I enjoyed the following virtual workshop from the Ontario Ministry of Education about the importance of Indigenous perspectives in STEM. The workshop is presented by Joseph Pitawanakwat, the director of Creators Garden, and Haley Higdon, program director of Natural Curiosity.
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. 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.
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
I came across the video in this post while further researching my previous post. It is a talk by Dr. Myrle Ballard about the concept of Three-eyed Seeing, a framework that she developed for integration of Indigenous science, Western science, and our relations.
I thought this resource was very relevant for this week as we continue to reflect on Truth and Reconciliation Day. Please take the time to watch this short documentary.
This video is truly inspiring. Joe Buffalo shares his story of being removed as a child and being put into a residential school at the age of 11 years old. His siblings, parents, grandparents were all at one point in residential schools.
This short documentary shares the hardships he endured due to intergenerational trauma and from being taken away from his family and put into a residential school.
I appreciate this documentary as it shows how Joe became successful through skateboarding. In his rise to fame no one knew that he had been to residential school. I feel like his story is a story that isn’t shared often but could be relatable to many students and adults who suffer with trauma. He also expresses how his skateboarding fame came to a halt as he hadn’t dealt with his trauma.
After not skateboarding for years, it was incredible to think how he was able to connect to the land and choose a better path to bring his passion of skateboarding back into his life. His journey has allowed him to be strong and reconnect to his culture. I can’t imagine the impact he has had on other Indigenous youth and skateboarders around the globe. His journey to success wasn’t easy but he is able to show how perseverance and resilience can change your life.
I highly recommend watching this 15 min short documentary to gain another perspective of the impacts of residential schools. Please note there are curses in the video in case you are planning to share this with a classroom.
I would love to hear other people’s reflections on this thought-provoking video.
In the following video, Dr. Leroy Little Bear discusses Indigenous knowledge and western science at a talk in Banff. He is wonderful speaker and connects quantum physics to his Blackfoot knowledge. He uses humour and familiar characters (such as the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland) to explain complex ideas. The most important message I took away from the talk was that Indigenous science and western science are both legitimate sciences and are really just different ways of looking at and describing natural processes.
What I liked about the video is that it is engaging and helps broaden the understanding that different ways of knowing are all valid. There are some differences in how cultures look at the world, but in the end, we are all striving to understand the same thing.
A challenge to encourage people to listen to, learn from, and share the stories of Survivors of Indian Residential Schools.
https://next150.indianhorse.ca/challenges/survivor-stories
Interactive site showcases residential school stories
Stories of residential school experiences
Additional resources:
Indigenous Learning Preferences and Interactive Technologies
Andrew KitchenhamSchool of Education, University of Northern British Columbia
Winslett, Gregory M. and Phillips, Jean (2005) ICTs and Indigenous pedagogy: Techniques of resistance in chat rooms. In Proceedings ascilite 2005: Balance, Fidelity, Mobility: maintaining the momentum?, pages pp. 729-734, Queensland University of Technology.
https://eprints.qut.edu.au/6951/1/6951.pdf
Keri Ewart (now with UBC), a Teacher Education instructor, developed an online version of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise to help teacher candidates better understand the shared history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada from pre-contact to the present day.
Education instructor brings Indigenous history lesson to life online
Integrating indigenous knowledge into appropriate technology development and implementation
John P. Tharakan Howard University
Hafsteinsson, S. B., Bredin, M., & desLibris – Books. (2010;2014;). In Hafsteinsson S. B., Bredin M.(Eds.), Indigenous screen cultures in Canada. University of Manitoba Press.
Grogan, J., Hollinsworth, D., & Carter, J. (2021). Using videoed stories to convey indigenous ‘Voices’ in indigenous studies. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 50(1), 38-46. https://doi.org/10.1017/jie.2019.15
Iseke, J. M. (2011). Indigenous digital storytelling in video: Witnessing with alma desjarlais. Equity & Excellence in Education, 44(3), 311-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2011.591685
Knopf, K. (2010). ‘sharing our stories with all canadians’: Decolonizing aboriginal media and aboriginal media politics in canada. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 34(1), 89-120. https://doi.org/10.17953/aicr.34.1.48752q2m62u18tx2
Kaomea, J., Alvarez, M. B., & Pittman, M. (2019). Reclaiming, sustaining and revitalizing hawaiian education through Video‐Cued makawalu ethnography. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 50(3), 270-290. https://doi.org/10.1111/aeq.12301
A colleague shared this video (on Instagram) providing a perspective/definition of decolonization.
As I have started to investigate the themes of using video to tell Indigenous stories, I have come across the following sources:
List of sources related to Indigenous technology and education
https://worldwidescience.org/topicpages/i/indigenous+technology+education.html
The Teaching for Indigenous Education website responds to the changing educational landscape that recognizes the importance of educational frameworks based on Indigenous perspectives
https://ets.educ.ubc.ca/innovation/special-projects/teaching-for-indigenous-education/
-link to project however is broken
Implementing Indigenous Education with Technology Education in British Columbia
Indigenous peoples teach the world First Nations wisdom through technology
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/indigenous-people-augmented-reality/
This project begins by outlining why Indigenous education and technology education need to be more closely connected.
https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/handle/1828/12903?show=full
O’Shea, J. (2021). Implementing indigenous education with technology education in British Columbia
Why The Time For Indigenous-led Innovation In Tech Is Now, And How To Support It
https://technologycouncil.ca/2022/02/07/why-the-time-for-indigenous-led-innovation-in-tech-is-now/
Indigenous Technology in Technology Education Curricula and Teaching. Gumbo, Mishack (University of South Africa)
The use of ICTs and E-learning in Indigenous Education
Kevin O’Connor, Mount Royal University
https://k12sotn.ca/papers/the-use-of-icts-and-e-learning-in-indigenous-education/
The affordances of technology for teaching Indigenous knowledge
Olivier, Jacko et al (2019)
Olivier, Jako & Van der Westhuizen, Cp & Laubscher, Dorothy & Bailey, Roxanne. (2019). The affordances of technology for teaching indigenous knowledge. 10.4102/aosis.2019.BK133.10.
WEAVING WAYS INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING IN CLASSROOMS AN D SCHOOLS
Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortium
MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY AND INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION: PRACTICAL EDUCTIONAL TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS USED WITHIN NATIVE COMMUNITIES
PhD dissertation from University of Arizona
http://www.malsmb.ca/docs/multimedia-technology-and-indigenous-language-revitalization.pdf
Determinants of Indigenous Student Learning with Digital Technology: A Qualitative Study in a Remote Manitoba First Nations Community
PhD dissertation from University of Manitoba
https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/bitstream/handle/1993/32752/Ben%20Akoh.pdf?sequence=3
A resource page entitled First Nations Pedagogy Online provides links to helpful multimedia sites.
I found a great article by some researchers in Australia related to the use of video when documenting Indigenous stories and cultural practices. The article includes a discussion of consent, ethics, and ethnography.
The above article references a few other articles that could be helpful:
Technology amplifies Indigenous knowledge is discussed within this website article authored by Mikaela Jade. According to the article, augmented reality and other technologies can play a role in fostering cultural connection and digital skills.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/indigenous-people-augmented-reality/
The Christensen Fund supports Indigenous Peoples in advancing their inherent rights, dignity and self-determination. The site includes a video project from 2011 that showcases the personal accounts of elders on the topics of sacred sites, land, language, culture, and the future.
https://www.christensenfund.org/programs/
University College of the North website hosts an Elder’s traditional knowledge section including videos and other resources featuring elders from northern Manitoba