Category Archives: MODULE 4

The Sixties Scoop – M4 P3

The Sixties Scoop is something I have heard of before but wanted to look into further. In order for us as a society to move forward, it is important that we learn about and understand our past. Most of the research I have done, both professionally and on my own, has been about residential schools. The sixties scoop is another really intense part of Canadian history that I think it’s important to learn more about. This article from Erin Hanson about the Sixties Scoop was really helpful for me in learning more about what it was exactly. A few shocking details from the article that really resonated with me:

“In 1951, twenty-nine Aboriginal children were in provincial care in British Columbia; by 1964, that number was 1,466.”
“it was not until 1980 that the Child, Family and Community Services Act required social workers to notify the band council if an Aboriginal child were removed from the community.”
“Families approached agencies for help and found that what was described as being in the child’s “best interest” resulted in their families being torn asunder and siblings separated.”
“Sadly, the involvement of the child welfare system is no less prolific in the current era…the “Sixties Scoop” has merely evolved into the “Millennium Scoop.””

My biggest takeaway from looking into the Sixties Scoop is that it is not actually a problem of the past. It is a problem that persists today. Hanson describes it has the successor to residential schools. Cultural genocide persists through the amount of children still in care and taken away from their families.

Indigenous Elders in the Classroom – M4 P2

Upon researching for the Meaningful and respectful implementation portion of my final project, I came across this video from the Province of British Columbia. It’s a short video but it had a few really powerful messages that I was able to reflect on. One of my goals as an educator is to build a meaningful relationship with an Elder in my community. I think it would be an incredible experience for all the students in my school to be able to learn and listen about Indigenous perspectives surrounding topics they are learning about in their classes.

One of the pieces of advice that was shared in this video about Indigenous perspectives and world views in the classroom was, “when you put your arms out and open them to the community, the community open their arms to you.” There are many excuses as to why I have not begun to make a connection with an Elder in our community. But my takeaway from this message is that now that I know more about the topic, I need to take the plunge! Another thought shared in this video was “if it’s not you, who else is it going to be?” Though my school is filled with fantastic educators, I am the one who needs to get organized in order to make this happen for students, especially for Indigenous students in our community. For them to see themselves and be able to share in their culture and stories with their classroom community.

Personal Learning Journeys – M4 P1

As I continue my own personal journey towards understanding more about Indigenous knowledge and culture as well as my own Truth and Reconciliation journey, I found the words of Michelle Fenn in this article to be helpful. She says, “As a non-Indigenous educator, I know that I will continuously be on a professional and personal learning journey. I acknowledge that it is my responsibility to do this learning.”

I sent out a really short survey to some fellow educators on the reasons why they don’t feel comfortable incorporating Indigenous knowledge into their teaching practice. Many of them shared that they didn’t feel like they knew enough about it to do it in a respectful way. The follow-up question to that was what would help them to feel more confident in doing this? Many of them shared that having more professional learning (PL) opportunities to discover more about this would be helpful. What I think many of them are not taking into account is that though it is our professional responsibility to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into our teaching, it is also our personal responsibility as non-Indigenous educators to do the learning ourselves and on our own time. If we are as committed to decolonization as we say we are, it is going to mean making time in our own lives to put in the work.

Upon further reflection, I understand why educators are requesting more PL opportunities. It can be frustrating to be told you need to do something without the support of how to do it. That being said, there is learning that can and needs be done outside of these PL opportunities so that non-Indigenous educators can do their part in working towards Truth and Reconciliation.

Module 4

For my final module, I am looking at incorporating Indigenous awareness and the environment. I think it is so important for people in the trades to learn about how construction can be used in a better way to help the environment, but also how to see construction and the environment from an Indigenous perspective.

Unfortunately, what I am seeing is a disconnect between the trades and the environment and an Indigenous perspective. I can find trades and the environment, or the environment and Indigenous information, but no information on the three themes together. So, this might prove to be a little cumbersome or messy when it comes to writing information about this.

However, for now, in this blog I will put try to add as much information as I can with regards to these three themes.

M4 P1

This is a great resource regarding indigenous knowledge and climate change. It gives a lot of information about the impact of colonialism on climate change and how “self-determination is the key” to combat climate change.

Climate Atlas

It also has a great short video on how the world is out of balance.

M4P2

Indigenous Clean Energy

This website showcases how indigenous led programs are supporting the cause in climate change. They “promote Indigenous leadership and inclusion in Canada’s energy futures”

Indigenous Clean Energy

They also support an initiative which is entitled “Power to the People”. This aligns well with the information we have been learning in class and that of self-representation and self-determination. Power to the People is an indigenous led “television documentary series that explores the renewable energy revolution empowering Indigenous communities across Canada”. It is run by Indigenous groups and really focuses on how they see the world and their perspective on the environment and ultimately, how they think we help the environment.

Power to the People

M4P3

Bow Lake Earth Project is interesting because it has successfully worked with Indigenous peoples to create a wind farm which is the largest in North America. It is a great collaboration between a corporate/trades developer and a large Indigenous group.

M4P4

This article surprised me a bit as it talks about how Indigenous led clean energy could lead to reconciliation. In my mind I had never thought of reconciliation and climate change in the same breath. The website discusses how reconciliation is about shared knowledge and how this can lead to healing and reconciliation.

