This article considers the effect of technology on Indigenous language learning and teaching as well as technological solutions based on communication with contextual understanding. Findings indicate that technology has wide and mostly positive applications in language learning and teaching, that the benefits of those applications remain consistent across communities regardless of size and geographic location, and that new and innovative uses of technology are being adopted to support language revitalization efforts. Overall, the study underscores the importance of context in making grounded decisions about technology as a component of contemporary language revitalization efforts.
Reference
Galla, C. K. (2016). Indigenous language revitalization, promotion, and education: Function of digital technology. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 29(7), 1137-1151.
I found this website while looking for admissions requirements for nursing programs. This is a University in Saskatchewan offering Undergraduate and Graduate programs specifically for Indigenous peoples. It is also unique in the fact that both campuses (Regina and Saskatoon) are on reserves.
While they don’t have a specific nursing program, they do have an undergraduate degree program in Indigenous Health. I wasn’t able to view the specific admission requirements for the program without actually applying, but there does seem to be supports in place to help students apply and succeed to this University program. They also offer some graduate level programs, such as Master of Indigenous Education.
In this TED talk, Kwak’wala language teacher Joye Walkus passionately shows the cultural and spiritual significance of saving indigenous languages and culture for future generations.
Like she mentioned in the talk, just a collection of words cannot represents a language. So teaching and learning indigenous language must be more difficult than we expect because the traditional language is losing their daily life contexts. Since residential schools caused the extermination of indigenous culture and language, now it is endangered and limitations exists to revitalize this language. After I watch this TED talk, I could realize why language should be preserved and flourish. She wants to hear more of her language and she wants us to hear more of her language. She strongly insists this language has to survive, for the past, today, and our future.
And I hope there must be feasible and practical ways to help this language to survive and flourish by technology with indigenous education.
The first episode of the third season of the Canadian television show “Anne with an E” features a new First Nation character named Ka’kwet. Ka’kwet teaches Anne some language of hers and shows her life too. Anne is fascinated by Ka’kwet and writes a short newspaper article about her, but not everyone in Anne’s village welcomes Ka’kwet.
Ka’kwet was told about a residential school by one of Anne’s neighbors, and she gets on the train with a puffy dream. After a while, Ka’kwet’s appearance gets totally different from the past. Long hair got shortened, and I could see her being forced to sing and speak in English. In addition, Ka’kwet, whose name is changed to Hanna is forced to assimilate culturally into Christian churches and governments.
This short video reveals the tragedy of the indigenous people in North America, and I think it is a very encouraging phenomenon that the show is being aired on TV, the mainstream media which can acknowledge crucial facts on First Nation.
commnets
This is a story that needed to be told. I was ignorant to residential schools, at least how bad they were, before watching this season. I wish we could have gotten more from this wonderful show. It is heartbreaking that this storyline likely didn’t have a happy ending. -Jen321able4-
being indigenous myself, i’m glad to see that the real and dark stories of canada’s residential schools are being shared and brought to life by being shown to audiences such as anne with an e’s. my parents both attended residential school, and i’m only 13. ka’kewt’s story hit close to home. i’m so glad that our stories and history is being acknowledged. i really wish that they didn’t cancel anne with an e. -Aryanna Charles-
this arc or storyline was so heartbreaking, i couldnt watch it without tears in my eyes not because im sad but because im angry. its very frustrating to see the catholic white people be like that and as a catholic myself, i could never imagine for them to be that disgusting. it was really frustrating to watch and made me uneasy but i realized that the writers and producers were brave enough to introduce a storyline like that. man fuck netflix for not renewing this show… -hawoo-
Ohforsatanssake. [2020, May 20]. Ka’kwet’s story[Anne with an E]. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OHuFCjaEK8&ab_channel=ohforsatanssake
This website provides many of proven resources and archival documents in visual, audio and video files. Also a lot of new materials, useful for general information and for educators, has been offered in the Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture. The astonishing part of this virtual museum is this is an evolving website, meaning it is being updated continuously. Many of archival materials are donated by lots of people and institutes for the museum. I am so happy to find out this website that can allow ones who are ignorant of histories and cultures of First Nation to learn who they are or how they live. Especially, this website offers many other archive and museum websites as well as some websites related to indigenous culture and history.
“The news that remains were found at the former Kamloops residential school breaks my heart – it is a painful reminder of that dark and shameful chapter of our country’s history. I am thinking about everyone affected by this distressing news. We are here for you.”
– Justin Trudeau (2021, May 30th)-
Last week, news broke at the other end of the country that would bring painful memories back.On May 27, a statement shocked Canadian society when 215 children’s remains, including a 3-year-old infant, were found on the Residential School site in Kamloops, BC. The Residential School is a boarding school founded for white cultural assimilation of First Nation children.
The Residential School, which reminds Koreans of the Japanese colonial era years, began in 1876 and closed its last school in 1996. Most residential schools were run by Protestants, Anglicans, and Roman Catholic churches, and continued violence and terrible abuse were committed to exterminating First Nation culture. The Canadian government first apologized on June 11, 2008, for “pardoning the suffering of separating First Nation children from their parents and forcing them into church boarding schools, disconnecting them from their traditions,” while Trudeau officially apologized on November 24, 2017, for the government-led policy of discrimination, abuse and cultural extermination. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission defined the Residential School as cultural genocide, and the school taught the history of First Nation oppression and tried not to forget the wrong past. I am speechless in the face of barbarism committed in the name of “difference”. This tragic history is so familiar to me as a Korean because of the modern and contemporary history of a tragedy such as colonial ruling, the Korean War, the pain of division, and military dictatorship.
