Author: Bruce Spencer

Module 4 – Weblog Entry #1 – Bruce Spencer

I selected the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute as my first entry because of its significance to my research on the Gwich’in people. Their language is listed as one of eighty-eight dying languages in Canada. My research paper takes a look at the history of the language and what has been done to try to preserve and maintain the language during the past sixty years.

GwichinSocialCulturalInstituteWebsite

Also of interest are:
• Gwich’in Language Wikipedia taken from Answers.com
• The Gwich’in Settlement Area taken from the GDC website
• Information of the Gwich’in Land Claim taken from the GNWT’s Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations website.

Module 4 – Weblog Entry #2 – Bruce Spencer

Wellness is an issue for everyone and the Gwich’in people are no different in this respect. There have been a number of attempts made to address the needs of the Gwich’in people. The most recent one was in April, 2008 when the Gwich’in Tribal Council made an announcement about the opening of a Gwich’in wellness camp outside of Inuvik, NWT.

GwichinWellnessCamp

Other sites of interest are:
• Tl’oondih Healing Society located near Fort McPherson, NWT.
• Tetlit Gwich’in Council in Fort McPherson

Module 4 – Weblog Entry #3 – Bruce Spencer

Keeping with the theme of languages in danger of extinction, I thought it might be nice to send you to the FirstVoices website.

FirstVoicesWebsite

• “FirstVoices is a group of web-based tools and services designed to support Aboriginal people engaged in language archiving, language teaching & culture revitalization. More… or Try our Quick Start Guide “ (taken from the FirstVoices Website)

Module 4 – Weblog Entry #4 – Bruce Spencer

I came across this weblog (Shaw.ca) while I was researching information for my assignment on the Gwich’in Language. It’s being touted as a cooperative Canadian weblog on things legal. Of special interest to me was the article by Simon Fodden (The Friday Fillip) on dying languages of which there are 88 in our country alone.

DyingLanguagesInCanada

Also of interest is:
• UNESCO’s Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger

Module 4 – Weblog Entry #5 – Bruce Spencer

Censored News is another weblog site that may be of interest to you. I discovered it while researching my paper on the Gwich’in people. This blog site has been active since 2007. It reports primarily on indigenous issues and human rights issues. This is a searchable weblog.

CensoredNews

Articles are listed by year and month. Scroll downwards and look to the left of the window.

Other links of interest to me were:
• Indigenous Uranium Forum audio available
o EarthCycles.net
• Listen Uranium Forum Defending Mother Earth
o blogtalkradio

Module 3 – Weblog Entry #1 – Bruce Spencer

Introduction

Weblog entries one, two and three follow the three discussion headings for the module. Weblog entry four focuses on indigenous research methodologies while weblog five takes a look at indigenous researchers and their research on colonization.

For my first entry, I decided to include two categories centering on identity and capability. For the first section, I selected one article dealing with the question of identity and a second article on human development. For the second section, I selected two websites, on indigenous development. While broad in context, they do help to contribute to the overall discussion on issues important indigenous people.

Indigenous Identity and Contrasting Societal Values

• Jeff J. Corntassel, Who is Indigenous? ‘Peoplehood’ and Ethnonationalist Approaches to Rearticulating Indigenous Identity, 2003 (pdf file)
• Björn-Sören Gigler, Indigenous Peoples, Human Development and the Capability Approach, 2005 (pdf file)

Indigenous Peoples, Human Development and the Capability Approach

• Human Development and Capability Association: Development as Freedom (website)
• Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact (website)

Module 3 – Weblog Entry #2 – Bruce Spencer

Traditional Culture, Technology and Youth

The disconnect between indigenous youth and their traditional culture is an important issue amongst indigenous peoples. They are always looking for ways to combat this problem. Here are a few worth exploring.

