Native American Wisdom, Sayings, Quotes, Philosophy & Issues

A collection of sayings, quotes and words of wisdom reflecting the beliefs and philosophy of the Native Americans. Also offered are a selection of Native American books and American music.

Articles and links provide information dealing with the issues of prejudice and shameful displacement that are still faced by the Native Americans to this day.

Resources available:

• Quotes; books; music; meditations
• Film:
  • Canada’s Complicity in Genocide
    A contemporary David and Goliath tale that will inspire and challenge the reader. It is the personal story of Reverend Kevin Annett, the minister who single-handedly exposed the murder and genocide of aboriginal people by the government of Canada and his employer, the United Church of Canada. This is his own gripping and passionate account of his heroic efforts against insurmountable odds to document hidden crimes among west coast native people after he began a ministry among them in Port Alberni, British Columbia in 1992.

Links to other sites:

• My Two Beads Worth
  Native American Indian/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples’ News Online.

Usefulness for research on Indigenous knowledge, media, and community reality:

“Pearls of Wisdom” offers an artistic and mystical view of the indigenous world.

Address:

http://www.sapphyr.net/natam/

First Nations Pedagogy Online

This site provides best practices and support for online learning initiatives that are intended for aboriginal students, elders, educators, curriculum developers, and educational leaders.

Resources available:

Pedagogy: (examples)

• Best practices
• Talking circles
• Culture
• Elders
• Holistic balance
• Interconnection
• Literacy
• Natural world
• Respect
• Storytelling

Links to other sites:

• Multimedia
  • Aboriginal Communities on Google Earth
  • Connecting Traditions: Tsimshian Pre-Contact Life
  • Digital Drum
  • First Nations Film
  • etc.
• Presentations:
  • First Nations Pedagogy for Online Learning
  • Podcasting for the Benefit of Aboriginal Languages: How to establish a Podcast Website via iweb
  • Digital Literacy in BC First Nations

Usefulness for research on Indigenous knowledge, media, and community reality:

This excellent site, divided in community; practices; learning; resources and circles, offers valuable resources about onine learning designed for indigenous cultures. It also includes articles and various sites about planning and future trends.

Address:

http://firstnationspedagogy.ca/planning.html

 Indigenous Education

• Aboriginal Language Education
• Associations, Organisations & Unions
  • Includes both Aboriginal and other groups interested in developing Aboriginal education and opportunities.
• Commonwealth
  • Includes educational and other supportive processes.

Resources available:

• Australian Institute of Aboriginal …
  [And Torres Strait Islander Studies]
• Dare to Lead
  ‘Dare to Lead is a Commonwealth funded national project with a focus on improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students.’ Access information, resources, professional development, research, professional readings, school initiatives and much more.

Publications
Includes Bibliographies, Books, Journals, …

• A Model …
  [Of More Culturally Inclusive and Educationally Effective Schools]
  Downloadable document.

Links to other sites:

• Indigenous Early Childhood Education
• Indigenous Education [Adult and Community Education]
• Indigenous Education [Higher Education]
• Indigenous Education [School Education]
• Indigenous Education [Vocational Education and Training]

Usefulness for research on Indigenous knowledge, media, and community reality: 

This site offers articles and general information on aboriginal education.

• Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, The
  ‘Is the only journal for educators devoted specifically to issues of practice, pedagogy and policy in Indigenous education in Australia. The journal has an international audience and is highly valued by its readers as a reliable source of information on Indigenous education issues.’

A teaching resource section offers strategies for Aboriginal education:

• Aboriginal Astronomy
  ‘Australia’s indigenous peoples have a rich heritage of astronomical observation and story telling. Archaeoastronomy is an important field of research in Australia and other parts of the world. These stories are from Questacon’s book The Emu in the Sky, a collection of Aboriginal astronomy stories from all around Australia.’
• Aboriginal Dreaming Stories
  Include The Dreaming and Dreaming Stories, Aboriginal Dreaming Stories Online, Games, Lesson ideas and Dreaming Stories in the Classroom – a lesson plan by Jackie Miers and Loraine Turner. A quite extensive collection.
• Aboriginal Dreamtime Stories
  Listing of Aboriginal stories [with authors] compiled by a Victorian library.
• Aboriginal Education Research & Curriculum Resources
  From the New South Wales Board of Studies, links to information regarding ACAP, numeracy, literacy and Primary Links. A number are to PDF documents. Also try the listing of sites [almost 40] from EdNa Online

Address:

http://www.aussieeducator.org.au/resources_indigenous.html

http://www.gcc.ca/

This website serves as a central online location for all information having to do with the Cree peoples of Quebec and Ontario. As such, it has the potential to be a personal learning tool for both Cree and outsiders. While not overly interactive, the site does its best to present information about Cree traditions, history, spirituality, etc. through the use of photographs, some video, and short narratives. Culture is a thing to be preserved here, but not as a historical artefact. The short narratives concerning Cree traditions all show how those traditions, such as a strong connection to ‘the bush’, are being lived and are vital to the Cree identity.

Amongst the many links and resources available on the site are the following educational links:

Cree/ Aboriginal Education and Culture

• Rupert River Legacy Canoe Trip
• Nation Magazine
• Arctic String Figure Project
• Arctic Circle
• Canyon Records
• Cree School Board
• James Bay Cree Culture: creeculture.ca
• Native North American Art Links
• Chisasibi & LG-1 Road
• Build an Authentic Cree Tee-Pee
• East Cree Language Web
• The University of Tromsø Indigenous Studies Centre for Sámi Studies

This last link, to the University of Tromsø, is quite intriguing – I’m curious to discover what similarities there may be between the Cree and Sámi peoples.

David