MET Course Weblog

Redefining how success is measured in Aboriginal learning

First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model

Description & Relevancy

I really appreciated the visual model depicted with this discussion on determining success in indigenous life-long learning. The emphasis on the natural world, cross-cultural aspects of knowledge and knowing, and location of learning are all relevant to the ideas explored in this module and throughout the course.

Links:

PLEASE FOLLOW LINK 1/2 down this page (directly under the image on the page) to the detailed PDF version of the model.

Scientific Knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity

Description and Relevancy

The concise information provided on this page connect well with the educational perspective discussed by Tim Michel as well as the broader themes that underpin module 4. This page is a sub page of the website  for Aboriginal Education Research Center (AERC) at the University of Saskatchewan. This information is included with several other sub-topics that are part of the program devoted to indigenous education. Most significantly this page includes a comprehensive bibliography on the topic (as do all of the other topic descriptions) that is useful for researchers seeking further information. Another interesting project that is part of the AERC is a project titled Learning Indigenous Science from Place. This project endevours to connect Indigenous science knowledge in Saskatchewan to First Nations worldviews and perspectives. Again, this is very closely aligned with the cultural perspectives and natural world focus explored in this final module.

Links

AERC Home

University of Saskatchewan

Learning Indigenous Science from Place

Sky Stories: A First Nations Journey Teacher’s Resources

Description & Relevancy

This educational opportunity and resource looks excellent. I wonder if any of you who teach and live on the West Coast have had a chance to view this at the HR MacMillan Space Centre? Sky Stories is the work of Margaret Grenier who has both Gitxsan and Cree ancestry, and holds a Masters Degree in Education. The focus of this multi-media presentation is to offer several  unique perspectives of the night sky by way of indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing. This excerpt from the teacher’s research package offers a more articulate description of what students will potentially learn through this experience:

Sky Stories is a unique planetarium experience that introduces students to Aboriginal perspectives of the night sky and diverse ways of knowing.  It describes the understandings of the night sky from three First Nations’ oral histories in British Columbia and the Yukon; the Wsanec moon calendar, the Gitksan origin story and Tlingit aurora borealis stories. Grandmother, Grandfather and Raven guide the audience through the journey as the audience travels from story to story, each in its own setting. The relationship between the Elders and the youth, the female roles and the male counterparts frame and balance the overall piece. This balance between young and old, male and female is reflective of the circular and non-hierarchical way of knowing where even time is non-linear but part of a continuum.

note: Andy Everson: created the Sky Stories logo. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from Sky Stories Teacher Resource package. www.hrmacmillanspacecentre.com

Links:

Quick View

http://www.hrmacmillanspacecentre.com/planetarium_details_skystories.htm

Gitxsan proposal

Description & Relevancy

This is a link to an article that outlines a recent proposal by the Gitxsan people to give up their historical status Indian designation. This would see the Gitxsan people relinquish their reserves, tax exemptions, housing and other historical financial supports.  On the other hand the proposal includes a share of resources from their traditional territories, which cover 33,000 square kilometres of northwestern British Columbia. The thrust behind this proposal is self-determination and the desire to improve quality of life through that process. I considered the Gitxsan proposal as I listened to Tim Michel (video interview Module 4) share a personal story and  discuss his sense of being ‘separated and alienated’ from his own traditional lands. Perhaps this type of governance would help overcome this idea.

Links

Globe & Mail Article

Gitxsan Chiefs Office

The Delgamuukw Decision

Gitxsan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYImYp0ci8s

Not Strangers in These Parts | Urban Aboriginal Peoples

Description & Relevancy

I thought I would share this policy research initiative that explores numerous issues related to the experience of urban aboriginal peoples in Canada. It is one of the source materials which I have used to support my research paper which explores the role of modern technologies in connecting urban and off-reserve aboriginal people with their cultural past, quality of life, and educational opportunities. There are several papers included in this index that represent numerous viewpoints and disciplines. When considered against some of the focus areas we have explored in this course about identity and indigenous ways of knowing and how those connect to land,  the papers in this volume offer a unique perspective to be considered from the urban aboriginal perspective.

Links

www.policyresearch.gc.ca/doclib/AboriginalBook_e.pdf

Coming to the end of my journey it seemed fitting that I should show you my home and a little of the reality we face here. This website shows both the beauty and the poverty of our towns, the traditional skills of the Indigenous people and the lack of modern technological skills. Here you can see a sample of the Regional dances, food and handicrafts, although you may need to clean up the images.

Here in Oaxaca these are daily activities and so sometimes we become blasé about them. Please look at the architecture, check out the tin roofs (even in the city they are common) and the Colonial buildings of which there are still many.

