Author Archives: Seo-Whi Kwon

I got this idea from Shirley about looking into stories of Indigenous scientists and I found this amazing talk by Dr.Leroy Little Bear, a scientist, an academic, a researcher, a professor, and a member of the Blood Tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He has maintained a lifelong professional interest in the philosophy of science, especially theoretical physics, from a First Nations perspective.

I also came across these articles discussing different aspects of Indigenous knowledge and education:

• Researchers from Native American and Indigenous communities explain how colleagues and institutions can help them to battle marginalization.
• Meet the scientists embracing traditional Indigenous knowledge

Some of the topics included in the articles are:

• How to raise your voice to insist on Indigenous equity in STEM
• How to establish equitable and respectful collaborations
• How to recognize that communities maintain data sovereignty
• Asking for consent from Indigenous communities

I highly suggest watching Dr.Leroy Little Bear’s talk. It’s very inspirational!

Stories related to place and nature are a significant part of Indigenous cultures and traditions so I thought, is there a way to bring in Indigenous literature, stories, or languages into STEAM-related topics? Is there a way to bring in current events related to Indigenous peoples to promote Citizen Science? Here are some websites l’ve found that could be useful:

• http://www.indigenouspeople.net/ipl_final.html
• https://www.indianz.com/

I have also noticed on my App Store, there was a story dedicated to learning an Indigenous language. Here are some screenshots of iOS apps related to Indigenous languages. I have to say, I was surprised to see so many of them! I think these apps are not limited to STEM/STEAM content but something that could be applied in all subject fields.

imagineNATIVE is an organization that is recognized locally, nationally and internationally for providing programming and creation of indigenous media arts. Their goal is to create “a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures through the presentation of contemporary Indigenous-made media art including film, video, audio and digital media.”

Here is an example of an event hosted by imagineNATIVE called, Night of the Indigenous Devs, which is “a celebration and showcase of international Indigenous video game talent.”

imagineNATIVE also started an iNdigital Youth Collective, focusing on “supporting Indigenous youth in learning digital creation and building engagement as creatives” which I think would provide opportunities for indigenous students to self-represent, engaging with STEAM knowledge that is relevant to their experiences and identities.

In the study by Wallis and Ross (2021), it is mentioned several times that the involvement of Indigenous people when designing, developing and creating Indigenous media is essential, as self-determination and authentic experiences are brought in. After learning about the importance of place-based knowledge and stories related to real experiences with sensory interactions, I started to wonder if the integration of AR/VR technologies can support sharing and creating digital Indigenous media that can also be applied to STEM education.

I’ve found some valuable resources on how AR/VR technologies were utilized by community members, elders, and Indigenous creators to tell their stories and make connections between the past, present and future (Wallis & Ross, 2021), which provided more direction for my final project:

1. Using AR for Aboriginal Storytelling
2. Building Indigenous XR Creators
3. Awavena Full Trailer

I also came across an Indigenous VR game, Ksistsikoom which is a Canadian VR story game made in 2019 that takes you through the journey of a man who must challenge the powerful spirit, Thunder (Ksiistsikom). I would love to try this game out!

References

Wallis, K., & Ross, M. (2021). Fourth VR: Indigenous virtual reality practice. Convergence (London, England), 27(2), 313-329. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354856520943083

As I was researching ways to bring Indigenous knowledge into the classroom, I wanted to look into the potential negative impacts of technology and/or focuses when doing so. My previous posts have outlined the positive outcomes of using technology and STEM education to bring in Indigenous cultures but I wanted to explore more on how to carefully and mindfully implement a culture-based STEM curriculum. What are some things that should be avoided? How would I analyze if the process has been done the correct way?

Dyson et al., (2007) outline some guidelines and focuses for developing culturally inclusive education. In particular, I would like to share these three focuses:

• Enable learning in wholes
• Encourage observations and imitation
• Utilize vernacular metaphors and languages

I liked that these focuses were wide enough to be implemented in different contexts but most importantly, that they emphasize bringing in the community, the region, and the whole place instead of the individuality of the cultures.

Other resources:

1. The Impact of Digital Technology on Indigenous Peoples
2. The Impact of Internet Technology on First Nation People Living on Remote Northern Ontario Reservations by Jennifer Taylor

References

Dyson, L. E., Hendriks, M. A. N., Grant, S., & InfoSci-Books – Copyright 2007. (2007). Information technology and indigenous people. Information Science Pub. (an imprint of Idea Group Inc.).

Instead of trying to fit indigenous knowledge into the existing STEM curriculum, I wondered if indigenous knowledge can be brought into the classroom more “naturally”. I found several resources related to place-based learning, how to incorporate Indigenous stem knowledge, developing a culturally responsive science curriculum, and other educational resources related to Indigenous knowledge.

From the resources, I thought using these guidelines by Dr. Angela Nardozi would be a great way to start if anyone is wanting to plan or design class activities based on Indigenous STEM knowledge. I think these “tips” would work in all subject fields.

Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) is another great website that provides curriculum resources, cultural resources, talking maps, and Indigenous knowledge/education worldwide. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of this before!

