Exploring teaching and including land acknowledgements, Indigenous writer Selena Mills illustrates the importance of land acknowledgements and connections to reconciliation.
https://locallove.ca/issues/what-are-land-acknowledgements-and-why-do-they-matter/#.YMrc06hKhPZ
Illustrations By Chief Lady Bird from the article “What are land acknowledgements and why do they matter?
Connecting back to Stereotypes and the Commodification of Indigenous Social Reality this YouTube narrative from 2017 summarizes Disney’s portrayal of Indigenous people and discusses if Disney has learned from the mistakes of Pocahontas.
I think discussions like this one are useful tools in encouraging educators and learners to think always strive for improvement, make mistakes, think critically, and then learn from those mistakes. This is an important part of the process in seeking to learn from Indigenous cultures.
To just get a sample I would suggest watching the first 1:50 and the last minute 32:10-32:55
The FNESC BC First Nations Land, Title, and Governance Teacher Resource Guide is an amazing resource http://www.fnesc.ca/governance-2/ for facilitating the respectful and meaningful inclusion of Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into BC classrooms.
I find myself returning time and time again to the Glossary in particular.
There is an accompanying FNESC/FNSA Teacher Resource Guides, Units, Lessons, and Activities for Blended or Remote Learning Contexts (Dec. 2020) for adaptation ideas for remote/online or blended learning situations!
Understanding that online audience are coming from many different geographic places and with different background information, National Geographic offers a range of interdisciplinary lessons on developing the understanding and concept of place.
www.nationalgeographic.org/topics/resource-library-concept-place/
Incorporating activities like these, reflections and opportunities to share with the online community can help create a shared understanding of place. Creating a map of physical location and the people connected in those places is one activity that can aid in this practice.
https://pltcanada.org/en/voices-of-indigenous-youth/
In my exploration of ways that Indigenous Knowledge can inform educational best practices with the added challenge of online delivery and learning, I discovered (new to me) that Native-land.ca has a teacher’s guide with guidance around the map.
I have had the positive experience in Zoom meetings and webinars where the native-land.ca link is shared in the chat and expectations are set at the start that participants are to include a land acknowledgement of where they are and who’s land they are on when the introduce themselves either on microphone or in the chat. Native-land.ca provides a resource so that attendees that might not know the answer can look it up and participate. It encourages and scaffolds online learners to move beyond “I don’t know” and to take a first step, take chances, and make mistakes. The teacher guide explains that the map is not perfect but works to encourage territory awareness in everyday speech and action.
https://native-land.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/teacher_guide_2019_final.pdf
I am so grateful that I was able to go and experience this moving exhibition (https://moa.ubc.ca/exhibition/shame-and-prejudice/) when it was at the UBC Museum of Anthropology this past year.
The online curator tour is available online https://moa.ubc.ca/event/online-curator-tour-of-shame-and-prejudice/
Thinking about who controls technology and the information flow in and out of communities, particularly in reference to research, reminded me of the Ikaarvik program.
Ikaarvik: Barriers to Bridges is a program that works with Arctic youth to be the bridge between research and their communities. Youth identify and explore the strengths of Inuit Knowledge and the strengths of science, and how the two ways of knowing can work together to address issues of local concern. They work with their communities to identify local research priorities, and they work with researchers to address those priorities.
Ikaarvik youth introduce the concept of “ScIQ”–incorporating Inuit knowledge, values and principles (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or IQ) and science for more meaningful community engagement and better research results. If you didn’t know what IQ is, not to worry–Ikaarvik youth are here to help! Read the Ikaarvik youth’s peer-reviewed paper on ScIQ in the journal Arctic Science
Ikaarvik ArcticNet 2020 ScIQ Presentation [12:48 minutes]
Connected North fosters student engagement and enhanced education outcomes in remote Indigenous communities. This leading edge program delivers immersive and interactive education services, through synchronous video technology. The program is made possible through a strong ecosystem of supporters with program delivery managed by TakingITGlobal. The goal is to provide students and teachers with access to content that is engaging and innovative, with the hope of increasing feelings of empowerment in school and in life.
In response to 2020 school closures resulting from COVID-19, Connected North launched Connected North@Home to continue to serve students from their partner communities wherever possible. Connected North, Cisco and a variety of Connected North providers offered dozens of opportunities for students to connect to museums, zoos, artists, storytellers and other amazing organizations to offer unique learning experiences while students are at home.
The recordings are still available to access https://videos.connectednorth.org/
I think this is a strong example of communities identifying the kind of technology they want to bring in.
A Guide to Green Jobs in Canada: Voices of Indigenous Professionals is a 60-page booklet featuring first-person stories from 12 First Nations and Inuit leaders working in the forest and conservation and parks sectors across Canada. These Indigenous role models describe what inspired them to pursue green careers and share lessons learned from lived experiences. Their stories reflect the values and perspectives of Indigenous professionals at various stages of their careers.
This resource was shared in the Natural Curiosity Newsletter.
I also attended the Free Online workshop on May 13 The Importance of Indigenous Perspectives in Children’s Environmental Inquiry, hosted by NC’s very own Haley Higdon where they shared some fantastic example teaching activities.
Decolonizing Place in Early Childhood Education
UBC Library Link https://tinyurl.com/yhefuyzt
This book draws attention to the urgent need for early childhood education to critically encounter and pedagogically respond to the entanglements of environmentally damaged places, anti-blackness, and settler colonial legacies.
