Tag Archives: Indigenous

M4, E4: Indigenous STEAM resources for families, teachers, and communities

Module 4: Ecological Issues in Indigenous Education and Technology

Entry 4: Indigenous STEAM resources for families, teachers, and communities

Another great resource for the teachers out there. Two things stand out to me when I look at this site. First, the learning activities are built on a framework of story arcs, weaving in the storytelling piece of Indigenous Knowledge systems. Second, in looking at the sister projects, I see that this organization offers learning experiences not only for students, but families as well. Including families in Indigenous STEAM activities can help to further Indigenous families in connection to their culture and non-Indigenous families to learn more about the land they live on.

https://indigenoussteam.org/

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

MODULE 2 – Entry 4: FINDING MEANINGFUL RESOURCES

Early Years Indigenous Cultural Safety Resource Guide. BC Ministry of Children and Family Development:

I feel, the earlier we can help support our Indigenous students the better their chances will be for success in every aspect of their lives. The purpose of this guide is to help educators who work with younger Indigenous children, families, and communities find appropriate and meaningful resources that will increase their ability to provide culturally safe and respectful care.

Where can I learn more about Indigenous people in Canada?:

This site includes resources for children of all ages. It lists Indigenous themed picture books, comic books, reading books, video games, colouring pages, fun booklets, online crossword, interactive games, “Did You Know Q & A” and a bead amaze art activity. If you click on “Explore the Indigenous Culture” it leads to more topics for children to go through, like the following: Indigenous History, Totem Pole info, Indigenous Resources, Fun Facts (Food, Language, Sports, Dance), First Nations (People, Books, Crafts). CBC Kids’ Indigenous resources display items and activities that would expose the younger generation to the beautiful culture of the Indigenous peoples in fun, simple creative ways that would capture many children’s hearts and minds in an engaging and informative manner.

The BC Aboriginal Child Care Society (BCACCS)-Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care:

This particular site looks into helping Indigenous communities develop high quality, culturally grounded, spiritually enriching, community child care services that are based in the child’s culture, language and history. There is a team of dedicated people who help provide leadership, training, resources, and services to support Indigenous early learning and child care. They honour the memory and dedication of those that came before us and have joined them in this journey to support Indigenous early learning child care. There are amazing links to projects and videos linked to the BCACCS, for example the “The Documentation Project,” various workshops, curriculum kits and services like including hosting two preschool programs that provide quality demonstration and learning sites, outreach, networking, research, resources, and training to support early childhood educators and the Indigenous children and families they serve.

Public Domain Photo, taken by the University of Saskatchewan

References:

BC Ministry of Children and Family Development.(2018). The BC Aboriginal Child Care Society (BCACCS)-Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care.[Site]. Retrieved May 29, 2021 https://www.acc-society.bc.ca/about/

Canada Media Fund. (2021). Where can I learn more about Indigenous people in Canada? [Site]. Retrieved May 29, 2021,https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/where-can-i-learn-more-about-indigenous-people-in-canada

Province of British Columbia. (March 2021). Early Years Indigenous Cultural Safety Resource Guide. BC Ministry of Children and Family Development.[Site]. Retrieved May 29, 2021,https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/family-and-social-supports/child-care/ics_resource_guide.pdf

Module 1: Post 4 – 21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act by Bob Joseph

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.

MODULE 2 – Entry 2: Seeds of Promise: Grandview/?Uuqinak’uuh* School in Vancouver

Public Domain photo taken by Amanda Mills

This site is linked to my final assignment as are the entries I will continue to share in our UBC Blogs. It is a community story regarding the issue of poverty and how teachers in a local school are still to this day very committed to advocate for better conditions for the Indigenous children and their families in the city of Vancouver east end. This is an area that tends to be avoided for decades, due to the area being synonymous with crime, poverty and despair. In one corner of the district, however to this day, there are determined group of educators, children, parents and volunteers who continue to create a garden oasis for play and learning in what has always been a gathering place for people in the drug, crime and sex trades. The children of Grandview/ ?Uuqinak’uuh Elementary School now have access to a playground complete with food, flower and butterfly gardens, stands of maple trees and a Coast Salish longhouse. Since the 1970s to today, some good changes, like having committed advocates for Indigenous children and their families continue. After almost 50 years of observations from my own mother, who was a teacher in this exact area, and almost 40 years myself, we can still see that the inequity issues, like poverty, are affecting the Indigenous peoples in our local community. The key question is whether Canadians are willing to understand and address the issues of poverty?