It made me think about how can we all heal while also allowing the earth to heal.

A Shared Future

M4P5

This last post I would like to share some videos about Indigenous world view and climate change. I saw this and it gave me some insights as to how i wanted to create similar videos an this subject.

This next video gave me time to pause. It talks about giving rights to bodies of water. it is decolonizing our thought processes and yet at the same time, having to work within the Eurocentric world. In this case it means giving a voice to what we would generally think as inanimate but what Indigenous people consider as an entity.

Module 4 Post 5

My final post.

This feels emotional.

I am not ready to let go.

I have not spent enough time here.

For this, my final blog post for ETEC 521, I found what I believe to be the most practical resource for my purposes of designing a course which incorporates indigenous knowledge and manners of being for International students.

Cultural Teachings Tutorials – Create to Learn

What I liked most about this resource is the lesson plan templates that are available. In this particular area of Cultural Teachings, there is a focus on Indigenous skills and talents. The best part about this resource is that it is all based on ‘making.’ Makerspaces are something for which I have recently come to give great respect. Prior to taking ETEC 565 on campus at UBC this summer with Dr. Andrea Sator and Dr. Keri Ewart, I had never even heard of Makerspaces and I certainly had not understood the premise behind what made them so successful.

In short, it is an opportunity to create. It is an equitable, diverse, inclusive, decolonized and antiracist place to design artefacts of meaning representing and communicating our interpretation of life experience to others. This SocioCultural Constructivist type of learning is an important ingredient in the recipe of creating participatory individuals.

Module 4 – Post 1

https://www.createtolearn.ca/

This website Create to Learn is a stunning representation of how the maker mindset is infused in Indigenous cultures. It displays numerous artistic and holistic practices. I appreciate this site as it shares an abundance of resources that can be used in education.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0578867311/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=0578867311&linkCode=as2&tag=reference03c-20&linkId=cb76f8ead885da7545744973db1c03bd

The Create to Learn book was previously handed out through TakingITGlobal. Here is the description of the book that you can purchase on Amazon:

“TakingITGlobal’s Create to Learn program has collaborated with more than 50 First Nations, Métis and Inuit creatives to support digital skill-building and traditional knowledge for young people. Our online connection of hundreds of free training videos has attracted more than 100,000 views, and this print resource brings some of these diverse tutorials to life on paper! From digital skills like podcasting, videography, and making music to cultural teachings such as moccasin making and fish skin tanning – this collection of lessons will boost your knowledge in a variety of areas.”

This book was created with the voices of Indigenous Peoples. It has valuable insight that provides educators with the confidence to lead and teach the lessons shared in this book. Throughout this class however we have read so many articles about authentic voices and ensuring that the stories are allowed to be shared. I wonder if the lessons shared here are okay to share or if they would be better shared by bringing in Elders or Knowledge Keepers. In my summer course whenever we use hide to make medicine pouches or mini moccasins we always invite an Indigenous Elder or Knowledge Keeper to share their stories or experiences. It feels more respectful and authentic to have their voices shared. I find this has been something I continue to reflect about. Inviting people into our classrooms needs to be thoughtful and done with proper protocols as mentioned in the resource from the Alberta Teachers Association called Stepping Stones. https://legacy.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/For%20Members/ProfessionalDevelopment/Walking%20Together/PD-WT-16g%20-%20Elder%20Protocol.pdf

When I find valuable resources like Create to Learn I want to ensure I consider the purpose of the resource and that I use it thoughtfully.

M4 – P2 Worldviews/Perspectives in the Classroom.

Since I am looking at Indigenizing high school shop class as my final project, it would be fitting to explore this document released from the BC Ministry of Education. It came out in 2015 and is entitled “Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspective in the classroom.” This is a fairly long document, and includes details such as how the document came to be.

A part I enjoyed in the document was that it encouraged educators to learn from local First Nations as worldviews can be tied to local lands. Incorporating local First Nation’s worldviews in the classroom is much more meaningful than the popular generic Indigenous perspectives that are a little more well known.

Module 4 (Post 5) – Indigenous Knowledge and Decolonizing Academia

The following podcast is a discussion with scientists Ray Pierotti (University of Kansas) and Tara McAllister (University of Auckland) about Indigenous Knowledge in science and the challenges that Indigenous people face in academia. Both of these topics are relevant to my day-to-day work with undergraduate science students. I have added Pierotti’s book “Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology” to my reading list.

Module 4 (Post 4) – TEK Field Course

While searching for information about Traditional Ecological Knowledge in post-secondary for my final project, I discovered a hands-on science field course that was developed in partnership between the University of Windsor and the Walpole Island First Nation. Part of my excitement about this stems from the recent news that I may be able to participate in my department’s annual biology field course as a botany instructor in the coming years. I would very much like to implement activities for the students that focus on respect and understanding of the local landscape and was inspired by approach that is described in the video below.

M4 P2

Corbeau vole la lumière : Recueil des mythes Haidas par Bill Reid

In my FRAL 9 class, we just started a unit on “les contes” and I am trying to bring in Indigenous perspectives as much as possible.

One of the resources I am using is the book above, and it is proving to be an important part of bringing in Indigenous knowledge into theclassroom.

https://www.leslibraires.ca/livres/corbeau-vole-la-lumiere-recueil-de-bill-reid-9782896110742.html