Category Archives: MODULE 4

M4 P4: The Treatment of Indigenous Peoples by the American Government

YouTube channel, Vox, takes a look at the treatment of Indigenous Peoples by the United States government and their attempts to absorb and assimilate the Indigenous Peoples for the purpose of taking over the land. Part 1 talks about boarding schools and the government program’s motto at the time was to “kill the Indian and save the man”. The story raises many comparisons and similarities to what happened in Residential Schools in Canada. Part 2 talks about The Adoption Era which was something that I have not heard of before. The stories shared are shocking and talk about how the government promoted this program to further assimilate Indigenous children. What is crazy is that the adoptive families, through the propaganda promoted by the government, thought that they were doing these children a favor and that getting adopted to their family was the best thing that could have happened to these children who were ripped away from their original families.

This would be an interesting video to watch and discuss as a class to compare the US government and the Canadian government’s treatment of the Indigenous Peoples and the systems that forced the assimilation of the Indigenous Peoples to rip them from their families and strip them of their identity and culture.

M4 P2: Sovereign – Representation on Network Television

While looking up Indigenous representation in pop culture, I came across a TV drama called Sovereign. It is a family drama that is being developed at NBC, a major network television company in the USA.

“Sovereign chronicles the lives, loves, and loyalties of an Indigenous family struggling to control the future of their tribe against outside forces and themselves.” (Scott, 2021)

The show will be produced by Ava DuVernay (directed Disney’s: A Wrinkle in Time) and Bird Runningwater who is of the Cheyenne and Mescalero Apache Nations. The story will be written by Sydney Freeland, a transgender Navajo filmmaker, and Shaz Bennett.

This show will provide a more accurate and positive representation of Indigenous Peoples as it is produced and written by people coming from an Indigenous background. The fact that it is a family drama will also mean that the issues the show deals with will be more serious and impactful to the audience. Also, being on NBC means that presumably there will be a wider audience as NBC is part of broadcast television where most consumers with cable packages will have access to the channel. There is no release date for the show yet but they are working on a pilot episode and if it is deemed successful, it will become greenlit with more episodes.

Native American TV drama – ‘Sovereign’ – to air on NBC

Native American Family Drama ‘Sovereign’ From Ava DuVernay & Bird Runningwater Set At NBC As Put Pilot

Reference

Scott, D. (2020, December 4). Native American TV Drama – ‘Sovereign’ – To Air On NBC. The Seminole Tribune. https://seminoletribune.org/

M4: P3 could education be a source of healing

Megan Bang’s powerful presentation resonated differently with me after participating in this course than it did in 2019.

Some of the messages that were most prominent in relation to creating a connection to place and decolonizing education were:

Megan’s introduction about her family and that we often introduce ourselves but don’t take the time to share about our “full human selves”
All learning is cultural
the “imagine a scientist” activity [27 min]
curricular place & cultural mapping [37 min]

https://naaee.org/eepro/learning/webinars/webinar-environmental-education-and

M4, P5: The Role Educators Play Towards Reconciliation

The First Peoples Principle of Learning, “Learning recognizes the role of Indigenous knowledge” highlights the importance of us as educators making sure we educate ourselves first when it comes to Indigenous knowledge before trying to integrate Indigenous perspectives and content in our teaching practices. Jo Chrona (2016), who is the Curriculum Manager for the First Nations Education Steering Committee, when explaining the significance of this principle, states that there needs to be a “willingness of educators to see themselves as learners, and seek to develop their own understandings first.” I think taking this course, for me, is one way I can do that, as well as through my own research, but that is not enough. I realize this learning continues. I found that there is a free 6-week MOOC available through UBC on Reconciliation through Indigenous Education, which seems to offer much value through the course description. I see there are also similar courses offered at other universities in Canada as well.

Have any of you taken this course or a similar MOOC—if so, how did you find it?

Chrona, J. (2016). First Peoples Principles of Learning. https://firstpeoplesprinciplesoflearning.wordpress.com/

Reconciliation through Indigenous Education. (2021). Reconciliation MOOC. UBC. https://pdce.educ.ubc.ca/reconciliation/

M4: P4 – Snap Inc.’s Spectacles

Here’s another non-Indigenous product that, in my opinion, would prove useful for connecting Indigenous knowledge to the land. This product is called Spectacles and was created by Snap Inc. According to Snap Inc.’s website, “Snap Inc. is a camera company.” However, they dabble in social media through its parent company, Snapchat. Regardless of the origin story, Snap offers a new version of Spectacles that claim to be a “pair of glasses that bring augmented reality to life”.

Photo: Snap

Spectacles take augmented reality (AR) that is normally experienced through a handheld device, to the user’s eyes in what could be considered immersive AR. Not only are they immersive, but the user can now experience AR hands-free because the device is worn as a set of eyeglasses with controls on the side. You have seen these sorts of glasses in movies such as Iron Man (2008), to Minority Report (2002), and if you want to stretch, Predator (1987). Many, if not all, of the FAAMG big tech companies are trying their hands at this technology, but have yet to do it right. It may be some years yet, but something to consider to augment AR.

Image: Snap

M4 P1: Reservation Dogs

Reservation Dogs is a comedy series coming to FX in August that is created by Taika Waititi and Sterling Harjo. The name Taika Waititi may ring a bell as he was the director of Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok. Both of the creators are Indigenous with Taika Waititi being Maori and Sterling Harjo being Seminole Muscogee. The show follows four Indigenous teenagers living in rural Oklahoma who are trying to find any way possible (including stealing and robbing) to make their way to California.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoHewFAkrWU

Clips from this show may be good for analysis by older grades (language is too mature for a younger audience) but I think it provides an interesting lens of how life is for Indigenous youth today. Obviously, there will be some dramatization for entertainment value but within it, I’m sure there will still be some valuable lessons. What I found interesting is that it combines both the stereotypes and the realities that these Indigenous youth are going through. This format of combining stereotypes with real experiences seems to work well as seen by ABC’s Fresh Off The Boat which follows the childhood of Eddie Huang and his family who immigrated to the USA from Taiwan in the 1990s or CBC’s Kim’s Convenience which follows the Kim Family and their life working as convenience store owners in Toronto.

M4 Entry 5: Elders Wisdom Series

https://www.ucalgary.ca/news/indigenous-storytelling-brings-important-perspectives-pandemic-dialogue

My research for the final project throughout the term has been so valuable. I’d like to share a news article that I recently uncovered. This news article suggests that Indigenous knowledge hasn’t been used effectively in the fight against the pandemic. UCalgary’s Indigenous Strategy launched a series of videos offering ongoing wisdom from Elders. Healing through trauma requires holistic approaches like storytelling, lessons from ancestors, and guidance from elders. It’s nice to see Elder’s taking part in sharing through the use of digital technology.

M4 Entry 4: The Healing Power of Storytelling

Friskie, S. M. (2020). The Healing Power of Storytelling: Finding Identity Through Narrative. The Arbutus Review, 11(1), 19-27.

“Story reflects the internal and environmental setting that an individual grows up in, and how they choose to incorporate the events of their lives into a narrative” (Friskie, 2020, p.25)

This paper is quite captivating. It looks at the power of storytelling. A group of Indigenous youth meet each week to shared their lived experiences and learn song, dance, and lessons through story. The author tells about her own life, then explores how the intergenerational transmission of historical trauma has left many Indigenous youth without a cultural connection. She also discusses research showing the significance of cultural continuity, self-determination, and engagement in the community to the healing journey of Indigenous youth. Reading this article has helped me gain perspective as I near the final stages in the completion of my project.

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