Reference:

Caledon Institute of Social Policy. (January 25, 2000). Seeds of Promise: Grandview/?Uuqinak’uuh* School in Vancouver. [Site]. Retrieved May 18, 2021, https://maytree.com/wp-content/uploads/223ENG.pdf

MODULE 1: POST 2 – Indigenous Protocols

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.

Check out the guidebook here: Indigenous Protocol

M1, Entry 4:Indigenous Knowledge in Science

Photo by Emily Hopper from Pexels

Module 1: The Global and the Local in Indigenous Knowledge

Entry 4: Indigenous Knowledge in Science

Many readings in Module 1 talk about science being viewed as culturally neutral from a western perspective, but argue that science does, in fact, present a biased view when viewed through the lens of Indigenous cultures. I found two articles about scientists who are using Indigenous knowledge in their scientific research. These articles are not from peer-reviewed journals, but provided me with a starting point for additional research.

CBC Radio: Earth Day Indigenous Scientists, Academics, and Community Members Take the Lead in Environmental Causes

Narwhal Article: Meet Scientists Embracing Traditional Indigenous Knowledge

References

CBC Radio. (2018, April 22). ‘Every plant and animal is useful to us’: Indigenous profession re-thinking how we deal with invasive species. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/earth-day-indigenous-scientists-academics-and-community-members-take-the-lead-in-environmental-causes-1.4605336/every-plant-and-animal-is-useful-to-us-indigenous-professor-re-thinking-how-we-deal-with-invasive-species-1.4605344

Thompson, J. (2019, June 20). Meet the scientists embracing traditional Indigenous knowledge. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/meet-scientists-embracing-traditional-indigenous-knowledge/

M.1-P.3 Takaya Tours + Indian Arm Management Services: Sea School Fieldtrip

M.1-P.3

After this week’s readings, I made an instant connection to a field trip we took a couple of year ago with Takaya Tours and Indian Arm Management Services up through the Burrard Inlet (Səl̓ilw̓ət).

We took our 30 indigenous student on a passenger eco-tour boat from Rocky Point Park in Port Moody or Deep Cove in North Vancouver. Our tour included a Tsleil-Waututh guide who provided interactive dialogue and detailed the importance of land and culture throughout the tour. The journey stops at various points to catch wildlife and indigenous pictographs. Howe (1998) discuss the importance of land as being “fundamental to tribal identity” and this field trip uniquely ties curriculum and culture together. Although our Indigenous students come from various places, they all seemed connected to the guide as his message and teachings were universal. This would be a great field trip for any discipline.

If you are thinking of a field trip option, look them up!

Howe, C. (1998). Cyberspace is No Place for Tribalism. Technology and Native American Culture, 13(2), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.2307/1409143

M1, Entry 3: Indigenous STEAM Program

Module 1: The Global and the Local in Indigenous Knowledge

Entry 3: Indigenous STEAM Program

Quick Link: Indigenous Making and Sharing: Claywork in an Indigenous STEAM Program

This article from Equity & Excellence in Education focuses on makerspaces in STEAM education with a Indigenous focus. In this study, summer activities were designed for a youth Indigenous Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (ISTEAM) camp in the Seattle area during the summers of 2016 and 2017. The researchers asked these questions:

What forms of making and pedagogical practices are enacted during Indigenous making and sharing?
How do facilitators narrate and cultivate Indigenous forms of making and sharing? (Barajas-López & Bang, 2018, p. 9)

The design of these activities were focused on Indigenous technologies and skills as well as using pedagogies such as storytelling and walking. These traditional ways of doing support the learning of Indigenous culture that was taken away through the process of colonization. The significance of this model provides agency to the Indigenous scientists leading the activities to pass along Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, and being, while youth are engaged in highly participatory learning experiences. The data in this study was collected through video and audio recordings, interviews with youth and adults, and field notes. Findings were shared through three implementation episodes and provide a detailed story of Indigenous making and sharing.

