This research paper investigated the use of internet networks and services in remote and rural First Nations in Ontario, Québec, and the Atlantic region. In the findings, it described that even in remote areas, more than half of the participants noted how they use internet to post about, talk about and learn about their own cultures. This article found implications for social media uses as a means of community resilience (Molyneaux, 2014).
Though not directly related to my research topic, I felt that this short film paints an important picture. While we tend to acknowledge the land that we are on, are we also acknowledging he silenced voices and history in those land acknowledgements? The story or history of where the names of out cities came from? The stories and histories of how Indigenous people were treated? In my research, I find that it is important to acknowledge what colonialism has done to Indigenous cultures and education.
Particularly page 11 onwards, this article mentions the importance of social media and how it is “user created, user controlled, flexible, democratic, and both very transparent and very not” (Huijser, 2014, p. 11). Social media’s focus on collaboration, engagement of information sharing and having conversations is in many way in line with the Indigenous perspective (Huijser, 2014).
Huijser, H. (2014). Exploring the opportunities of social media to build knowledge in learner-centered Indigenous learning spaces. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Retrieved from file:///Users/rikavuong/Downloads/05huicorrectedpublishedversion.pdf
I am trying to gather more information about the relationship between indigenous Peoples and the Trades. However a lot of information seems to be from a very Eurocentric point of view. Unions come from very Eurocentric background and the information gleaned from them does not take into account other cultures that may have worked with them.
M2 P1 – Articles:
This first entry is a paper on how to become an indigenous ally. Individuals in Unions need to understand what is allyship, what are biases and stereotypes that prevent us from truly being strong allies.
This was report by the Canadian Labour Force Development board looking at Canada’s indigenous populations and how they relate to the apprenticeship program in Canada. This report talk about “current statistics, an overview of apprenticeship in Canada, information about the Aboriginal experience in apprenticeship, barriers to apprenticeship, case studies, and recommendations”.
This organization is a leader in the trades and are very aware of the indigenous community and how important they are to the Trades. They have done a lot of research and promotion regarding Indigenous Awareness and the Construction community. This is a booklet that they published regarding what it means to be an ally.
Working on Indigenous land I think that I would like to learn more about Land Restitution, what Indigenous Peoples can do to make sure that their land is protected while companies are working on it. I also wanted to learn more about how land acknowledgement plays a part in this.
This post talks about Land Back from and indigenous perspective.
It was interesting learning more about it through a USA lens and how they also see what their Canadian counterparts have gone through.
Some resources that also helps to understand land back are:
The following video I found quite intersting because it is from a large corporation trying to incorporate indigenous culture while working on Indigenous land. They talked about using Western science and Indigenous knowledge and coming together to work and build on the land.
M2 P4 – Ironworkers
There has been strong link between Ironworkers and Indigenous communities. Some of it seems a little once sided as it comes from Unions. An example of this would be the information found in some of the websites of Ironworker Unions such as this webiste:
https://ironworkerslocal97.com/about/aboriginal/
However, I also came across an interesting lecture from Dr. Alan Downey.
As well as some extra information about Ironworkers.
The Information and Communications Technology Council published a report about online learning in Canada. In it there is a small section about the challenges that indigenous communities face when learning online. The report can be accessed here:
A great online resource that I found had a lot of information on education and indigenous culture. This I found particularly interesting because they talk about the some of the different models of education that Athabasca University created for teaching and learning in an Indigenous environment.
One of the fundamental requirements to achive digital equity is the access to reliable internet connection. According to this article, many Indigenous communities in remote areas do not have that connection and therefore their access to online services and resources is limited.
“Recent events, including the pandemic, fires and severe flooding in B.C., have highlighted the inequalities for Indigenous communities that don’t have access to these online services. Without connectivity and the ability to travel, relationships were challenged. Youth were unable to attend online academic and cultural teachings. Communities lost the ability to maintain their social and mental wellness and safety.”
“This lack of connectivity exacerbates socio-economic inequities, including business opportunities, employment, education, and physical and mental health.”
The current policy is for major telecommunications companies to participate in an auction and the job of providing internet with the proper licensing would go to the highest bidder. These companies are mostly focused on improving the internet services in urban areas rather than rural or remote areas. That results in disadvantaging Indigenous communities by leaving them digitally disconnected.
