Tag Archives: Indigenous knowledge

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.

Truth and Reconciliation in the Classroom – M3 P4

This article from Dr. Kate Freeman, Shawn McDonald and Dr. Lindsay Morcom (2018) discusses the ways in which we can work towards truth and reconciliation in our classrooms as educators. This article fits well with a few of the topics I am researching for my final project: Barriers to implementation and Meaningful and respectful implementation. It made me reflect on the ways in which I try to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into my classroom. A few of my key takeaways from the article:

  • “It’s very important that teachers realize that the education system has been used to rob Indigenous people of their languages, their cultures, and their communities through the residential school system. This is why teachers have a responsibility to work with Indigenous people, families, and communities, rather than continuing to work in a system that speaks for Indigenous people, families, and communities – that is, don’t do for, do with.”
  • “Fortunately, teaching is not about having all the answers and teachers are not being asked to be experts on all of Canada’s Indigenous people.”
  • “Ask yourself: “If I were a member of the group in question, could I be offended?” Take history into account, and show empathy.”
  • “The inquiry approach is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to move metaphorically from the position of all-knowing sage in front of their students, to co-learning partner sitting beside their students.”
  • “It’s not about teaching everything, it’s about having the integrity and humility to teach something”

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 2) – Indigenous Women and Knowledge

In my web searches, I discovered a book called Living on the Land  that explores the knowledge of Indigenous women that has been largely overlooked by patriarchy-informed Western research. I have not yet had the time to read the book, but have added it to my reading list for the future. The podcast below discusses Living on the Land and the stories within.

Module 4: Post 4 – The Resilience Project

This is a project that I stumbled upon while perusing the agenda and session descriptions for the Indspire 2023 conference in Winnipeg. This is a teacher resource called Resilience: 50 Indigenous Art Cards and Teaching Guide, which features First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women artists. The project highlights this connection to the topic of resilience beautifully,

“Most often, resilience is narrowly defined in the dictionary as the ability to recover from and cope with adversity. However, long before the European invasion of the continent, resilience was a central tenet within Indigenous traditional knowledge and customary practices, and it still is. For these Indigenous women artists, resilience is embodied as endurance, adaptability and sovereignty.”

Lee-Ann Martin provides an essay discussing the project. The project celebrates the Indigenous women whose artwork reclaims that traditional body of knowledge that has been silenced due to colonialism. This project provides another medium for exploring local Indigenous knowledge and perspectives. The use of technology is evident in many of the photos to enhance the artwork’s meaning and to further the learning of the resilience of Indigenous women and their knowledge.

Module 4: Post 3 – Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change

I stumped across the website Climate Atlas of Canada and an article called Indigenous Knowledges and Climate Change. The article discusses the connection between the land and how the “world is out of balance” due to the disregard for traditional Indigenous knowledge. The report and the video provide a short documentary of the Indigenous worldviews regarding culture and climate change. The article addresses how climate change is not just an environmental issue but a colonial issue rooted in politics, capitalism, and western ideologies.

The article discusses Indigenous ways of knowing are shaping climate solutions. It also guides some of the efforts that are being undertaken taken titled “Seven generation solutions.”

 “What we’re trying to teach is that traditional knowledge is not just for Indigenous people, it’s for everybody… All you have to do, really, is start to respect and understand traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and you will see there will be a groundswell of new creative and innovative ways and means in which to address these challenges that we face today in the world.”

This website provides an interesting perspective on how sustainable technology can be used within Indigenous communities to solve climate change. The article addresses how these solutions are rooted in a return to the land and, therefore, rooted in decolonization. This article is connected to my research project as it outlines how traditional knowledge and practices can be used to combat more significant issues such as climate change. The medium of the message and the sustainable technology practices are ways in which technology is integrated with these local knowledges.

This is a similar article, Climate Changed: First Nation balances Western science with traditional knowledge, which identifies how fake “beaver dams” can be used to restore stream flow for wildlife. “It’s not just about the watershed and the water — it’s about restoring the culture,”. . . “The Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) culture is directly connected to the land and the water. So, by restoring the watershed, we are actually helping to restore the culture.”

Module 4 post 5 (Sam Charles)

The process of discovery is so much fun, and to stumble upon a new worthwhile resource is awesome. These five sites provide some excellent examples of video as a method to disseminate Indigenous knowledge, and will be included in the video repository of my final project.