• Jasmine Bruce, Indigenous Youth, (pdf file)
• Cara Heaven & Matthew Tubridy, Highly Affected, Rarely Considered: Global Youth, Culture and Youth Identity, (pdf file)
• Unknown, Natives on the Electronic Frontier (posting)

Module 3 – Weblog Entry #3 – Bruce Spencer

Contemporary Indigenous Identities

Indigenous people continue to seek ways to communicate their identity to their people and to others. Whether it’s through a website or a community event or through the fine arts, attempts are being made by indigenous peoples to reconnect but on their own terms. The following sites are worth a visit because they show how indigenous peoples are attempting to reach out and connect with others in the global community.

• Canada’s World Canada (website)
• Indian Country Today American (website)
• Contemporary Indigenous Theatre in Australia, Australian (weblog)

Module 3 – Weblog Entry #4 – Bruce Spencer

Indigenous Research Methodologies – Canadian Perspective

Canada has a large indigenous population. Like indigenous people elsewhere in the world, the research based on their people has also been tainted by European colonization thinking. These earlier methodologies are also in a state of change. Review some of the following information for a Canadian perspective on appropriate aboriginal research methodologies.

• Simon Brascoupé and Howard Mann’s A Community Guide to Protecting Indigenous Knowledge, Ottawa, 2001(pdf file)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Aboriginal Research Pilot Program, Government of Canada (website)
• Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins’s Research Models, Community Engagement, and Linguistic Fieldwork: Reflections on Working within Canadian Indigenous Communities, Victoria, 2009 (pdf file)

Module 3 – Weblog Entry #5 – Bruce Spencer

Indigenous Researchers and Research on Colonization

The push by researchers to decolonize research methodologies is truly a global phenomenon. On such researcher leading the charge is Linda Tuhiwai Smith. An Associate Professor in Education and Director of the International Research Institute for Maori and Indigenous Education at the University of Auckland, her 1999 book, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, explains how previous research on indigenous peoples was biased towards European colonialism. Smith then offers some suggestions as to how this research should be conducted.

Other suggested readings include:

• John Dougherty’s review on Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (Review)
• Kü Kahakalau’s Indigenous Heuristic Action Research: Bridging Western and Indigenous Research Methodologies, Hawaii, 2004 (pdf file)
• Elizabeth Tchacos’s Research in Aboriginal Communities: Cultural Sensitivity as a Prerequisite Australia, 2004 (pdf file)

Module 2 – Weblog Entry #1 – Bruce Spencer

The Overseeing Gaze

Videos

Technologies such as the internet have reopened the debate about intellectual property, copyright protection and cultural ownership. Weblogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube are just a few of the tools available to people wishing to correspond, chat or post media on topics of interest to them. A huge increase in the commodification of culture and increased marketing has only inflamed the debate.

The first video shows what can happen to a culture when the Internet is used to promote or market tourism in a global context. The second video is an overview of just how quickly technology has changed Internet marketing over the past 10 years or so.

Adivasi, Tourism & Internet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GREXK92sWEw (video)

Technology Impact on Internet marketing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlysgiV-u8M (video)

The next video is an example of how the Internet is used to promote non-violent yet illegal activity. A vigilante demonstrates how to place copper wire on railway tracks to short circuit railway traffic lights. The idea is to train sympathizers of the cause how to disrupt railway traffic.

Friends and Allies http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8044688699643137747&ei=ylLaSrLaF4fYqAPhuJ35Cw&q=Canada+%2B+Indigenous+people+and+the+internet&hl=en# (video)

Here are a few more examples of how the Internet is being used by indigenous people to get their message out… whatever the message may be.

