Category Archives: MODULE 2

Our World

Module 2, Entry 2

Our World is an organization which partners with remote Indigenous communities to provide workshops and media arts training which focus on film/media making and digital storytelling. To date, the organization has helped to create over 200 films which share the personal experiences and traditional stories from Indigenous, Metis, and Inuit youth and Elders across Canada. Films range in themes from traditional stories, residential school impacts, Indigenous stereotypes, celebrations of culture, and multigenerational lessons from the past.

Many of their films can be viewed on their website for free as well!

Here’s the link to their site:

https://www.ourworldlanguage.ca/

Indigital

Module 2, Entry 1

I came across Indigital which is a really neat mobile app that uses augmented reality for Indigenous cultural storytelling. Through collaboration with over 300 elders from across the world, Indigital aims to connect both youth and adults to traditional Indigenous stories and knowledge using mobile devices. The app works by scanning cards printed with art inspired by traditional Indigenous bark and ochre paintings. Once scanned, the artwork comes to life through a 3D animated story!

Mod. 2/Post 1 SORCA

https://sorca.ca/squamish-nation

SORCA is the Squamish Off Road Cycling Association and they build and maintain biking trails throughout the Squamish area. As I move forward with looking at how to authentically indigenize education, I thought that this association has done a great job with the territory recognition of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw. This goes so far above the usual land recognition seen; I am especially impressed with their Squamish Nation Youth Mountain Bike Program.

As we continue to use the traditional lands of Indigenous Nations around us, I think that moving away from just territorial recognition to including historical education and actual inclusion of the Nation in the land usage will be a fundamental step in reconciliation.

MODULE 2-ENTRY 5: Indigenous language technologies in Canada

This article informs what kinds of text, speech, and image technologies have been developed, and would be feasible to develop in order to revitalize about 60 Indigenous languages in Canada. Researchers in this article meticulously evaluated previous feats and deliberate future achievements. They assessed the feasibility of text, speech, image, and educational technologies for Indigenous language in spite of lack of data available.

Indigenous Language tech in Canada

M2, P5: Power of Words

In English Language Arts courses, we often discuss how important word choice is in getting our messages across effectively. The words we use reveal our intent and have the power to leave an impact on others. The same can be said when we use words to describe others or to address one another. Our Indigenous Ed. Department in our school district has created a website for us sharing helpful resources that we can embed in our teaching and share with our students. I came across a video the department posted about terminology and although it was meant for kids, I, an adult, felt it was helpful for me to understand as well. As someone who teaches Indigenous students, I should know what terms are to be used and what are instead imposed by others. This also aids in relationship building, which ties into the First Peoples Principle of Learning: Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place.

CBC Kids News. (2019, March 26). The word Indigenous explained [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CISeEFTsgDA&t=144s

M2, P4: Podcasts

“Say Hello” by Jeffrey is licensed under CC BY 2.0

I have shared a few podcasts in previous posts that I have listened to or come across on my journey towards learning more about Indigenous knowledge, cultures, and issues. However, while exploring if technology can be used meaningfully to support First Peoples Principles of Learning in my English Language Arts classroom, I started making connections about podcasts in my courses and how significant they can be to incorporate Indigenous voices through oral storytelling in ELA. Using podcasts can connect to the English Language Arts curricular competencies as well as the First Peoples Principles of Learning. The curricular competencies of Develop an awareness of the diversity within and across First peoples societies represented in oral texts and Recognize and appreciate the role of story narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view can be applied and can also allow students to share their own stories as well. Similarly, the First Peoples Principles of Learning: Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story and Learning recognizes the role of Indigenous knowledge are applied. This list of Indigenous podcasts on the IndigiNews website or varied. I have listened to 2 out of the 10 so far and am looking forward to the rest in order to grow in my own learning and aid in supporting my students in theirs.

Top Ten Indigenous Podcasts to Follow. (n.d.). IndigiNews. https://indiginews.com/okanagan/top-ten-indigenous-podcasts-to-follow

M2 P5: BC Pre-health program for Indigenous student success

A large part of the reason for my research question is not only that more competent health professionals are required who understand Indigenous culture and how this contributes to well being in Indigenous communities, but also that there is a shortage of skilled health professionals on reserves and remote or rural Indigenous communities.
I’ve been involved in pre-health programs at BCIT – the polytechnic institute partnered with Burnaby School Board to provide a specialized program for grade 12 students interested in health sciences careers to attend a year long course at BCIT to not only gain exposure to education in their career interests, but also to ease the transition from high school into a professional program at the college level. A program like this, geared specifically for Indigenous students, would help remove barriers for Indigenous students and promote success. This article discusses just such a program as a partnership between the Secwepemc Cultural and Education Society, the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council and the University College of the Cariboo, who developed an Aboriginal pre-health program.

This article is from 2001, so part of my research for the final project will be to discover whether this program is still running and any other details I can find on it.

Holmes, V. (2001). Southcentral British Columbia Secwepemc cultural education society aboriginal pre-health education program. The Aboriginal Nurse, 16(1), 22. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/southcentral-birtish-columbia-secwepemc-cultural/docview/234988180/se-2?accountid=14656

M2, P3: Strong Nations Online Bookshop

The website www.strongnations.com is an online bookstore offering various books by Indigenous authors. You can search by grade level, topic or subject, and territory. Strong Nations is Indigenous owned and operated and shares authentic books that deliver Canadian and Indigenous content. I think this a great resource for English teachers because of the various search categories that can help us find grade and theme related content, but it also allows us to find local connections where we can choose books from authors in our communities. We can then purchase for our school library and our classrooms. Additionally, many of us ask students to choose books for independent novel study or for reading at home, so this could be a website to suggest to students and their parents as well.

M2, P2: English First Peoples Resource Guide

The First Nations Education Steering Committee has created a English First Peoples (EFP) 10-12 Teacher Resource Guide (2018) to support implementation of BC’s EFP 10-12 curriculum. It is fairly new, updated from the previous 2008 and 2010 versions. Although our school does not offer these courses in 10, 11, or 12 currently, unfortunately, I think the resource guide is still something I can use within my ELA courses. The guide involves planning for instruction, such as information about First Peoples pedagogy and connections to the First Peoples Principles of Learning, dealing with sensitive topics, literature circles and much more, as well as themes and topics, text recommendations, and assessment units. It is a rich resource guide that offers a lot of learning for me as a non-indigenous educator.

English First Peoples Grade 10-12 Teacher Resource Guide. (2018> First Nations Education Steering Committee. http://www.fnesc.ca/learningfirstpeoples/efp/

M2 P3: Decolonial Hip Hop

In this article, Kyle T. Mays looks at Indigenous Hip Hop as a tool of decolonization in two places: Detroit and Palastine. Mays takes time to define Indigenous culture, colonization, decolonization and Hip Hip culture in both places. Hip Hop has the ability to spread the message about decolonization through artistic and political means.

As my final project will be looking at Indigenous Hip Hop as a means of decolonization, this article shed a lot of light on a region I did not know about, Detroit, and a region I did not think of as indigenous, Palestine. I can now see Palestine from the colonial point of view, and am interested in exploring the music of the region that is working to fight against imperial powers.

Mays, Kyle T. “Decolonial Hip Hop: Indigenous Hip Hop and the Disruption of Settler Colonialism.” Cultural Studies, vol. 33, no. 3, 2019, pp. 460–479., doi:10.1080/09502386.2019.1584908.