  1. Documenting elders on film
  2. Listen to the knowledge of the elders
  3. First Nations Pedagogy
  4. The contribution of indigenous elders: An example of intergenerational solidarity
  5. Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre

1. Listen to the knowledge of the elders

The National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education (NCCIE) is hosted by First Nations University of Canada. This site provides a full video catalogue featuring over 200 videos highlighting First Nations, Metis, and Inuit ways of knowing and being. The site provides a searchable directory of audio and video resources.

https://www.nccie.ca/knowledge-space/elder-knowledge/

2. Documenting elders on film

Director Sarain Fox has produced some wonderful videos highlighting Indigenous culture, and many feature Elders including her auntie and matriarch Mary Bell. This documentary is extremely powerful. “We are people of our land, and people of our stories.”

https://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/shorts/inendi

3. First Nations Pedagogy

This site curated by two educators provides resources related to Indigenous pedagogy.

https://firstnationspedagogy.ca. The site led me to the Grandmothers Wisdom Project.

The Project is intended to supporting all people reclaiming their relationship to Mother Earth, calling for a profound transformation in the heart, mind, and spirit.

https://www.grandmotherswisdom.org/

4. McMaster Indigenous Elder projects

I found several Elder videos posted by McMaster University. Many are related to health and Indigenous knowledge in this area. This is an interesting blog post about the contributions of elders with health contexts.

https://www.mcmasteroptimalaging.org/blog/detail/blog/2021/08/25/the-contribution-of-indigenous-elders-an-example-of-intergenerational-solidarity

5. Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre

The MFERC provides services and supports to First Nation schools in Manitoba. They also have a collection of documentaries and videos featuring elders.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6UdcrR9HVgLR-0-ZrUysM0EmokbxC0i_

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6UdcrR9HVgKnWAVfMpXYlfGR9VWjQuHX

 

 

Module 4 post 2 (Sam Charles)

Following up on the readings from Week 10 and 11, I started to investigate some resources for better understanding why the study of Indigenous culture, history and language is important. For my final project, this concept of why this teaching is important provides more context as to why Indigenous teaching and learning has a role within education in Canada and beyond.

  1. Documenting the resurgence of a culture (Sinixt)
  2. How to understand Indigenous Culture
  3. The importance of understanding Indigenous history
  4. Why learning about Indigenous Peoples is important
  5. Indigenous learning products

1. Documenting the journey of an Indigenous People’s to overturn its legal extinction designation. The making of this film is similar to some of the content we read about earlier in this course. In 1995, after hearing the story of Watt and the Sinixt struggle, the director reached out to the Sinixt. After several weeks of phone conversations, he was invited attend the annual Thanksgiving gathering at the site. The director used the limited funds he received from the NFB to produce seven hours of initial recordings that are now the core of the film.

https://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2022/11/09/york-film-professors-documentary-explores-little-known-struggle-of-the-sinixt-people/

2. The Program Coordinator for the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark describes how learning about Indigenous cultures, histories and languages can enhance partnerships and relationships.

https://en.ccunesco.ca/blog/2019/8/understanding-indigenous-cultures-traditions-and-languages

3. This site provides lots of resources to educate, raise awareness, and cultural understanding and competency, so users can address and dismantle systemic barriers that exist for Indigenous peoples.

https://www.kbrs.ca/insights/why-understanding-indigenous-history-important

 

4. An overview of why learning about Indigenous Peoples is important with primarily Australian resources

https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/education/how-do-i-start-learning-about-aboriginal-culture

5. Indigenous Learning provides access to resources, courses, workshops and events on the history, heritage, cultures, rights and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The site offers 6 online courses including reflecting on cultural bias, historical relationships between Canada and Indigenous peoples, First Nations overview, Metis in Canada, Inuit in Canada and steps towards Indigenous Reconciliation.

https://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/ils-eng.aspx

M4- POST 1

I was interested in learning more about how Indigenous people feel and think about using and being involved in developing digital technologies. We all have citizenship to a world, even if it is unwanted and the modern digital world. So, how can we use the wisdom and traditional knowledge of Indigenous communities all around the planet to enhance this world? How can we combine that knowledge with this technology?

For the last part of this blog, I decided to look at some of the ongoing and done projects (including the creation of media)and research studies around the topic of technology and Indigenous people.

I found many projects with the main focus on climate change. One of the very interesting projects is using artificial intelligence and Indigenous knowledge to save baby turtles on their journey from the shore to the water.

 

Indigenous knowledge and AI help protect baby turtles from predators on Australia’s remote Cape York

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.’