Tag Archives: Indigenous Education

Module 3.3 – Canadian Medical Schools and “Affirmative Action”

Affirmative Action is a buzzword in the United States. US Universities and Colleges frequently use applicant demographics to select students for admission, including increasing the percentages of ethnicity diverse students admitted, sometimes with slightly lower scores than other applicants. The intent of such a program is to increase minority representation at institutions of higher learning and to, ideally, decrease negative outcomes experienced more frequently by minority groups, primarily underemployment and poverty.

McGill University’s medical school is an example of such a policy put in place in Canada. I know that at UBC we have created a distributed medical program which puts our students into clerkships in smaller communities across the province in the hopes that they pull put down roots in these more disparate regions and thus help to resolve a doctor shortage. I’d hope that in addition to admitting more Indigenous students that universities are making more efforts to have, for example, Inuit doctors train in Inuit communities with the resources that are available there.

Module 3.1 – Intercontinental Cry

Intercontinental Cry is a magazine/web journal that serves to “amplify the voices and strengthen the efforts of Indigenous Peoples around the world” due to the significant lack of representation of Indigenous people in news media.

What I was particularly interested in at this point was the fact that this website is very focused on using Indigenous writers to speak on their own experiences. Much of the academic literature on Canadian First Nations, Aboriginal, Inuit, and Metis populations is written by white researchers, probably due to their familiarity with the publication cycle and their access to services that help them to gain publication. Fortunately a resource like IC helps authors with potentially less access to traditional streams of publication to have their voices heard, amplified, and shared with the world via the internet.

I think this could be a useful resource particularly at the high school level, for students to read and reflect on the impact of Indigenous voices on the Web.

Module 2, Post 4 – National Adivasi Children’s Traditional Knowledge and Science Congress

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) helped organize a Traditional Knowledge and Science Congress for Adivasi (Indigenous) Children in 2010 in India. The aim was to make the adivasi children conscious of their traditional knowledge and practices in their own communities as well as in other communities, make them aware of the importance and relevance of these practices and instill a sense of pride and confidence, encourage them to seek solutions for addressing present day problems using traditional knowledge and improving on it, foster a sense of solidarity amongst children from various adivasi communities regions and strengthen awareness of the scientific traditions and wisdom of adivasi communities among mainstream students and the public.

The detailed report of the Science Congress can be found at –

http://www.dhaatri.org/dhaatri/publications/nscsmall.pdf

The topics ranged from traditional agriculture, medicine, diet to music, art and sports.

Module 2, Post 3 – National Commission for Scheduled Tribes

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) is an independent body set up to monitor and investigate the implementation of the rights and privileges accorded to the scheduled tribes in India. It also participates and advices in the planning process regarding tribal policy matters.

http://www.ncst.nic.in/index.asp?langid=1

Of particular interest to me, for my research project was the document published by the NCST, elaborating its views on tribal education and steps to improve it, as forwarded to the Planning Commission for the five year plan for 2012-17

http://www.ncst.nic.in/writereaddata/linkimages/Views%20of%20the%20Commission%20for%20the%20Working%20Group%20on%20STs-Steering%20Committee3331254130.doc

A detailed document explaining the structure of tribal welfare in India can be a good read to understand the scenario in India

http://www.ncst.nic.in/writereaddata/mainlinkfile/File415.pdf

Module 2 Post 4: ETEC 510 Wiki – “Indigenous Cultures and Education”

ETEC 510 (Design of Technology Supported Learning Environments) through UBC (which I am also currently enrolled in), has an ongoing wiki project where students contribute in various ways. I recently found an entry that has been contributed to by many students since 2008, titled “Indigenous Cultures and Education“. It has a number of sections about different facets of this subject, and an extensive reference list from which learners can explore.

Module 2.5: The competitive nature of medical school

In the article “Canadian medical schools struggle to recruit Aboriginal students” some Aboriginal doctors describe the cultural difference between being a student in an Aboriginal community and being a student in a major Canadian medical school as being a major hurdle.