NnishTV.com on employment in Thunder Bay http://www.vimeo.com/1526523 (video)

Native American Children Raising Funds to Purchase a Native Youth Ranch http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&q=Canada%20%2B%20Indigenous%20people%20and%20the%20internet&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&q=Canada+%2B+Indigenous+people+and+the+internet&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv&start=10 (video)

Module 2 – Weblog Entry #2 – Bruce Spencer

Nanook of the North

Videos

There has been considerable discussion in the course about the objectivity of the film, Nanook of the North, and it’s portrayal of Innu people. This 1920’s black and white film is of some historical significance if only because there’s practically no other footage around. Click on the link below to view the film Nanook of the North.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLERFRQl5EY (video)

Go to this site for information on the film and on Flaherty http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Nanook_of_the_North (document)

Go to this site for an Innu perspective of Nanook of the North.
http://www3.nfb.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/index.php?mode=theme&language=english&theme=30661&film=13896&excerpt=612098&submode=about&expmode=1 (website)

The Innu Nation has a couple of websites with plenty of information about their history and their culture. When I took a look at the Innu Nation site, the links were all down. Perhaps you’ll have better luck. Innu AIMUN has some good resources and their links are working.

Innu Nation – Resources http://www.innu.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=3&lang=en (documents)

Innu AIMUN – Memorial University of Newfoundland http://www.innu-aimun.ca/modules.php (website)

Module 2 – Weblog Entry #3 – Bruce Spencer

Protecting Cultural Rights

Videos

MIT WORLD Distributed Intelligence

This video on Copyright, Fair Use, and the Cultural Commons about the shift in intellectual property protection and rights from the days of Shakespeare when ownership was held in perpetuity up to present day limits. This is a long one but it gives you some great background information as well as the latest trends in copyright and fair use law. The Fair Use and Free Speech is shown in this presentation. I included a link to this documentary below.

Copyright, Fair Use, and the Cultural Commons (April 2007) http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/469 (video)

Here are a couple of other related sites that you may find useful. Center for Social Studies has some teaching materials that may be useful. Keep in mind that the information is based on US best practices and US law.

Fair Use and Free Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY-2YshuJ8o (video)

Code of Best Practices and Fair Use http://www.cmstudies.org/documents/SCMSBestPracticesforFairUseinTeaching-Final.pdf (document)

Center for Social Media http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ (website)

Module 2 – Weblog Entry #4 – Bruce Spencer

Stereotypes

Videos

YouTube – D Indians Shave – by Chris Spotted Eagle

This video is based on street interviews taken in 1972 highlights some of the misconceptions Americans had about American Indigenous people. The interviewee is a native North American. You may be surprised by some of the answers he got to questions like do Indians shave, how much land do Indians own, where did scalping come from, do Indians speak a common language, how many Indians live in the Us and so on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBx7mele67g (video)

Here are a few other videos to remind us about lack of tolerance and respect some people seem to have towards indigenous people. There are some strong messages being sent here.

• The Indians in Brazil – Who are they? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAhjy4HLNWI (video)
• Laughing at Aboriginies? – Tough Questions to QUT Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM0HYYBKblg (video)

Module 2 – Weblog Entry #5 – Bruce Spencer

Indigenous People

Videos

Native Tube – Indigenous people –by keeper79
An audio visual presentation dedicated to the 400 million indigenous people living in the world. There are plenty of interesting pictures of indigenous people from around the world. The song that accompanies the presentation is quite enjoyable too.

http://www.nativetube.com/video/205/INDIGENOUS-PEOPLE (video)

There are plenty of other thought provoking videos for you to watch. I would like to recommend the following…

• Long Train of Abuses part I http://www.nativetube.com/video/23/Long-Train-of-Abuses–Part-1 (video)
• Took the Children Away http://www.nativetube.com/video/10/Took-The-Children-Away–Archie-Roach (video)

Module 1 – Weblog Entry #1 – Bruce Spencer

Language is one of the most important aspects of a culture. It is used primary for communication purposes but it also helps us to define who we are as a people. Certain characteristics of language, such as dialect, can signify differences that may exist within a given culture. Language can also be used to distinguish one culture from another.
A Canadian Perspective

This site from Natural Canada Resources is loaded with statistical information about the nature and composition of aboriginal languages within Canada. While the information may is somewhat dated, it does have interactive maps that can be used by educators/learners interested in learning more about the current status of Canada’s aboriginal language. Data and Mapping Notes provides additional background information about these maps.

