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.
Tag Archives: education
Module 3 (Post 3) – Meshing Laboratory Science with Traditional Ecological Knowledge
The following article by Natalie Rademacher discusses post secondary educators who are combining their laboratory science courses with Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Some of the educators who are named include Gregory Cajete, who we know from our course readings, and Samantha Chisholm Hatfield, who teaches at Oregon State University.
From the article:
“By meshing laboratory science with Traditional Ecological Knowledge, college professors aim to cultivate better environmental decision makers — and decisions.”
Module 3 (Post 2) – What if Indigenous Science Were Part of the Science Curriculum?
The document linked in this blog was a very interesting read. Dr. Darren Ranco, an anthropologist and member of the Penobscot Nation, worked with a team to develop the Wabanaki Youth in Science (WaYS) program. When it was first developed in 2013, WaYS was offered to teens so they could learn about STEM and environmental stewardship. The part of the document that really piqued my interest described the expansion of the program into Maine University. There are now four courses being offered that weave together western science and Indigenous science.
Module 3 (Post 1) – Indigenous Connections to the Northeast Swale
The Meewasin Valley Authority is a non-profit organization that cares for the South Saskatchewan River valley and natural areas in and around Saskatoon, SK. The group has recently introduced a new resource to help secondary (grades 9-12) teachers engage in place-based education with their students at one of the city’s conservation areas. I was particularly excited about this as I was involved with a bioblitz that brought elementary school children to the swale for tours, exploration, and pond-dipping activities. The swale is an interesting landscape that was once part of the river valley many years ago and is home to a number of wildlife species and even some rare prairie plants.
From the site:
‘These new digital resources create curriculum connections to a section of content in the Meewasin App called “Indigenous Connections to the Northeast Swale” as well as physical interpretive panels located at this site. They also include links to a variety of other content and have been designed to encourage teachers and students to take part in land-based activities throughout the Meewasin Valley with a focus on Treaty Outcomes, Arts Education, Social Studies, History, Indigenous Studies, Environmental Science & Health Science.’
Module 2 (Post 5) – School science from the eyes of the Woodlands Cree
The following paper is written from the perspective of an educator and a member of the Barren Lands Cree Nation, who grew up on the eastern shore of Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan. It aims to provide a guide to including cultural content in science education. Throughout our readings and discussions, we have learned a lot about the value of place-based education and culturally relevant education. Although not aimed at post-secondary science classrooms, I still think the content is valuable as many of my Indigenous students come from northern Saskatchewan communities.
Michell, H. (2012). School science from the eyes of the Woodlands Cree: Using the migawap dwelling and traditional values as a guide to plot fundamental key concepts and ideas. The Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 32(2), 19-49.
Module 2 (Post 1) – Living Knowledge
The Living Knowledge Project is an Australian-based research project that was developed to find the most effective way to integrate indigenous knowledge into the secondary science curriculum. The page that I have linked to here is dedicated to the history of ‘both ways’ education, where students are exposed to a mixture of western and indigenous education.
https://livingknowledge.anu.edu.au/html/educators/07_bothways.htm
module 3: post 3 – The Clay we are made of
I found this 2017 book: The Clay We Are Made Of: Haudenosaunee Land Tenure on the Grand River by Susan M. Hill on Canada Commons.
Although I haven’t read the entire book yet, it provides a great history of the Six Nations of the Grand River (the peoples I am focussing on for my final project). It doesn’t focus on education, but there is some info on education. For example, this thought-provoking passage:
The TRC’s call understandably emphasizes education and related institutions. For Six Nations, there is certainly a need to address the direct impacts of the residential school system on the community, especially for the remaining survivors and their direct descendants. However, as many Indigenous people across Canada (and beyond) suggest, the effects are much further-reaching, and the mentality that brought about residential schooling also altered fundamental ideas held by Indigenous people about education, particularly in how it relates to Indigenous Knowledge/Original Teachings. The primary conduits for traditional Native education are the Native languages of the people. The attack on Indigenous languages by the residential school system and related policy initiatives is the most measurable in terms of impact. Therefore, upon embarking on reconciliation, the most assessable area of improvement could be language revitalization (for those communities who deem it a key goal of reconciliation). Fewer than 1 percent of all Grand River Haudenosaunee are now fluent in any of their original languages, but there is a great desire to regain fluency.
Alongside clearly articulated goals for Haudenosaunee language revitalization are aspirations for community-controlled education for the Six Nations community as well as adequate financial support to access quality educational opportunities inside and outside the community; this is relevant for all levels of education, from pre-school through doctoral studies. Many community-based thinkers have suggested this could easily be financed through land claims resolution. [emphasis added]
Module 1 (Post 5) – Connecting with students in remote locations
While following links from my previous post, I found information about a program called Connected North that uses communication technology to reach students in remote Indigenous communities. The idea is to give youth access to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis role models that can help the students understand the applications of what they learn in school and give them opportunities for meaningful connections with professionals in a variety of fields as well as students in other locations. According to the site, a majority of teachers find the program helps engage their students. I am excited to read some more about this program and see if there is the potential to use this type of technology to help my soon-to-be first year undergraduate students prepare for university.
Module 1 (Post 3) – Decolonizing Undergraduate Chemistry
I came across this recent paper in the Journal of Chemistry Education that gives an account of York University’s approach to decolonizing the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. It seems that many institutions talk about taking steps towards decolonizing courses, but I have had difficulty finding guidance of how to do this effectively in a post-secondary science department. This paper outlines some of the steps that are being taken to shift the narrative of the courses away from solely a western view of science.
In one example, instructors of a colloidal chemistry course included a discussion of ancient Egyptian codification of knowledge of papyrus. While this is a relatively small step, the instructor is acknowledging that science has been happening by peoples all over the globe for longer than the western view of science has existed.
Dessent, C.E., Dawood, R.A., Jones, L.C., Matharu, A.S., Smith, D.K., & Uleanya, K.O. (2022). Decolonizing the undergraduate chemistry curriculum: An account of how to start. Journal of Chemical Education, 99(1), 5-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00397
Jessica Presta: Module 2, Post 5
Seeing as there is a palpable awareness of a need to decolonize nursing education, I decided to research into what steps are being taken to achieve this. I stumbled across a framework created by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) and the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association (CINA) whose goal is to support decolonization, Indigenization, and reconciliation in nursing education. Their framework includes foundational strategies, recruitment and retention strategies, and curricular strategies for nursing education to advance the above goals and respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action. Here is an excerpt of the calls of action from the TRC as they related to nursing education:
Their framework is quite extensive and is a great starting place for decolonizing nursing education. They state implementation of this framework and their strategic plan to occur from 2019-2023, I will be curious to know what has been accomplished to date. I will focus some of my research time to answering this in the coming days.