The more information I came across the more I am forced to realise that I will end up proving the opposite of what I set out to prove in my investigation. I planned to see what educational policies have been implemented and by means of a literature search make some recommendations for indigenous education in my state. Now I am aware of how little knowledge I have and I am ashamed of how paternalistic my ideas were. This site that I visited and the previous articles I have read have shown me how I must give up my pre-conceived ideas and learn to listen to what each indigenous group has to say. I have learned that each group has its own identity and it is not possible to make blanket judgments.  This site is in English and French, but not in any of the aboriginal languages. A month ago I would have been impressed, but now I am more critical of sites that are written about, but not for First Nation people.  

http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/AboutCCL/KnowledgeCentres/AboriginalLearning/index.htm

This site has a research branch which states that it has a comprehensive collection of historical indigenous documents, but it was impossible for me to check it out as it costs 200 dollars for students for a year or 10 dollars for one access, which on a Mexican salary is not feasible. I was next drawn to the photography section which has photos by Robert Harper of several countries, including Mexico as it was, over 50 years ago. The photos are very interesting and I spent some time looking at how Mexico used to be. There are some photos of Puerta Vallarta when it was a virgin beach and a small indigenous community. Now Puerta Vallarta is a huge artificial, concrete, tourist complex that bears no resemblance to its wild, natural beauty in the past. Finally I noticed the indigenous bookshop which is linked to Amazon and seemed to have a small, but interesting collection.   

http://cwis.org/

Whilst investigating what is being done around the world in the area of indigenous education I came across this site. I was interested to note that the conclusion to the main article almost echoes the words of Dr Lee Brown. “‘good practice’ for teaching is one that is based on recognising each student as an individual, valuing their life experiences and developing their knowledge and skills accordingly”. It made me wonder if on different continents people have come to the same conclusions then why has there not been a major change at an international level. I look at Mexico and wonder why we are not investigating the real needs of our indigenous communities. How can this shift in consciousness come about? It seems clear to me that instead of fighting for the right of every child to be educated we need instead to fight for every child to be educated in the right way.

http://www.oodgeroo.qut.edu.au/academic_resources/academicpape/indigenouscu.jsp

This is an American web site which has some very powerful images and interesting articles. I was looking for some information on mining and how governments place more importance on making enough money to carry out their policies than how their decisions affect indigenous groups when minerals are found on their land. One would imagine that in this century it would be possible to find a way to mine without taking away and often leaving untenable land which has belonged for centuries to indigenous communities. My only doubt about this site is that all of the information is in English. There are also some help groups and field projects but I didn’t find any links to read the information in an optional language.

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/?gclid=CJLZh_Kps50CFRpdswodiFv_ig