archives about native issues. Many of the archive stories include video or audio clips and summary lists of ‘Did You Knows’ which list key facts. In addition, some of the archives have lesson plans already created for teachers to use. The archives cover a range of topics including, treaty rights, land claims, native literature and key historic events.

Musqueam: A Living Culture

The Musqueam: A Living Culture web site provides information about the Musqueam people, their language, territory, history, and present information about educational tours and local events. The educational tours are a great idea for classrooms tours or groups of (12+) people.

The site also features some great educational videos from the Musqueam Nation’s YouTube channel. Here is the featured video which discusses some of the history and traditions of the Musqueam people.

Featured image by jamesabbott1963 (CC BY 2.0)