Tag Archives: Metis

Entry #19: Saskatoon Health Region – First Nations and Métis Health Services

https://www.saskatoonhealthregion.ca/locations_services/Services/fnmh/service/Pages/Resources.aspx

This website contains information for First Nations and Métis peoples regarding medical services available in the Saskatoon Health Region. Through online brochures, contact information, and links to other Saskatoon Health Region services, visitors to the site can access mental wellness telephone assistance, information about chronic disease management, and how to find an advocate to support oneself in the health care system. The face-to-face services provided by the department are also communicated, as well as how to access them. Because of the impoverished living conditions facing many First Nations and Métis people in Saskatchewan, this website is a much needed resource to help Indigenous peoples in Saskatchewan access necessary medical information, treatment, and support. Links on the site connect to other departments of the health region and external helplines.

Entry #16: CBC News – Saskatchewan Graduation Rates

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/sask-grad-rates-1.4302374
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/sask-indigenous-graduation-rates-1.4148401

These two articles from CBC examine the trends in graduation rates in Saskatchewan. With Aboriginal student graduation rates lower than non-Aboriginal students, other issues raised for discussion include social circumstances and budgetary constraints. Engagement has been identified as a key element to providing a higher quality of education for First Nations and Métis students. These articles help to explain some of disparity in postsecondary attendance rates, and subsequently, opportunities for advancement for Aboriginal youth. The articles also link to similar articles from slightly different perspectives regarding the graduation rate research.

Overcoming Barriers Starts with Funding and Education (Mod 2 Post 4)

Coming off my last post and in my search for financial support for Indigenous girls in post-secondary education, I came across an Indigenous-led registered charity called Indspire. In addition to it dispersing financial aid, it also provides an online resource for teachers with a variety of lesson plans, online webinars, in-class seminars and links to upcoming events.

In my research so far about the barriers facing Indigenous women in STEAM and tech-related fields, two trends are emerging- funding and teacher education. Funding is one way to support Indigenous students becoming successful in education, but another large indicator for success is the education of teachers and their knowledge and understanding of how to deliver curriculum and better help support Indigenous students. There are two upcoming conferences that will have Indigenous students and Indigenous educators sharing their experiences and practices of what works and providing teachers with some of this knowledge and understanding about Indigenous needs in education.

The first event is coming up this Oct 19th at Simon Fraser University where a panel of 3 Laureates (Dakota Brant- First Nations, Maatalii Okalik- Inuit, and Gabrielle Fayant- Metis), will “discuss issues such as being the first person in the family to go to university or being the only Indigenous student in the class, and how schools can better support Indigenous students.” Registration is still open.

Another upcoming conference is the 23rd Annual Aboriginal Education Conference “Renewing our Relationship” put on by the First Nations Education Steering Committee and happening in Vancouver Nov 30- Dec 1-2 at the Westin Bayshore. As stated on their website this conference will be:

“Showcasing innovative curriculum, inspiring people and excellent networking opportunities, the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) Annual Aboriginal Education Conference draws over 800 educators each year. Our conference theme, Renewing Our Relationship, will explore the role of education in reconciliation as part of the ongoing conversations about Canada’s 150th celebrations and planning for the future of First Nations education in British Columbia. This will include examining how we can work together to transform our relationships in order to advance quality First Nations education.

There are a variety of workshops to choose from and several keynote speakers, including one of the authors from our course readings- Dr. Jan Hare who is the Associate Dean for Indigenous Education (UBC).

Entry #6: A Special Report on Race and Power (Macleans)

Macdonald, N. (2016, July 30). Saskatchewan: A special report on race and power. Retrieved October 12, 2017, from http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan-a-special-report-on-race-and-power/

This article published by Maclean’s magazine in January 2015 explores the dynamics involved in leadership positions throughout Saskatchewan. As a province with significant First Nations and Metis populations, the statistics shared in the article show that this raw composition is not proportionately realized in leadership roles. The balance of written text and graphical organizations helps to highlight the most significant pieces of the research while also providing sufficient explanation and contextualization. This resource is especially useful for exploring the realities facing Aboriginal peoples in Saskatchewan as they work to gain more representation and strengthen their communities. Beneath the article, links to related stories point to additional currently relevant issues and events involving and affecting Aboriginal Canadians.