Indigenous leaders in Canada requested a change in the policy for providing internet to remote communities and demanding a seat at a table where decisions are made by sending a letter to François-Philippe Champagnein, theMinister of Innovation, Science and Industry in December 2021.
“At an Assembly of First Nations meeting in December 2020, 98.5 per cent of First Nations Chiefs in attendance from across Canada passed a resolution requesting access to high-speed internet for remote Indigenous communities. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs also passed a resolution in February 2022 in support of a spectrum policy change to urge Indigenous digital equity. The federal government has an opportunity to not only close the digital divide, but to take another meaningful step towards truth and reconciliation by updating its spectrum policy.”
As per Professor Hardman’s suggestion, I read through the In Plain Sight report as a starting place from which to launch my research from for the final project. This report was very challenging to read at times and caused me to feel a sorrow and heartache I was not expecting. The stories told by survey participants were wrought with racism and prejudice. Indigenous specific racism in healthcare across BC is indisputable. The IPS report summarized their findings into 11 categories:
Widespread Indigenous-specific stereotyping, racism and discrimination exist in the B.C. health care system.
Racism limits access to medical treatment and negatively affects the health and wellness of Indigenous peoples in B.C.
Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately impacted by Indigenous-specific racism in the health care system.
Current public health emergencies magnify racism and vulnerabilities, and disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous health care workers face racism and discrimination in their work environments.
Current education and training programs are inadequate to address Indigenous-specific racism in health care.
Complaints processes in the health care system do not work well for Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous health practices and knowledge are not integrated into the health care system in a meaningful and consistent way.
There is insufficient hard-wiring of Indigenous cultural safety throughout the B.C. health care system.
Indigenous roles in health leadership and decision making – both through Indigenous health governance structures and the health care system as a whole – need to be strengthened.
There is no accountability for eliminating all forms of Indigenous-specific racism in the B.C. health care system, including complaints, system-wide data, quality improvement and assurance, and monitoring of progress.
I finally got to start to do a bit of research on my topic: digital equity for Indigenous people. This actually needs more time than I anticipated at the beginning since you can find many similar terms are used to express the issues around digital equity. For example, digital inclusion and the digital divide.
So, I decided that the first step for me was to understand all the different terms and their meanings.
Using the definitions in this link, I created the following concept map for myself.
As I’ve mentioned before, I struggle to find Indigenous resources for my French Immersion secondary class that are age appropriate and written by someone who is Indigenous. I have found this great resource and have started to use it as a novel study in my French courses. The students are loving it and it provides an excellent insight into the history of colonial violence and the traditional values of the Innu community. I’m linking the book here if there are any other French teachers looking for resources!
This TedTalk is an important presentation on reconciliation and education in Canada. Reconciliation in the education system looks like the following for Starleigh Grass :
All adults recognize and celebrate the role Indigenous children play in families and communities
All First Nation students are held to high standards and are taught skills and knowledge that will help them navigate the 21st century
Respectful representation of Indigenous people within the education system
Teaching aboutReconciliation and Residential Schools
Starleigh also mentions the importance when teaching about the history of colonialism and Indigenous people to talk to students about Indigenous knowledge and how knowledge was shared between Indigenous families and communities before colonialism. She states that it is important to start talking about Indigenous history from a positive place and to understand that their was and has always been knowledge, culture and community.
In my introduction post for this course I mentioned that I am an avid reader but I do find it difficult to read while teaching and taking MET courses but it helps when the book content inspires me to think about topics that I am interested in and also engaging in with my coursework. I came across Jesse Wente’s book entitled Unreconciled and knew I had to read it. I originally picked it up as a gift for a friend and then bought my own copy.
I finished the book over this past weekend and although it does not talk specifically about land acknowledgements, which is my research focus, it does focus so much on stereotypes, belonging, inter-generational trauma, reconciliation, and beyond. The book’s title suggests even suggests that reconciliation isn’t possible without truth. I really enjoyed and appreciated Wente’s writing style and his statements on what reconciliation means and how it may not be the best step forward. It helped me to thin deeply about all steps towards reconciliation, including, land acknowledgements.
