Category Archives: MODULE 4

The Government of Canada website has teaching resources related to Indigenous cultures and traditions! They have several resources related to Indigenous Peoples Day, treaties and agreements, classroom games and activities as well as lesson plan resources. I was paying closer attention to The Learning Circle resource set, which includes a combination of classroom activities and guiding questions for different age groups. This will be a great resource for building my lesson plans for my final project as well as in my classroom for the next school year! Here is an activity I found very interesting:

During course discussions, I recall discussing the importance of addressing open-ended questions and providing opportunities for students to share any stereotypes or misconceptions of Indigenous cultures. I can see this as a valuable activity in a lesson to help students explore and learn more about how Indigenous cultures are portrayed and build a culturally inclusive educational environment.

Indigenous storytelling simultaneously convey what has happened in the past, what is happening in the present, and what could happen in the future: circularity in time, space and continuity is intrinsic to Indigenous worldviews (Myburgh, 2018). Many of my previous blog posts have illuminated the ingenuity of AR technology storytelling in ways that empower Indigenous creators to connect their cultures, the land and the technology to engage a new generation of users. Wikiup is an AR project that enhances the Canadian landscape with superimposed digital interactions; this facilitates interaction between elder storytellers and users who are dubbed as “story catchers”, enabling the transfer of traditional knowledge about a particular location (Myburgh, 2018). Overlaying digital interactions onto physical places empowers Indigenous creators to “reclaim” their lands and, in a sense, their sense of “sovereignty” as well.

Figure 1. Myburgh (2018). Wikiup, produced by Adrian Duke, AR application screenshots, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2021, from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/supporting-self-determined-indigenous-innovations/docview/2035667161/se-2?accountid=14656. Screenshot by Vancouver Native Housing Society.

However, Myburgh (2018) notes the question of access to video and mobile technologies that can host AR art as a challenge for Indigenous communities across Canada. Broader issues of the digital divide should be addressed in conjunction with providing access and resources to AR technology in particular. Myburgh (2018) emphasizes that AR technology presents ample opportunity for Indigenous artists to investigate issues pertaining to culture, memory, and place.

References

Myburgh, B. (2018). Here and Now: Indigenous Canadian Perspectives and New Media in Works by Ruben Komangapik, Kent Monkman and Adrian Duke. Leonardo 51(4), 394-398. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/702020

Part of Canada on Screen, 2167 is a series comprised of four VR experiences created by Indigenous filmmakers and artists who conceptualized Indigenous life 150 from now (TIFF, 2021). The project epitomizes ‘Indigenous futurism’ and its potential to reorient both the use and philosophical underpinnings of VR and AR technology. The project has toured extensively around Canada, ranging from Yellowknife to Fredericton (TIFF, 2021); it had partnered with imagineNATIVE to usher the immersive media project (grunt, 2017). Combining science fiction and alternate realities, Indigenous creators design media works that not only speculate about Indigenous places and people in the future, but also explore the extremely nuanced and complex histories of Indigenous peoples and the impacts of colonialism (grunt, 2017). Western notions of temporality are directly challenged through 2167, in addition to incorporating non-linear notions of time inherent in Indigenous metaphysics.

Figure 1. 2167 at boombox 2017 (2021). TIFF. TIFF. Retrieved July 10, 2021.

Many of these creators have expressed a high degree of enthusiasm to challenge and “rewrite” dominant Western narratives perpetuating the idea that Indigenous cultures are simply “stuck in the past”. One creator growing up in Saskatchewan expressed that nothing reflected personal experiences and that current representations are rather problematic (TIFF, 2021).

References

grunt. (2017). 2167, An Indigenous VR Project. grunt. Retrieved from https://grunt.ca/exhibitions/2167-an-indigenous-vr-project/

TIFF. (2021). Indigenous Virtual Futures during Canada on Screen: the 2167 project. TIFF. Retrieved from https://tiff.net/action-report/fall2017/indigenous-virtual-futures

Lisa Jackson’s multimedia installation, Transmissions, is a three-part world which invites guests to be submerged in two places and two times. With the use of film, sound, language, and translucent structures, visitors enter the first space and  “wander through windy coastal forests, by hauntingly empty glass towers, into soundscapes of ancient languages, and more” (Smith, 2019). The second space is a video image of a women, digging into the hard soil as the rain pounds down on her. She only comes to a pause when a moonbeam hovers over her. In the last world, language plays a role and is emphasized as Jackson’s main theme. Jackson believes Indigenous languages “continue to be threatened. What I am particularly concerned with is what is contained within them” (Jackson qtd. in Smith, 2019). Visitors sit on tree stumps as voices speak in Indigenous languages.

The is very intriguing about the installation is how it aims to teach or show the way Indigenous knowledge is so different from the Western way of thinking. Jackson claims Western ways of thinking are linear and her installation aims to distort this reality, to really make the visitors experience a new way of thinking and knowing. She wants “the audience to have a physical response and an emotional response. To [her], that gets closer to the Indigenous understanding”. (Smith, 2019).

I really wish I had the opportunity to see this work!

To connect back to my final paper, I believe this multimedia installation would connect with Howe’s discussion around the experimental dimension. Howe (1998) “recognizes that sacred ceremony performances reestablish environments wherein tribal communities perpetuate ongoing relationships with their higher spiritual dimension” (p.24). Although Jackson’s installation might not be a sacred ceremony, her work knits together how “from an Indigenous point of view, it’s all connected.” (Jackson, qtd. in Smith, 2019). I would connect this video with a Geography SS9 key skill (it would have made for a great field trip!).

Did anyone see the exhibit?