Look at the children in Asunción, some of them are wearing their school physical education uniform. Government schools are not free (the Parents association charges a fee) and uniforms are obligatory and not cheap. Yet the children are happy and playing in the street. Our life here is more communal than in other cities and although Oaxaca has one million people it is still like a small town.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me and if you ever come to Oaxaca we can eat some dead grasshoppers (chapulines) and drink some mescal with worm salt together.      

http://www.mipuebloonline.com.mx/

I chose this website for its content in Spanish, but I am including the link to the English version. This website can be visited in many languages and I think that is what captured my attention. It is a place where the young seem to have found a space in which they can communicate across the globe. Maybe this is not specifically an Indigenous website, but I think it is a model of what would be achieved.

This global site has a place for up to date news and also for the past. I am including a link to the Mayan Blog as it is well worth a visit and it is an example of how universities can help to store information, although I think after all I have learned that it would be better if they could empower Indigenous groups to protect their own heritage.

This webpage has links to Twitter and Facebook, both of which are common tools for any young people with a connection to the web. A lot has been said about the negative effects of Globalization, but I think the young people here have found a way to cross barriers instead of bludgeoning them down. The writers and translators are not paid, but they are given credit.  

Indigenous page  

http://es.globalvoicesonline.org/category/topics/indigenous/

Mexican Page

http://es.globalvoicesonline.org/category/world/americas/mexico/

Mayan Blog

http://mayistas.blogspot.com/

English Version

http://globalvoicesonline.org/

This website is a government controlled site and it is worth checking out. In contrast to the United Nations website, there are some problems with the layout of the pages of the official home page in Spanish. There is so much information that it is very hard to navigate, even my children told me that it was just too confusing to be useful. The search option only checks out government pages and again I found it difficult to use. It is obvious that someone has tried to find lots of important health related, cultural and educational links, but for example some of the links are broken and others disappeared. I next tried the simplified homepage and I must admit it was a lot easier. There was less information, but I think that most people would find it more manageable. The Indigenous homepage also appeared to have les information than the official page, obviously I couldn’t check the content. The English and French homepages seem geared more to tourists, although if you click on the health news the information is in Spanish..

Official homepage: http://www.e-indigenas.gob.mx/wb2/eMex/Home

Simplified homepage: http://www.e-indigenas.gob.mx/wb2/eMex/eMex_Usuario_no_experto

 Indigenous homepage: http://www.e-indigenas.gob.mx/wb2/eMex/Home

 English homepage: http://www.e-mexico.gob.mx/wb2/eMex/Home

I had recently learned that there are Indigenous groups in Mexico that are creating their own discourse and while I was looking for more information I came across this website. At first I was enchanted as the images are incredible. However as I began looking for who controlled the site, I became aware that it was neither an Indigenous, nor a local site. I finally had to investigate what UIT stood for and I was very quickly disenchanted. This appears to be a United Nations project to make access to telecommunications more equitable. This explains why the website is in Spanish and English, but not in any of the indigenous languages.

It is worth visiting for the photos and a lot of really useful information, there is an e-learning section with ideas such as how to set up and use a free Moodle platform, although I could only find it in English. There is information on “plataformas” in Spanish, but it wasn’t as clear as the English site. I would recommend this site to anyone in education as I think they may find some useful tools here, but I don’t see this site as being very helpful for a lot of indigenous communities.   

United Nations

http://www.itu.int/es/pages/default.aspx

Indigenous Portal

http://www.ictindigenousportal.org/index.php

I came across this website when I was looking for articles which were up to date and more academic than I had found on other sites. The title maybe a little pretentious, but I was certainly inspired. One of the problems I had was that it took a little practice to get used to refining my search word by word; as I am used to Google where I can almost write questions. The other problem was that there are so many interesting articles that I tended to get sidetracked and although I could argue that all of them were in some way related to my research, the truth is that I spent a lot of time reading fascinating articles but that cut into my writing time. I suggest that you visit this site in the vacations or when there is no imminent deadline on the horizon.  

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/latin_american_research_review/related/v042/42.1eisenstadt.html

You have got to watch this video from TED about the cultural differences of myth between India and the West. It is a real eye opener.

http://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik.html

Does this sound familiar?

I think Devdutt Pattanai does a great job talking about the narrative in both cultures. Now that we are becoming a global society with more informal conversations between cultures, we can create a new narrative that could include the preservation the planet. Our Western culture is all about concur and take what you need NOW before your death. Other cultures, like India, belief in multiple lives therefore you have to preserve the earth for your next life. (I might be wrong here)… but it is exciting to learn about how other cultures view the world.

Aboriginal culture is all about being one with the mother earth, respecting her and preserving her. We have the cultures on this planet that can help the West change our ways. Technology can help facilitate the communication between cultures. Social media and social networking allows all voices to be heard. Educational Technology can connect students from differently countries to discuss and learn from each other.
Can we change the Western narrative if we listen to other narratives?

