Author Archives: DeeDee Perrott

M4: Entry 5 – Elder Wisdom in the Classroom

As I complete my Land Acknowledgment project that I will be implementing in my classes in the fall,  I have been reflecting on the importance of input from the Elders within my school district. This will be an essential step to take before publishing the project in my online classes to ensure that the writing I have completed is respectful and appropriate to our area.

For reference on proper protocol when working with Elders, Ramona Big Head wrote a guide for the Alberta Learning – Walking Together Program called Elder Wisdom in the Classroom. It explains what an Elder is and the guidelines for inviting an Elder into your classroom.

” The Elders of our time are the heart of cultural existence. A sad reality is that our Elders will not be with us forever. However, inviting and having Elders share their knowledge is one way of ensuring that their stories, songs, teachings and wisdom are kept alive for many generations to come. ”
– Ramona Big Head

Big Head, Ramona. (2011). Elder Wisdom in the Classroom. [PDF]. Alberta Learning.  https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/Elders/documents/elder_wisdom_in_classroom.pdf

 

M4: Entry 4 – Beyond Territorial acknowledgments

Chelsea Vowel is a Métis language instructor at the University of Alberta. In her blog – âpihtawikosisân – which is the Cree work for Métis,  she writes about Indigenous issues from a Métis perspective.  One section of her website titled Indigenous Issues 101 has multiple resources related to Myths or Misunderstandings (articles include: An Explanation of Indian Status and The wandering nomad myth) and Historic and Continuing Injustice (articles include: First Nations farming in the Prairies  and  High Arctic Relocations).  

In a blog post from 2016, Beyond territorial acknowledgments, she addresses the purpose, best practices and going beyond the territorial or land acknowledgment.  She believes they can be transformative only if they cause discomfort for the audience and speaker. They need to address “what needs to be done once we’re ‘aware of Indigenous presence’. It requires that we remain uncomfortable, and it means making concrete, disruptive change.” (Vowel, 2016).

 

Vowel, Chelsea (âpihtawikosisân). (2016, September 23). Beyond territorial acknowledgments.  âpihtawikosisân: Law. Language. Culture [blog]. https://apihtawikosisan.com/2016/09/beyond-territorial-acknowledgments/

M4: Entry 3 – We are all Treaty People

A great resource that could be used in the classroom is the kids magazine – Kayak. It is made by Canada History Foundation, which also publishes an adult version called Canada’s History.  They cover a range of topics and include lessons plans suitable for Grades 3-6 or 7-12 for each edition.

To explore more closely what was gained and lost through Treaties in Canada, I found the September 2018 issue called, We are all Treaty People .  It includes a short story called Del’s Truck  that tells the story of a truck that was taken and sold by someone that was not the owner because they claimed they found it with the keys in it.  It was written to illustrate issues with land claims.  A short graphic novel, Power to the People, tells the story of the James Bay Hydroelectric Dam in the 1970’s.  There are also timelines and articles that explain Canada’s troubled treaty history and how these treaties and unceded land across the country continue to shape our future.

Canada’s History Society. (2018, August 22). We are all Treaty People. https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/in-this-issue/we-are-all-treaty-people

M4: Entry 2 -‘I regret it’: Hayden King on writing Ryerson University’s territorial acknowledgement

Hayden King is a professor of Indigenous politics and policy at Ryerson University. In an interview on the program CBC program, Unreserved, he discusses the territorial acknowledgement that he wrote for the University in 2013.  As these acknowledgements become more commonplace he addresses how they have become superficial and ineffective, doing a disservice to the treaties.  He would like to see the acknowledgements updated to include a statement of action at the end.   “This is the land that we’re on and this is what we’re going to do to breathe life into our obligations to those communities and those treaties.” (King, 2019)

 

 

CBC Radio. (2019, January 18). ‘I regret it’: Hayden King on writing Ryerson University’s territorial acknowledgement. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/redrawing-the-lines-1.4973363/i-regret-it-hayden-king-on-writing-ryerson-university-s-territorial-acknowledgement-1.4973371

M4: Entry 1 – Alberta Treaties Road Trip

As part of my research into Treaty history I found the series of videos called –  Alberta Treaties Road Trip.   The videos follow seven students as they travel across Alberta reflecting on what it means to be Treaty People. I have shared one of the 7 videos in the series below.  In it Elder, Clarence Wolfleg shares stories of the signing of Treaty 7 at Blackfoot Crossing. I did not realize the number of different tribes that came together for the signing and that there were 10,000 warriors present. He speaks of the spirit behind the signing from the perspectives of the Indigenous people: that they were not land owners but respected the land, the creator and each other.

 

 

Alberta Regional Consorita. (2021). Alberta Treaties Road Trip. https://arpdcresources.ca/consortia/alberta-treaties-road-trip/?index=3

M3: Entry 5 – Google My Maps

As part of my land acknowledgment project, I want to create an interactive tool where students can share photos, videos or written stories to allow them to reflect on the land on which they live. As an online teacher, I have students across the province of Alberta so I have been playing around with a few different online tools such as ThingLink and Genially  to find the best way to share a map that students can add to themselves.  I found that Google My Maps was the easiest solution as it is free to users and quick to learn. It looks like there are many applications of the tool for different subject areas.

 

 

Mr Lee Teaches.   (2018, November 30). Google My Maps| Have Students Create Custom Maps for Any Subject. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvpt18Hi86w

M3: Entry 4 – The importance of Land

The following clips are from a presentation by Dr. Dwayne Donald, a professor at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Education. As part of his talk, he explains that to understand Indigenous people we need to first understand the local stories of the land.  In the second video, he tells two stories based on the Okotoks Erratic and the Mistaseni Rock in Saskatchewan. With these stories, he shows how the land is an important part of the identity of the Indigenous people in the area.

The ERLC YouTube channel has several other videos taken from his talk, as well as some other great resources related to Indigenous education.

 

 

Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium. [Donald, Dwayne].   (2019,  April 29). The Connection between Land and People.  [Video]. YouTube.  https://youtu.be/PBumxYQh1UU?list=PL6P1FySUgEPQa2NkYE2Pak0h5-d8n5A20

M3: Entry 3 – Alberta Treaty History

The Alberta Teachers Association has created a publication called Stepping Stones.  It was developed to help teachers meet the TQS requirements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Foundational Knowledge competency. As part of my final project, I want to explore the history of treaties in Alberta and they have created an excellent map and information guide for Treaty 6, 7, and 8.   Other topics include: Traditional plant uses, Linguistic Diversity and Revitalization and Elder Protocol. The ATA is continually adding new documents to the collection so users are encouraged to check back for new publications regularly.

 

 

Alberta Teachers Association. (2021). Resources: Stepping Stones. Retrieved July 7, 2021 from https://www.teachers.ab.ca/For%20Members/Professional%20Development/IndigenousEducationandWalkingTogether/Pages/Resources.aspx

M3:Entry 2 – Indigenous Perspectives On Land Acknowledgements

Whenever, we as non-Indigenous people, address issues such as reconciliation, treaties or land acknowledgements it is important to seek out the perspectives of those in the Indigenous community. I thought the following article in Vice was interesting as it focused on the thoughts of Indigenous artists. A common theme was most of the land acknowledgments they heard were not authentic and they expressed the need for them to be active and address relationships with the land.

 

Reference:

Isador, Gregory. (August 9, 2019). Indigenous Artist Tell Us What They Think About Land Acknowledgements. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5yxbd/indigenous-artists-tell-us-what-they-think-about-land-acknowledgements