What is worse than yesterday’s mistake is today’s me, who do not reflect on myself. I want to emulate the attitude of Canadians who bravely apologize and reflect on the history of disgrace.
Reference
Dickson, C, & Watson, B.(2021, May 27). Remains of 215 children found buried at former B.C. residential school, First Nation says. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tk-eml%C3%BAps-te-secw%C3%A9pemc-215-children-former-kamloops-indian-residential-school-1.6043778
While exploring the BCTF website to see what they had on Indigenous Education, I came across Gladys We Never Knew: The Life of a Child in a BC Indian Residential School. This resource consists of ten lesson plans that educators can do with their students. These lessons will allow students to understand the life and story of this one Indigenous student’s life. Students will be able to understand who and why Gladys is important to us, traditional approaches, comparing Gladys’ and our life today, historical relationships, to connect to Gladys’ experience of going away to Residential school, what was faced at school for Gladys and other children, for students to appreciate their school experience from those who went to residential schools, to understand the importance of Dr. P. H. Bryce, to have students recognize when to speak up when something is wrong, to understand the injustices of the Indian Residential School system, and finally to understand the need for Reconciliation. I plan to use this lesson plan package in my classroom.
Bob Joseph discusses his book 21 Things You Didn’t Know About the Indian Act in this presentation. This is one presentation that you must watch! It is such an informative presentation that will send you on a transformation. This presentation allowed me to understand what I was unaware of and did not know about the Indian Act. These were the 21 things that some of us probably did not know about the Indian Act. As I summarized these 21 points, I became disgusted and appalled while continuing to shake my head. Here they are:
Women status was denied.
Residential schools were introduced because of the Indian Act.
Reserves were created. Reservations are an American term.
Indigenous people were renamed with simple European names.
Indigenous people were not allowed to leave the reserve without having permission from the Department of Indian Affairs. Individuals would receive a paper pass that would allow them to be absent from their reserve for a certain amount of time.
If any Indigenous person was admitted into university, they would be stripped from their Indigenous status.
Parts of the reserve or an entire reserve were taken away to make railways, roads, or any other public work if it was considered expedient.
The reserve land could be leased to non-Indigenous people if it were going to be used for farming or pasture.
Indigenous people were not allowed to take part or form any political organizations.
No one, including non-Indigenous people, was allowed to solicit funds in regards to Indigenous legal claims without having a licence that came from the Superintendent General.
There was absolutely no alcohol sales for Indigenous people.
There was absolutely no ammunition sales for Indigenous people.
Pool halls were not allowed to let any Indigenous people in
The band council system was put in place.
Indigenous people were not allowed to speak their native language.
Indigenous people were not allowed to practice their religion.
Indigenous people were not allowed to wear their traditional regalia when appearing in an exhibition, show, public dance, or pageant.
Cultural ceremonies and potlatches were claimed illegal.
Indigenous people were not allowed the right to vote.
There was a permit system created to dominate the Indigenous people’s ability to sell any product from farms.
There was only allowed to be one race which was categorized under Aboriginal peoples.
Project of Heart shares the hidden history of residential schools. It is important for us as educators to understand and share the truth about residential schools to students so that the healing can start and continue to be recognized. As a student growing up in Vancouver, I did not learn about residential schools until University. That is not OK. This has to and must change.
There is history that is shared, stories from elders describing their experience, and explaining the Project of Heart. This project allowed elders to come into schools to tell their experience of being in residential schools. Students were given wooden tiles to draw what they had learned, paid tribute to those children who had died, and to also honour those survivors. Those tiles were then collected to be used in a large piece of art which became a powerful healing piece. Tsleil-Waututh carver, Derrick George, created a canoe which was where those wooden titles were placed. This piece is called the Project of Heart Commemoration Canoe which can now be found in Alert Bay at the U’mista Cultural Centre. This piece is absolutely beautiful, touching, and powerful. Below is a screenshot from the PDF that is linked to this post.
Source: Project of Heart (2015)
This resource also discusses “heart gardens” for residential school survivors. This is a project that I believe all schools should be doing each year to honour survivors and to let the healing begin and continue on.
I came across this Indigenous Protocol guide and thought that it would be useful to share. It is always important to know the proper protocols so that we can learn and share the knowledge and information in a respectable way. In this guide, there is information on how to properly and respectfully show recognition of Indigenous land acknowledgement. Land acknowledgment should be engrained into our minds like how national anthems are. The Indigenous land acknowledgement should be our anthem: one that is learned, repeated, and memorized.
There are also elder protocols where you learn how treat them with respect and know how to meet their needs. We should be showing elders respect like how people show respect to the royal family. Elders are individuals that can teach us more than we know and should be provided with the utmost respect. It is a privilege and honour to be in the presence of an elder.
Finally there are talking stick protocols that teach us how to use this powerful tool used for communication, potlatch protocols on how to attend ceremonies, powwow protocols that need to be respected, and Indigenous cultural tourism protocols to consider when traveling.
