Category Archives: MODULE 4

This is the news story that started it all for me. I heard about this woman’s death from a friend who works at the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA). As a nurse, it was discouraging and embarrassing for my profession.  That so called professional nurses could act this way towards anyone, particularly someone in pain who they were responsible for.  I remember being so angry, and wanting these nurses to not only lose their jobs, but their nursing licenses as well. I was glad to see that the story was picked up by a national news agency, so more people could be aware of the issues of racism and discrimination in the Canadian health care system. There is no excuse.

Shingler, B. (2020, September 29). Investigations launched after Atikamekw woman records Quebec hospital staff uttering slurs before her death. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-atikamekw-joliette-1.5743449

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-atikamekw-joliette-1.5743449

St. Denis, V. (2011). Silencing Aboriginal curricular content and perspectives through multiculturalism: “There are other children here”. Review of education, pedagogy, and cultural studies, 33(4), 306-317.

Just like my last post about multiculturalism, Denis (2011) makes another point against it as a national policy. The argument is that multiculturalism reduces Indigenous cultures into one of many other “ethnic” groups, which downplays Canada’s colonial history and direct genocidal practices that have targeted Indigenous Peoples throughout its history. This point adds to my growing list of evidence that both intercultural studies and complete decolonization are the most important elements to consider in the rethinking of how to best “indigenize” the curriculum. There needs to be a shift in education from “learning about them” to “learning about each other,” and until the framework under which we operate is able to be completely decolonized, superiority complexes will remain. Denis also argues that this new framework of equality needs to include the removal of thinking of “racial minorities,’ are these are socially constructed terms that imply inferiority and enforce the “majority’s” position of privilege in the discussion. This was a great last article to read as a part of my entries because I feel as though it has enforced my new perspectives on the issue. I began my research with a bit of an expectation as to what the answer may be, but this may have come from my own position within our current education frameworks. The promotion of intercultural education, along with direct initiatives to educate new immigrants, in tandem appear to be the best course of action to bridge the apparent gap between the two major population groups in Canada.

https://digital.library.ryerson.ca/islandora/object/RULA%3A1429/datastream/OBJ/download/The_Relationships_Between_Racialized_Immigrants_And_Indigenous_Peoples_In_Canada__A_Literature_Review.pdf

This article provides an academic viewpoint on the relationship between Canadian Indigenous Peoples and Canadian immigrants. Citing other research, “the colonial, stigmatized, and stereotyped view of Indigenous people is transferred to the newcomers,” and that multiculturalism is not the answer. Instead, Chung (2010) offers interculturalism as the more appropriate approach, in which dialogue between cultures with an emphasis on intercultural education for both groups is key. According to Chung (2010), multiculturalism has too much of an inherent focus on the minority group, ignoring the majority group’s perspectives. On an anecdotal level, I can see this applied to how many Canadians, often seniors, voice concerns that Canada is adapting to immigrant perspectives, and that immigrants “should” conform to Canadian societal expectations. While I do not personally agree with this, I do believe that the definition of interculturalism allows for those with this perspective to contribute to the discussion as long as both parties are willing.

The article also offers evidence that dispels a hypothesis I had about physical space being a large influence on the relationship between the two main groups. I had been thinking about the urban settlement by new immigrants in contrast to the rural setting of many Indigenous Peoples. Chung (2010) however points to how Winnipeg has a large concentration of both Indigenous Peoples and new immigrants, and yet there were very few observed social integrations between the two groups. This suggests that the distance is more on a sociological level than I had previously thought.

This article is overall a great contribution to my essay as it compiles the little research that had been done on the topic, and I can compare it with initiatives taken since this article’s publishing in 2010.

Module 4, Entry 4

This journal article discusses the learnings from a digital storytelling workshop where students worked with Elders from the Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nations community in northern British Columbia to create digital stories. The article discusses how digital stories can help to preserve oral traditions and Indigenous knowledge through documenting Elder’s traditional cultural knowledge and wisdom. Digital stories also allow for valuable learning opportunities and for the intergenerational exchange of knowledge between Indigenous Elders and youth. In addition, findings from the workshop highlighted the positive benefits of digital storytelling projects in providing participants with feelings of connection, and fostering relationship building between Elders and youth within the community.

Click on the link below to access the article:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-on-aging-la-revue-canadienne-du-vieillissement/article/use-of-a-digital-storytelling-workshop-to-foster-development-of-intergenerational-relationships-and-preserve-culture-with-the-nakazdli-first-nation-findings-from-the-nakazdli-lhahutiten-project/92C4D43CEFC03C056D4B552D8F93C974