Tag Archives: indigenous knowledge

Who owns Native Culture?

http://web.williams.edu/AnthSoc/native/index.htm

Based on the book of the same name Michael Brown created a website focussing on the ongoing “legal status of indigenous art, music, folklore, biological knowledge, and sacred sites.”

Of particular interest are the many links that are aligned to chapters in his book. Brown discusses the importance of protecting the culture for those it represents.

This site is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the topic of cultural protection in general and through online means. It is also a great site for insights into legal rights claims and the implications on communities.

*Note that while most links on the site are still active and relevant Brown has stopped updating the site as of April 2014. It is still however, a worthwhile resource.

Module 2 – Post 1
Ryan Silverthorne

INTEGRATING ABORIGINAL PERSPECTIVES INTO CURRICULA: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Module 2 – Post 1

This literature review talks about how to incorporate Aboriginal perspectives into curricula. It examines the history of Aboriginal education in Canada and explains Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy and of Aboriginal learning styles and the different ways of learning. There are great and practical ways for educators on how to integrate Aboriginal perspectives into the curriculum. This paper wraps up by discussing the implications of the research and looks into the future for Aboriginal education.

http://www3.brandonu.ca/library/CJNS/26.2/03ledoux.pdf

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)

The Runner – A Video Vignette on Stereotypes

In an attempt to delve further into the content of module 2, I searched for a website on recognizing stereotypes and how colonialism has defined Indigenous people. What I came across was a Vimeo video published in 2011 called The Runner. This vignette provides the perspective of Canadian youth, teachers as well as academics on this topic. This video talks about the impacts of stereotypes in general and then focuses on how the media represents aboriginals. The “meat” of this piece is the discussion around how media representation (misrepresentation) of First Nations communities affect the individual. This pieces allowed me to get closer to understanding how stereotypes can impact a culture and begin to see how this can begin to possibly erode a culture.

The use of this technology, the video vignette, provides a forum for communicating identity and stereotypes, with the intent to breakdown the stereotypes for future generations. This video could be useful to high school/post-secondary educators to create a discussion around stereotypes and First Nations populations.

To view this video: http://runnermag.ca/2011/11/stereotypes-of-first-nations/

Ronaye Kooperberg (Module 2 – Blog Post 3)

Indigenous Studies – Portal Tool

In an effort to create a new narrative for aboriginal peoples, the University of Saskatchewan has complied more than 25,000 digital artifacts for indigenous research. This portal originating in 2011, showcases a turtle housing research topics such as Indigenous law, spiritual knowledge, economic development and education (plus more). Once your selection is made, the portal provides articles, book reviews, e-books and additional digital artifacts on the selected topic. The portal also allows for collaboration, as community members are able to suggest digital resources for publication. In addition, the Maps section is helpful for visualizing locations of First Nations groups within specific provinces. This would be a great resource for school-aged children to add context to Aboriginal curriculum. This is a must-use website for Aboriginal research.

Ronaye Kooperberg – Module 2 Post 2

Dr. Nancy Turner

Dr. Nancy Turner is a distinguished professor at UVic and the Hakai Chair of Ethnoecology.

I had the good fortune almost 20 years ago to attend Dr. Turner’s environmental studies course on ethnobotany, the study of plants in the traditional contexts of the people who use them.

When we attended traditional activities like a beach pit cooking it was possibly my first (non museum) introduction to living, breathing First Nations culture. We made many things with our hands in her class, like pine needle baskets. But this was not your stereotypical basket weaving course, the kind you’d sign up for to pad your course load.

This is a woman who has dedicated her life’s work to understanding and championing Traditional Ecological Knowledge. This is her personal website.

http://pspaldin.wix.com/nancyturner

Module 1 post 3

Emotional Competency

After watching the video with Dr. Lee Brown, I thought I would explore more information about the idea of emotional education as well as Dr. Brown, himself. Through the UBC website, I found a bio as well as a presentation on Emotional Competency and Its Effects on Health. Once you open the website, click on the Download Presentation Notes link towards the bottom of the webpage.

This presentation begins with a historical look into the world of emotions. From Aristotle to John Locke, Dr. Brown explores man’s evolution of thought. He then moves into a discussion about how our ability to be emotionally aware (competent) can add to our longevity and general well-being. There is great information within this presentation which provides further insight into his online video discussion this week, including the Principles of Emotional Communication which would assist any teacher in any classroom.

To access the website: http://learningcircle.ubc.ca/2011/03/emotional-competency-its-effects-on-health/

(Module 1 – Post 5)

Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network (UAKN)

The Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network provides a voice for those Indigenous individuals and families choosing to live outside of traditional land (reservation). This website provides an interactive map illustrating breakdown of aboriginal populations per major center. Furthermore, this website provides interactive infograph on what the average aboriginal life is like within an urban center with respect to education, finances, and quality of life.

The research aspect of the knowledge network aims at providing a higher quality of life for urban aboriginals. Through partnerships with social organizations and educational institutions, they aim to develop policies to assist these members of urban communities. Research generated from this organization is quite diverse, from topics such as Truth in Indigenous Ways of Knowing to Transforming Education for the Urban Youth. These topics highlight the contrasting challenge of urban aboriginals such as social dislocation, assisting with family separation and how to combat racial discrimination. While this is a different dialogue, it is one that must be included within the Indigenous experience.

To access the website, click on: http://uakn.org/

(Module 1 – Post 4)

The Endangered Languages

http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/

This site looks at endangered languages all over the world. The site is an excellent resource for gaining a perspective on the wide scope of the problem and the many languages that are on the verge of disappearing.

Resource links to scholarly publications and various types of research can be found at this site. There is an easy to use searchable database that can point to information related to education, anthropology, political issues and environmental factors.

One of the most useful parts of the site is the worldwide language map which indicates locations across the globe where languages are at risk or severely endangered of becoming extinct.

Once-vibrant aboriginal languages struggle for survival

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/once-vibrant-aboriginal-languages-struggle-for-survival-1.1173659

This site is a link to an article on Aboriginal languages in danger of becoming extinct across Canada. Among other things the site identifies British Columbia as the province most in danger of losing Native languages and subsequently culture.

Useful statics on the number of Aboriginal languages and the decline over the years can be found throughout the article. It also discusses the problem in the context of education and the efforts being made to incorporate it into highschool and university programs.

Though it is not a scholarly article it brings up several important points related to the loss of language and culture that would be valuable to anyone researching these important topics for their project.