References and other links:

Smith Janet. (201).With sprawling Transmissions, Lisa Jackson creates a new film language from Indigenous roots. The Georgia Straight Retrieved from https://www.straight.com/arts/1292826/sprawling-transmissions-lisa-jackson-creates-new-film-language-indigenous-roots

Woodend, D. (2019). Transmissions: Listening — to Languages, Trees and Time. The Tyee, Retrieved from https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2019/09/19/Transmissions-Listening-Languages/

Lisa Jackson’s Transmissions

Brett Leavy, the creative mind behind the Virtual Songlines project, has spent several decades researching how to “take people back” to places from which First Nations people originated: his aspiration has been to create systems that represent the interactions between first settlers and Indigenous people in entertaining and engaging ways, in addition to VR products combining traditional knowledge with 3D pre-colonial landscapes embedded with cultural, linguistic, and community knowledge (acmi, 2020). Virtual Songlines enables the user to explore the historical and cultural heritage of Brisbane (Leavy, 2017). Users can “experience” the forests and rivers, juxtaposing the connection to nature with the harsh realities of colonialism and industrialization.

BRETT LEAVY. (2017, OCT 15). VIRTUAL SONGLINES [VIDEO]. YOUTUBE.

Virtual Songlines began as PC games, then AR games with VR experimentation in-between: Leavy’s primary motivation has been to enhance users’ sense of immersion and interactivity in the experiences he creates, resulting in the project becoming what he dubs as a “virtual heritage toolkit” (acmi, 2020). To me, this epitomizes the ideal intersection between Indigenous creativity, VR, decolonization, and even environmental stewardship. The “toolkit” Leavy has created provides a multifaceted, dynamic, and engaging educational resources through which this intersection can be experienced and better understood by users, relying on immersion and interactivity as the driving forces behind the learning.

References

acmi. (2020, Sept 21). Preserving Indigenous culture through VR: Brett Leavy’s Virtual Songline. acmi. Retrieved from https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/preserving-indigenous-culture-through-vr-brett-leavys-virtual-songlines/

Brett Leavy. (2017, Oct 15). Virtual Songlines [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJRHUcC0xa8

Pleito VR is a prime example of using the technology in cultural education programs (Recording Archeology, 2019). The VR experience explores an immersive cave with rock art, in addition to interactive heritage exhibits and artefacts (Immersive Academy, 2017). Art work can “come alive” and tell meaningful stories to the user. The “disembodied” experience of the VR cave compels the user to consider their body in a new way, enabling them to exit their temporality and enter the virtual space to experience different textures and dimensions not immediately available at the physical space itself (Recording Archeology, 2019). The experience was created with Unity 3D, Oculus Avatar SDK, Virtual Reality Toolkit (VRTK)” (Immersive Academy, 2017).

IMMERSIVE ACADEMY (2017, SEPT 1). PLEITO VR CONCEPT [VIDEO]. YOUTUBE.

There are unconsidered VR spaces, especially when we consider Indigenous ontologies; rather than just symbolic or indexical, objects can be relational agents (Recording Archeology, 2019). Objects constantly undergo transformations, and thus VR work becomes a “moving assemblage” of colonization and disenfranchisement that is informed by Indigenous scholars, anthropologists, and even philosophers (Recording Archeology, 2019). When considered through such a lens, Western ontologies can be directly challenged and allow for Indigenous consciousness to “reshape” VR experiences, ushering in “Indigenous Futurism”.

RECORDING ARCHEOLOGY (2019, MAY 18). WHEN THE VIRTUAL BECOMES ACTUAL: INDIGENOUS ONTOLOGIES WITHIN IMMERSIVE REALITY ENVIRONMENTS [VIDEO]. YOUTUBE.

References

Immersive Academy. (2017, Sept 1). Pleito VR Concept [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJRHUcC0xa8

Recording Archeology. (2019, May 18). When the Virtual becomes Actual: Indigenous Ontologies within Immersive Reality Environments [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjB2LyVGEso

I’ve learned that one of the important properties of Indigenous learning is the emphasis on the practical application of skills and knowledge. Experiential learning, holistic views, and integration to daily living practices are important parts of education and this is an idea I wanted to incorporate in my STEM lesson plans. I had the idea of using traditional Indigenous technologies and thought of incorporating mathematical and scientific outcomes to design and build a canoe. Here are some websites I’ve found to help me with the lesson plan.

• https://sisseattle.org/learning/
• https://www.toqueandcanoe.com/2020/02/05/canadiantravelblog-indigenouscanoe/
• https://thetyee.ca/Life/2013/06/15/The-Magic-Canoe/
• https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/birchbark-canoe

I also came across this short video, of Micah McCarty sharing his story of the design and significance of his canoe. I think this could be a good hook for starting an Indigenous STEM lesson.

As I was looking into building STEM lesson plans for my project, I started looking into stories, knowledge, and traditions related to water. Water is sacred in Aboriginal culture and as we should respect all elements of our surroundings and everything on Mother Earth, water should also be respected. In the Aboriginal worldview, there is a connection between people and water as it is the foundation for all living and non-living things (Native Counselling Servies of Alberta, n.d.). The website I’ve found includes excellent educational videos related to the sacred relationship with water, the relationship between Aboriginal people and the land, the creation story, and more. There are also lesson plans and worksheets that can be used for grades 5 and 6 based on the AB curriculum. Even if you don’t teach in Alberta, I think this could be a valuable resource for infusing Indigenous knowledge and STEM education.

Here is one of the videos I will be using for my project:

References

Native Counselling Servies of Alberta. (n.d.). Why water. The Sacred Relationship. http://www.sacredrelationship.ca/why-water/