Coming from an Aboriginal nursing background, I was used to an environment that was very nurturing, very non-judgmental, very non-competitive,” she says. “You learn to be very comfortable talking about your struggles, what you need to work on to become a stronger person or a better caregiver. Medical school was very different. It was a very competitive environment… people keep their cards close to their chest… they don’t want to reveal themselves; what they see as weaknesses. I found this very difficult. My colleagues didn’t understand. When asked to self-evaluate, my colleagues thought I was putting myself down. I think my ability to talk about myself is a huge strength, it lets me improve as a doctor and as a person, but my colleagues didn’t see it that way. I found this very difficult.

There are several reasons for this cultural difference posited in the blog post, including the poorer quality of education students can receive on reserve, lack of modelling in their own communities, and also lack of respect for or integration of traditional knowledge in many undergraduate medical programs. The article indicates that more needs to be done than simply recruiting indigenous students, but rather that the programs need to change to better suit/fit with the ways indigenous students already live.

Module 2.4: Aboriginal midwifery program halted

University College of the North had developed a Manitoba midwifery program with a core aboriginal focus in 2006. This program, designed to help provide birth support to mothers in communities lacking complete medical facilities, or to assist women wanting a more traditional birth experience, was nationally unique, in that they were located far from an urban centre, and focused on admitting only indigenous students.

I have been interested in this program for many years, first as a student who desperately wanted to enter midwifery in a time before midwifery was a viable university program (UBC, McMaster & Ryerson Universities all now have well developed 4-year programs). This program was plagued with issues, including having problems recruiting and retaining students, and difficulties having students deliver enough babies for graduation (there is a mandatory minimum birth attendance required). Ultimately only 8 students graduated from this program, with the majority of them being non-aboriginal. Instead of meaningful examination of why or how indigenous students were not attracted to or able to stay in the program, the province determined that it was best to overhaul the program and move it under the umbrella of the University of Manitoba’s broader medical program.

Based on the information released, it does not seem that this program was given evaluation to allow it to succeed.

Module 2.1: LIME Network

The Lime Network, or the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education Network, represents a group of New Zealand and Australian Deans of medical education with a two-pronged goal:

to incorporate traditional/indigenous knowledge into medical education/practical training, and
to develop best practices in the recruitment, retention and graduation of indigenous medical students

This model is very interesting for a number of reasons, but I think of most use in a course like our own, is the page they’ve developed to share Resources & Lime Publications. On this page, the LIME network shares resources which include a collection of videos/curriculum frameworks and “good practice case studies” (much of undergraduate medical education is currently taught through case-based or problem-based learning).

Module 1-Post 5: Indspire

Indspire Home

Indspire is an Indigenous-led charity that is committed to the education of Canadian Indigenous youth. They focus on the long term benefits of the individuals that they help as well as their families, communities and Canada as a whole. Indspire connects and educated the indigenous you so that they will achieve their highest potential.

I took about a dozen students to one of their conferences a few years ago and many of my students won laptops and were left inspired by all the presenters that were present. There were Aboriginal individuals from all walks of life: TV personalities, doctors, military individuals as well as business people. They serve First Nation, Inuit, and Métis students in remote communities as well as urban centres across Canada. They distribute financial awards, deliver programs, and share resources with the goal of closing the gap in Indigenous education.

The K-12 Indspire Institute is a virtual resource centre that serves educators and communities, who are committed to improving kindergarten to grade 12 success for Indigenous youth. They are the largest funder of Indigenous education outside the federal government: to date, Indspire has disbursed almost $65 million through close to 20,000 bursaries and scholarships to Indigenous students.

Each year, they present the Indspire Awards, a nationally broadcast, gala celebration of the successes achieved by Indigenous people.

Module 1 / Post 3: Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous Knowledge and Pedagogy in First Nations Education: A Literature Review with Recommendations is a great starting point for my research into Indigenous ways of knowing. This article looks at various definitions of Indigenous knowledge, its structure and diversity, and Indigenous learning processes. The author also makes recommendations for honouring Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy in education. The author also provides an annotated bibliography (along with web links) focused on Aboriginal education resources. Unfortunately, not all the links work.

~Dan