Barajas-López, F. & Bang, M. (2018). Indigenous Making and Sharing: Claywork in an Indigenous STEAM Program. Equity & Excellence in Education, 51(1), 7-20, DOI: 10.1080/10665684.2018.1437847

M1, Entry 2: Foundational Knowledge Resources for Educators

Module 1: The Global and the Local in Indigenous Knowledge

Entry 2: Foundational Knowledge Resources for Educators

I want to take the opportunity to share 3 resources that have been provided to me as an Alberta educator. These resources have been helpful to me on my learning journey and I respect that they have been developed in partnership with Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and our educational and professional institutions. These specific resources are focused on the Indigenous communities located within Treaty 6, 7, 8 lands. They are very extensive and are not meant to be consumed in one sitting, but they will be important to my learning this semester. As a student of this course, tasked to research a specific question related to Indigeneity, education and technology, I view building my foundational knowledge related to Indigenous ways of knowing as paramount to my ability to complete my research task.

Here is a brief overview of each resource in the order that I have used and will use them in my journey.

Education is our Buffalo. This thorough resource was published by our provincial teachers’ association and was my introduction to Indigenous Foundational Knowledge in Alberta when I started teaching here. This book helped me to build an awareness of the worldview, ways of life, and traditions of Indigenous people who live, work, and play in an area that was new to me. The value to this resource for me was giving me some confidence as a non-Indigenous educator.
Walking Together, Learn Alberta. This extensive website developed with Indigenous leaders and Alberta Education provides foundational knowledge for educators through a dozen topics that are explored through four phases: Beginning together, Respecting wisdom, Observing practice, and Exploring connections. The value of this website is elevated by the videos of Elders and Knowledge Keeps speaking on topics that range from wolview to Residential Schools to Pedagogy. Our school and city does not have a connection to a First Nation and as such does not have Elders who can visit our schools. This is one way technology can support my students by letting them hear the wisdom of these Elders. I will be using this resource this year.
Stepping Stones. Our provincial teachers’ association has been working with Elders and Knowledge Keepers to develop resources to assist educators in taking steps to develop their foundational knowledge. Each publication on topics ranging from Elder Protocol, to Alberta Metis settlements to the Sixties Scoop is intended to help educators move one step further along their path of building foundational knowledge. These resources are used at PD sessions that I attend regularly.

The significance of these foundational knowledge resources has become apparent to me since exploring the Indigenous connection to the land juxtaposed against the individualism that is promoted through the use of technology (Bowers et al., 2000) in Module 1. I have shifted the way I am viewing this professional learning from a “course I have to take” to a “journey I will travel along a path” to help increase the authenticity of this experience.

References

Alberta Education (n.d.). Walking Together: First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Perspectives in Curriculum. https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/

Alberta Teachers’ Association (n.d.). Education is our Buffalo: A Teacher’s Guide to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Education in Alberta. https://www.albertaschoolcouncils.ca/public/download/documents/55705

Alberta Teachers’ Association (n.d.). Stepping Stones Series.https://www.teachers.ab.ca/For%20Members/Professional%20Development/IndigenousEducationandWalkingTogether/Pages/Resources.aspx

Bowers, C.A., Vasquez, M., & Roaf, M., Native People and the Challenge of Computers: Reservation Schools, Individualism, and Consumerism. American Indian, 24(2), 2000, 182-199.