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.
Tag Archives: place-based
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 2 – Onkwehon:we education
This paper – “A Haudenosaunee Model for Onkwehon:we (Indigenous) Education” – is like the holy grail for my research topic. I’m interested in how Indigenous peoples educate their own people and how Indigenous values, including valuing the land, inform those education processes. (Onkwehon:we means Indigenous, or first people, in the Kahnyen’kehàka or Mohawk language.)
This paper discusses the importance of Indigenous-led education that reclaims Indigenous ways of knowing, which value “experiential learning, storytelling, and interacting with the land” (Whitlow et al., 2019).
The authors detail how 22 children – half of whom are Indigenous and half are non-Indigenous – took part in three days of workshops on the Six Nations reserve, near Brantford Ontario (the largest reserve in Canada). “The workshops were led and conducted by Haudenosaunee knowledge keepers who covered a range of topics: sovereignty, food, ceremonies, treaties, historical agreements between Six Nations and Brantford, colonization, decolonization, resistance, art, residential schools, cultural pride, language, and artistic practice.” (Whitlow et al., 2019).
The researchers then followed up with participants six months later. There are some very powerful quotes from the youth who participated in the workshops. The following is one such quote that underscores the importance of place-based learning:
“’You’re just held accountable by your environment, being on Six Nations. Like you’re in their community… I think that’s like really helpful whereas maybe if we had these workshops in Brantford and you’re talking about a community that you’re not actually in, it’s not holding you super accountable. You’re in their house, so be respectful while you also inherently try to learn at the same time.’(Non-Onkwehon:we Youth)” (Whitlow et al., 2019).
Reference
Whitlow, K.B, Oliver, V., Anderson, K., Brozowski, K., Tschirhard, S. Charles, D., and Ransom, K. (2019). Yehyatonhserayenteri: A Haudenosaunee model for Onkwehon:we (Indigenous) education. Canadian Journal of Education 42(2).