Module 1 – Weblog Entry #2 – Bruce Spencer

National Standards

Unlike many nations, Canada doesn’t have a national strategy for education. That’s because the federal government doesn’t have any jurisdiction over education; it handed those rights over to the provinces as part of the terms of Canadian Confederation. Hence, educational standards are set by the individual provinces/territories. As educators, many of us are probably already familiar with the various curriculum requirements for the province/territory where we live and work.

In recent years, some attempts have been made by various provincial/territorial governments to streamline certain core curriculums from across several geographic regions into one common protocol. This is probably as close as we’ll ever come to creating national standards.

 The Western and Northern Canadian Protocol Aboriginal Languages Project is one example of how cooperation between different provinces/territories can lead to the development of a common curriculum for all.

 Click here to download a pdf copy of the WNCP Framework

 Click here for an interactive map that will link you with Aboriginal Languages and Cultures Websites from across Western Canada.

 Visit the CMEC (Council of Ministers of Education Canada) for the latest developments about the status of education across Canada and from around the world.

 The Government of Canada’s Aboriginal Canada Portal website has a variety of information related to Aboriginal Language, Heritage and Culture. The webpage has a Topics Menu with plenty of topics and links to other interesting websites.

Module 1 – Weblog Entry #3 – Bruce Spencer

It’s important for aboriginals to connect with one another so that they can speak with one voice on issues that are common to them all. Whether is here in Canada or somewhere else in the world, the digital divide has played an important role in bringing these aboriginal people closer together.

Aboriginal Connections is a directory that has multiple listings to various Indigenous websites from around the world. There are 967 listings and 16 categories for Canada alone.

Some of my more favorite categories include:
Education (73)
The Arts (152)
Heritage and Culture (53)
First Nations (129)
News and Media (73)

Sites that interested me were:
Aboriginal Children’s Circle of Early Learning a teaching resource site
Haa Ai (Inuktitut for Look at This) a web messaging site
Arctic Studies Center check out the Mask Exhibit
Canada’s Digital Collections An impressive collection

Module 1 – Weblog Entry #4 – Bruce Spencer

It’s always a good idea to stay abreast of current events from around the globe. Perhaps what’s even more important is that we get a balanced representation of these events as they play out on the world stage. Cultural Survival offers readers access to hundreds of articles on issues relating to indigenous peoples from all over the world. But that’s not all this organization does.

Cultural Survival is currently involved in supporting various self-sustaining culturally driven programs for several indigenous communities in different parts of the world. One such project has to do with the deterioration of Native American Languages within the United States. The similarities to our own situation are striking, which is why I would encourage you to explore this site and the program more closely.

Some publications of interest to me were:
“Surf’s up!” NWT Indigenous Communities Await a Tidal Wave of Electronic Information
Indigenous Distance Education
A View from the Yukon Flats: An Interview with Gwich’in Leader Clarence Alexander

Module 1 – Weblog Entry #5 – Bruce Spencer

This is a sampling of some of website oddities that I came across during my research on aboriginal languages. Neither of them deserved their own weblog necessarily but I felt compelled to include them somewhere because of the nature of the content found in each.

1. The Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics is about a proposal put forward by the Canadian Standards Association concerning the development of a Universal Multiple-Octet Character Set. Apparently there’s been a dispute between various aboriginal groups over ownership over certain characters common to their respective language. I have included here because of its connection to aboriginal language (written).

2. The University of Calgary’s Linguistics Department has posted an Aboriginal Languages of Canada Map to show all the geographic location of every known aboriginal language family in Canada. It also provides some statistical information on the more well-known ones.

3. The federal government, through their Canadian Heritage website has information on their Aboriginal Languages Initiative Innovation Fund Pilot Project that maybe of interest to some. I would be interested in learning about any projects derived from this federal initiative so if you hear of any, please let me know.

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