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWrpyW5qXrg&ab_channel=McMasterEngineeringMcMasterEngineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxZNNuz-jE4&ab_channel=CityNewsToronto

References

Borden, L. L., & Wiseman, D. (2016). Considerations From Places Where Indigenous and Western Ways of Knowing, Being, and Doing Circulate Together: STEM as Artifact of Teaching and Learning. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 16(2), 140-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/14926156.2016.1166292

Stephens, Sidney. Handbook for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum. Alaska Science Consortium and the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, 2000.

How can Indigenous knowledge expand in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? Are there culturally responsive digital tools to support learners?

Eglash et al. (2020) examine how traditional Anishinaabe arcs can translate into a STEM curriculum, specifically integrating software and physical rendering techniques as well as hands-on workshops.

Source: https://csdt.org/culture/anishinaabearcs/structure.html

The research paper outlines background on culturally situated design tools and different implementation methods of technologies in STEM, and open-ended discussion questions on how these activities affect career paths, families, and communities. The authors acknowledge that “indigenous knowledge systems are profoundly deep” (p.1573) and identify some limitations and challenges on how they can be integrated into educational technology and curriculum.

References

Eglash, R., Lachney, M., Babbitt, W., Bennett, A., Reinhardt, M., & Davis, J. (2020). Decolonizing education with Anishinaabe arcs: generative STEM as a path to indigenous futurity. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(3), 1569-1593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-019-09728-6

According to Persaud-Sharma and Burns (2018), Native Americans are the lowest demographic groups pursuing STEM fields and/or higher education. Why is that? Are there any supports to help youths explore STEM education?

I have found some sources on mentorship programs, Indigenous-Led Culturally Based Programs, and recruitment programs for promoting STEM fields for First Nations youths and adults but I wonder how technologies are being used in these different programs. Can social media and/or other learning technologies used to provide culturally neutral STEM education? This is an area I would like to explore further throughout the course.

Sources:

https://globalnews.ca/news/7831933/first-nations-stem-mentorship-program-ontario-high-school-students/

https://www.indigesteam.ca/

https://thenewswheel.com/stellantis-honored-for-recruiting-indigenous-stem-employees/

https://carleton.ca/engineering-design/story/virtual-ventures-2021-spring-summer-camps/

https://www.actua.ca/en/programs/instem/

References

Borden, L. L., & Wiseman, D. (2016). Considerations From Places Where Indigenous and Western Ways of Knowing, Being, and Doing Circulate Together: STEM as Artifact of Teaching and Learning. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 16(2), 140-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/14926156.2016.1166292

Persaud-Sharma, D., & Burns, J. (2018). First Nations People: Addressing the Relationships between Under-Enrollment in Medical Education, STEM Education, and Health in the United States. Societies (Basel, Switzerland), 8(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc8010009

I think popular social media platforms like Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can have significant impacts on attitudes, beliefs, and perspectives towards different cultures. Connecting this idea to my first entry on mobile technologies, I wanted to look into the impact of social media on Indigenous cultures. How are the cultures portrayed and how is it affecting Indigenous youth? 

Here are examples of Indigenous cultures on social media:

1. Model Uses Social Media to Promote Indigenous Rights
2. Artist Uses Tik Tok to Educate on Indigenous Culture
3. How James Jones (Notorious Cree) Harnessed Social Media to Reclaim and Share His Culture

Notorious Cree (Photography: Norman Wong)

Related to this topic, I was able to find an ethnographic study case by Kariipanon et al. (2017) on how social media and mobile phones are affecting Indigenous youth and two research papers on the implications of digital technology use among Indigenous young people in Australia by Rice et al. (2016) and Kral’s (2011). It is very promising to know that if used properly, technologies and media tools can help students creatively express their identity and take on leadership roles in the community (Kral, 2011).

References

Kariippanon, K., Senior, K., & SAGE Research Methods Complete A-Z List. (2017). Engagement and Qualitative Interviewing: an ethnographic study of the use of social media and mobile phones among remote indigenous youth. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Kral, I. (2011). Youth Media as Cultural Practice: Remote Indigenous Youth Speaking Out Loud. Australian Aboriginal Studies (Canberra, A.C.T.: 1983), 2011(1), 4-16.

Rice, E. S., Haynes, E., Royce, P., & Thompson, S. C. (2016). Social media and digital technology use among Indigenous young people in Australia: a literature review. International Journal for Equity in Health, 15(1), 81. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-016-0366-0

I am interested in exploring how and if technologies are changing cultural traditions. I’m unsure how and in which direction I will be narrowing down my research topic but I would like to learn more about the overarching implications of technology so I can better analyze and implement digital tools and resources. I wanted to start by looking into the implications of mobile technologies on Indigenous peoples. When I took ETEC 523 last term, I had the opportunity to learn about existing and emerging mobile technologies and come to understand that they will continue to have a significant impact on our society and cultures. So how would this affect Indigenous peoples, cultures, and traditions?

The resource by Dyson et al. (2015) covers a wide range of topics: how mobile technologies are being adopted in communities, the implications they have on health, education, development, and cultural revitalization. One particular case study I found interesting was the mojo (mobile journalism) project, investigating the impact on remote communities if literacies and technology can help with storytelling and enabling a “digital bridge across spheres of communication. (Dyson et al., 2015, p.126).”

References

Dyson, L. E., Grant, S., Hendriks, M. A. N., & Taylor & Francis eBooks A-Z. (2015). Indigenous people and mobile technologies. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315759364