Category Archives: MODULE 4

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Module 4, Entry 3

I came across a great article: 30 Aboriginal Apps You Probably Didn’t Know About which lists mobile apps that help users experience traditional Aboriginal culture, explore stories, and learn Aboriginal languages. In my research into Indigenous digital storytelling, I was lucky to find this article which happens to list an entire section for Aboriginal storytelling apps!

For those interested in exploring, here’s the link to the article:

https://www.creativespirits.info/resources/apps

Module 4, Entry 2

Ngarandi is an augmented reality app which brings pre-colonial Aboriginal stories and history to life through augmented reality games. The app provides two gamified experiences based on the stories of Eora people in Sydney, Australia. The first experience, Build a Nawi, allows users to experience building a traditional Nawi canoe. The second game, Eora Fisherwomen is game where users catch fish and facts about daily life for the Eora people.

Click on the link below to learn more about the Ngarandi app:

http://ngarandi.org/

Module 4, Entry 1

Anishinaabek Voices is an initiative that aims to share and preserve the stories of First Nations communities and people in the Sioux Lookout District. The website showcases collections of photographs, videos, and audio recordings, and offers collections of digital stories from community Elders which document their memories and traditional knowledge.

I enjoyed watching the digital stories and hearing the Elders share their childhood memories.

Click on the link below to view the digital stories collection:

https://www.anishinaabekvoices.com/community-history

The project is offered through the Kwayaciimin Education Resource Centre. You can visit their site here: https://www.kwayaciiwin.com/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718520301524

This article in Geoforum, Volume 11, examines the Indigenous Food and Medicine Garden at Western University, its importance to the Indigenous community at the university, and the tensions and challenges that have come up between the care takers of the garden and the University Administration.  To me, this is an important study as my district starts to look at indigenizing more spaces in and around New West schools.  We need to make sure we look at the ways we work with the care takers of these ground and allow them the opportunity for self-determination without a colonizer viewpoint overtaking their beliefs.  

This has been my “guilt” reading the last couple of weeks.  I try very hard not to read fiction while I am taking a class and just focus in on my course readings.  But I enjoy Thomas King and very much wanted to read his latest book, so I made sure to carve out times at night or before my family woke up in the morning to read.  It was very timely piece with what is happening in Canada right now, as his main character has retreated from his profession, and the world, to reside in a vacant residential school where he takes out the crosses of the buried children and, with the help of a map with names of the deceased, makes a proper marker from river stones with their names carved in them.  The book delves into the inequalities of privilege and power; with a small town vetted against a small reservation and a camp of homeless people.  It was a great example of how communities can come together and fight against the system, yet they must also adapt to that culture’s ways to have an impact.  Thoroughly enjoyed it. 

This seems to be a given, but I think it needs to be mentioned in my blogposts (as I’m sure it has been in others).  This is our guidepost as educators; it is something we all need to be mindful of in our roles in schools and we need to make sure that students know that it is taken seriously so that they will also start to incorporate it into their ways of learning and thinking.  It will also take time: 

“This investigation is likely to happen incrementally over time, as the pedagogical approach articulated and practised within the local communities will not necessarily be set out in an easy-to-summarize form. Ultimately, one important conclusion for students to draw is that pedagogy in First Nations societies is both dynamic and culturally specific (i.e., grounded in a distinctive language and way of looking at the world).”  http://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/ 

Another perspective that I wanted to explore in my topic of Indigenous-Immigrant education was about indigenous students learning about different immigrant cultures. I couldn’t find any sources about any in-depth look into it, so I asked a family friend from the Albany First Nation from Ontario a few questions about it. Below, I’ve included my questions and have summarized his answers in a way that he agrees represents his answers.

Q: “How important is it for indigenous students to learn about immigrant groups as well?”