Entry #4 – Gabriel Dumont Institute Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture

(http://www.metismuseum.ca/)

This online museum is full of digitized collections of artifacts, videos, audio recordings, photographs, and other resources pertaining to the historical and present day culture and experiences of the Métis peoples. They also provide learning resources for educators, both print and online, linguistic tools for Michif (the Métis language), and ongoing and temporary exhibits. They list links to the Virtual Museum of Canada online resource about Batoche, as well as copious links to external websites under the categories of Aboriginal, Archive and Museum, Canadian History and Archaeology, Genealogy, Government and Youth Empowerment, Métis History/Culture/Politics, and Michif. The thousands of components of the online museum combined with the multitude of external links make this resource a valuable research tool for both primary and secondary sources.

Traditional Ceremonies and Traditional Cooking!

My web hunting has yielded a couple of gems in this module. Two regarding ceremonies, one regarding Métis cooking, one regarding the education of educators, and one last compilation resource that I am not sure about (I would love some feedback on the last one; mishmash, or valuable?)

This video on the Sundance Ceremony shows the preparation that is involved in this ceremony from multiple perspectives. It also includes elements of history and how they have impacted the way ceremonies are hosted and celebrated today.

This video is about the Blood Tribe of South Western Alberta. Though the piece itself is dated, it speaks of the divide between past and present generations and the ways each has known, and currently knows, the world. This includes the shift in culture from attending Sundance camps to attending rodeos instead. It also may be something to consider the two above documentaries in comparison to each other. How do the different groups experience the Sundance ceremony? How are the perspectives shown the same/ different? Why might that be?

This Métis cookbook could be such a great piece of enrichment for an Aboriginal studies course of unit! It contains history in the form of an introduction and as personal recollections distributed throughout the book. It offers a large variety of recipes from wild game to breads to jellies. It also offers a comparison of traditional preparations versus how one might prepare a similar dish today. In addition, it contains nutrition information throughout.

This website is a compilation of resources. It contains categories on a large number of things; from relevant or related news articles, recipes, genealogy, the pow wow circuit, obituaries, and classified ads. However, I am having trouble identifying the authenticity of this site. I am hoping for some perspectives on this one!

Indigenous Education and Epistemic Violence

http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/indigenous-education-and-epistemic-violence

Education Canada was founded in 1891 and includes a network of educators that contribute their ideas for greater student and teacher engagement in public education in Canada. The link above is an article written by Michael Chandler and he’s very brutally honest in his piece. He outlines Canada’s continuing failure to properly address the training and educational needs of its First Nations, Metis and Inuit students.

4.3: 8th Fire Dispatches

Website: 8^th Fire Dispatches

8^th Fire is a four-part mini-series from CBC that examines the past, present, and future of Canada’s relationship to its indigenous peoples. The mini-series’ website includes many resources relevant to indigenous knowledge. Two that I want to highlight are “Maps” and “Aboriginal Filmmakers”.

The “Maps” section includes a series of thematic maps that can be layered over the map of Canada. One map is a Stories Map, which includes dispatches from different First Nation voices across Canada. These dispatches focus on a variety of topics including history and culture to economic development projects. The Treaties and Land Claims map provides a visual overview of historic treaties, Peace and Friendship Treaties, settled land claims areas, and unsettled land claims areas.

The “Aboriginal Filmmakers” section profiles a handful of Aboriginal filmmakers. Profiles are linked to “dispatches” that the filmmakers have created for CBC as part of the 8^th Fire Series. Most of these dispatches are short documentaries. I feel this dispatch from Jessie Fraser is timely with our recent discussions around Inuit in Nunavut: An Inuk Reporter in Iqaluit

Groundwork for Change

http://www.groundworkforchange.org/

This website aims to help non-Aboriginal Canadians learn about Indigenous issues. It curates information — articles, videos, maps and links — meant to help non-aboriginal people learn about and connect with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. They have many simple drop down menus at the top of the site such as: Learn the Lingo, Learn the Basics and Learn Issues. There are other sites listed under each of these topics for you to read and learn from. It seems like an excellent source of information.

Empowering the Spirit – First Nations, Metis and Inuit Education

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)