Tag Archives: Media

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.

Skins Project

http://skins.abtec.org/

In the Skins project, games are built by youth and elders. The project involves transmitting old stories in a virtual reality format. They are preserving the culture and engaging youth, not only at the design stage, but also at the consumption stage as well. Students deal with the old stories in a respectful manner, but they also present them in a forward-looking manner.

Post by Trevor Price

July 4, 2015

Native Resolution, RezWorld and Skins

“By immersing Native Americans in their traditional languages and customs, Thornton hopes to teach them how to preserve parts of their culture in danger of dying out.”

The article linked to below explores the work of Don Thornton who created a language education game called RezWorld. The first iteration of this game was in Cherokee, but it can be adapted for any language. The article also leads us to the abtec website and to the Skins project (link below).

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/issues/issue_184/5652-Native-Resolution

http://www.abtec.org/

On the AbTec.org site is a network of people dedicated to encouraging aboriginal presence in the areas of “web-pages, online games, and virtual environments that we call cyberspace.” The site has articles outlining the curriculum for game design for First Nations youth (E.g.: Skins 1.0: A Curriculum for Designing Games with First Nations Youth).

Post by Trevor Price

July 4, 2015

Media Smarts

http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/media-issues/diversity-media/aboriginal-people/aboriginal-expression-arts-media

‘In the 19^th century, Métis leader Louis Riel predicted: “My people will sleep for one hundred years. When they awaken, it will be the artists who give them back their spirit.” Most Aboriginal groups in Canada have relied on the oral tradition to convey an idea, message or value.’

– n.a. Media Smarts

Discusses FN successes with tv, film and theatre, music and radio neworks and the Internet. Although not specific to youth, the article gives a good overview of media, but also points to a game – Path of the Elders (http://www.pathoftheelders.com/index.php) by FN people and for FN children.

Post by Trevor Price

July 4, 2015

An article by Suzanne Stewart

https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ien/Faculty/Dr._Suzanne_L._Stewart.html

“Education is urgent issue for our people right now because, again, education was once the tool of oppression. Now education is the tool for empowerment for our people, to help us learn how to adapt to the western world and for the western world to learn how to adapt to our traditional ways of teaching and learning.”

– OISE: Associate Professor Suzanne Stewart on Aboriginal Education (video) @ 50 sec.

I followed the above link from a site that came up with a search for information related to my final assignment. I was impressed with the topics Stewart was writing about – the challenges faced by urban First Nations youth. Upon searching a little further, I discovered the following article, which details the outcomes of a project that involved aboriginal youth, health and media production. This article draws a very direct line between media production and aboriginal youth well being and, as such, supports my thesis. It discusses a project that had aboriginal youth researching and creating media about healthy eating.

Stewart, S., Riecken, T., Scott, T., Tanaka, M., & Riecken, J. (2008). Expanding Health Literacy Indigenous Youth Creating Videos. Journal of Health Psychology, 13(2), 180-189. Retrieved from http://hpq.sagepub.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/content/13/2/180.full.pdf+html

Post by Trevor Price

July 4, 2015

Module 3, Post 5 – In My Own Eyes

In my own eyes is a project in which aboriginal youths are given a voice by enabling them to tell their stories through photography. These youths are mentored and taught by aboriginal photographers on how to use photography equipment so that they can use this media as a new way of storytelling and be part of the social changes. Through their eyes, viewers can see and learn about challenges aboriginal youths face.

This site also led me to the National Film Board of Canada, which has a number of other videos that addresses some of the important issues present in aboriginal communities using media.

Module 3, Post 2 – Youth Productions

I really enjoyed the videos that we watched in this module. I love the idea of youth being able to explore their culture and create something that can be shown to a wide audience. I wanted to see what organizations were out there to support these types of endeavours.

This website is based in the United States but their Resources Section contains links to a whole bunch of other organizations in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
http://filmcatalog.nmai.si.edu/organization/5/

I’ve just featured two of the organizations below, otherwise I would just be reproducing the page.
Going M.I.L.E.S. (motivate, inspire, lead, empower, succeed) promotes positive artistic environments for Aboriginal youth. They have a mentorship program with Aboriginal artists and they promote a variety of the arts, including traditional Aboriginal arts.
http://www.goingmiles.org/

This organization travels around Quebec with their film making equipment to engage youth and help develop media skills as well as positive life skills. Their mission is to help combat isolation and suicide while helping to develop artistic and technical skills while using the creations to help bring awareness to Aboriginal issues.
http://www.wapikoni.ca/home

Catherine

Module 2, Post 3 – Stereotypes

Stereotypes in Media and Beyond

This is an organization that provides companies training to work with First Nations. This article talks about the various stereotypes about First Nations culture and people and provides some links to other resources.
http://www.ictinc.ca/blog/the-enduring-nature-of-first-nation-stereotypes

This is a website that identifies the different stereotypes that have been present in the portrayal of First Nations in various media. It is a general website for digital and media literacy.
http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/aboriginal-people/common-portrayals-aboriginal-people

Catherine

Module 2, Post 2 – Native Representations

Native Representations

This is a really great website that looks at representations of First Nations. It looks at a variety of political and pop culture representations with thoughtful critiques. For example there is an article about the new addition to the Harry Potter world as it is set in the US where the author sets out her concerns about how the indigenous population might be represented.

http://nativeappropriations.com/

It is a very interesting website to read, but I think it could be a good resource for the classroom as well because it deals with some pop culture representations.

This is a collection of links from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto that deals with the representation of First Nations in the media.
https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/deepeningknowledge/Teacher_Resources/First_Nations_Representation_in_the_Media/index.html

Catherine

Module 2 | Post 3 IBC: A commodity of value for the Inuit

The Inuit Broadcasting Corporation or IBC has made the stories and creative voice and images of the Inuit community a commodity not only to the many Inuit communities of the north but to the Canadian and global communities as well. This site translates the stories and resources into French, English an Inuit allowing users both within and outside of the community to benefit from the unique perspective of the Inuit film makers and story tellers. I have a young daughter who is in French immersion and she was fascinated by the channel for youth and the ability to hear the stories in both the languages of Canada that she knows as well as the language of another people of Canada that has been largely inaccessible to her.

http://www.nac.nu.ca/