A: “It’s immensely important in my opinion for indigenous students to not learn solely about themselves. While much of Canadian history has sought to strip away their identities and knowledge, and they should learn about themselves as an overall priority, they should also be learning about those coming into the country. In the same way that we want to avoid cultural normativity between white Canadians and indigenous Peoples, ignoring the many other cultures of new immigrants sets the same precedent that “they should only learn about us.”

Q: What effect do you think that it would have for indigenous students to learn more about immigrants coming into Canada?

A: “Indigenous Peoples are widely welcoming and accepting of new immigrants anyways, but learning about different histories and cultures could make some change their approach in their welcomes. For example, if a particular immigrant population has historically had violent or otherwise tumultuous relations with another ethnic group that claimed stewardship of the land, then they would perhaps perceive us differently than another immigrant group might. It’s all about being open-minded about the experiences of others as well.

Q: Do you think that indigenous students not learning enough about immigrant populations is a reason for the apparent disconnect between the two groups within Canada?

A: “Not at all, the main reason still boils down to the colonial education system and overall anti-indigenous social framework into which immigrants are entering. Immigrants are primarily being greeted and initially supported by either other immigrants, or by white Canadians. Any prejudice or apathy regarding Indigenous Peoples is simply a learned position that they’ve picked up on from their environment. It’s also not our responsibility to be the welcoming committee for new immigrants and to be the ones to build that bridge. Neither of us are at fault here, and the main focus should be the decolonization of Canadian structures.

I found this interview to be quite interesting. I initially thought of the question about Indigenous students learning about immigrant groups as more of a “devil’s advocate” type idea, and I didn’t expect my Indigenous friend to agree at all. His concluding point about decolonization is a great foundation for my argument about bridging the gap between the two groups.

As with Tik Tok, I asked the younger generation surrounding me to see if they could find accounts that had adapted this western app for the benefit of their indigenous culture.  This did not take long.  Again, like Tik Tok, the messages posted on these accounts are powerful and are reaching more people globally than was thought possible a mere ten years ago.  Here are three examples: 

@Xhopakelxhit  

“Coast Salish, Nuu-Chah-Nulth, and Snuneymuxw Matriarch, medicine maker, water protector and traditional midwife.” 

@indigenouspeoplesmovement 

(Community Organization) “A global coalition bringing awareness on issues affecting indigenous people from North & South America, Oceania, Asia, Africa & the Caribbean.” 

@hijodequetzalcoatl  

Rafael Luna: “Nahua indigenous dancer, lifting, yoga, runner.” 

A big thank you to Abby and Zalan!!

Not going to lie; I cheated on these.  I asked my daughter and her boyfriend to see if they could find accounts of indigenous individuals and communities that were adapting this app for their benefits.  This took these two super sleuths approximately two minutes to do as both were following a couple.  The messages on these accounts were uplifting, poignant, and celebrating their indigenous culture.  Here are 3 examples: 

@notoriouscree 

James Jones 

@shinanova  

Shina Nova (Inuk throat singer) 

@tiamiscihk 

Tia Wood (Plains Cree & Salish) 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/first-nations-syrian-refugees-chris-hall-1.3348053

When thinking about the relationship between new immigrants and Indigenous Peoples, it’s important to consider the outside influence of the rest of Canada. In recent history, Canadians have shown far more compassion for refugees than they have for Indigenous Peoples in reserves. National priorities are telling when the former Governor General David Johnston called Canada’s national response to help Syrian refugees “an opportunity to reimagine how we take care of the most marginalized and vulnerable among us,” and that national aid was “a defining moment for Canada, a defining moment for all of us.” Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, noted the hypocrisy in that “Canadians’ imagination for what they can accomplish internationally is much sharper than it is for what they can do at home.” Being that immigrants are being generally so warmly welcomed by Canadians, it wouldn’t be surprising that they would pick up on the Canadian tendency to “blame First nations for their own problems.” It could be that any apathy of immigrants towards Indigenous Peoples is simply a reflection of how Canada as a whole views them as well.