I hope so. It may be our digital generation that moves our cultures together to create a new narrative that protects the planet

The First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), an independent organization focused on increasing the quality of education for all First Nations people, is led by First Nation representatives throughout British Columbia.  Along with their commitment to improve education, the FNESC provides support services the First Nations Schools Association and the Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association.

Important links include:

First Nations Schools Association

Jurisdiction over Education

Indian Studies Support Program

Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association

Post-Secondary Education and Training

Seventh Generation Club

First Nations Parents Club

BCeSIS

Aboriginal Recruitment for 2010 Games

Atlantic FN SchoolNet Helpdesk

First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation

FNESC logo [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2009, from FNESC website. http://www.fnesc.ca/index.php

Pathways to Technology initiative is to connect First Nations communities to the world.  Working to bring reliable high-speed Internet, they  recognize connectivity as paramount to closing the socio-economic gap between First Nations and other British Colombians.  The First Nations Technology Council (FNTC) and the First Nations Health Council have stated that broadband connectivity as a priority for First Nations.  Through the dedicated work of the FNTC and its partners, $22.5 million was granted to begin to provide connectivity to all 203 First Nations.  Pathways to Technology  is the overall initiative’s name.  The benefits of broadband the site lists are related to: health care, education and skills development, cultural preservation and revitalization, economic development, land and resource management, and critical infrastructure monitoring.

Links include:

All Nations Trust Company & All Nations Development Corporation

First Nations Technology Council

First Nations Health Council

BC Connectivity Map

Pathways to Technology logo [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2009, from Pathways to Technology website. http://www.pathwaystotechnology.ca/

Indigenous Peoples.Net  (M-4 Post #5)

http://www.indigenouspeople.net/sidemenu.html

Indigenous Peoples Literature  

This site contains  information and resources for indigenous cultures  on a global scale.  There is a description of  indigenous literature from all corners of the globe available on this site.  One of the tools that it offers is the ability to translate text or web page into other languages.      

To translate any text or web page: click here        Other Languages

– African Lit
– Arabic Lit
– Americas
– Art
– Chiapas Menu
– Chinese Lit
– Columbus
– Daily Inspirations
– Gaelic Lit
– Great Native Leaders
– Hawaiian Lit
– Indigenous Greetings / Docs
– Indigenous Music & Videos
– Indigenous Nations
– Indigenous Poetry
– Indigenous Stories
– Japanese Lit
– Kalash Lit
– Korean Lit
– Mexican Lit
– Persian Lit
– Racism
– Tai Chi
– Tibetan Lit
– What’s New & Unique
– World Nations
– Yuanji

UsMob, Australia’s first Aborignal children’s interactive website, was created to allow users to interact with a virtual experience life in Hidden Valley camp outside of Alice Springs. This site was created with the vision of using new media to develop cross-cultural lines of communication, creating a non-fictional story of life in this area. The producer’s goal was to for children to learn about the community and consequence as opposed to assuming the Aboriginal children in Australia were obliged to catch up to the digital divide standards that have been determined by other communities.

Set in the central desert of Australia.  Visitors interact with Aboriginal teenagers adventures and crisis.  This site encourages an exchange of culture, creativity, and experience between non-indigenous and Indigenous youth.  Its hope is to inspire young Indigenous people to use the Internet to develop skills.  This online environment was developed with a sensitivity to authoring biases ensuring that it is relevant to Indigenous audiences.

The interactive website takes visitors on a seven part journey which includes:

Episode 1: Kwatye (Water)
Aboriginal kids don’t get lost in the desert without any water… do they?
Fact Sheet: Finding Water in Desert
Fact Sheet: Different Foods in Arrernte Country

Episode 2: Money Day
Teased about her hearing aid at school, Della has to decide whose voice she will listen to.
Fact Sheet: Indigenous Languages in Australia
Fact Sheet: Deafness in Indigenous Communities

Episode 3: Ure (Fire)
When Harry burns a tree on someone else’s land, is it just nature that he is messing with?
Fact Sheet: Traditional Healing
Fact Sheet: Lhere Mparntwe

Episode 4: Wrong Skin
In a battle for the same boy, sisters Jacquita and Della must decide whether to follow their hearts or their traditional law.
Fact Sheet: Skin Names

Episode 5: Pmere Amekemeke (Sacred Sites)
10, 9, 8, 7… As their childhood days disappear and the non-Aboriginal world seems to be closing in, will Charlie and Harry’s friendship survive?
Fact Sheet: Traditional Stories
Fact Sheet: Sacred Sites

Episode 6: Sniffer
Alienated by her family and friends, Della turns to petrol sniffing and leaves her sister with a difficult decision.
Fact Sheet: Petrol Sniffing
Fact Sheet: Arrernte Culture I

Episode 7: Iwerre Atherrame (Two Paths)
No longer a boy but still not a man. Can Harry keep pushing both black and white laws and avoid the consequences?
Fact Sheet: Arrernte Culture II

UsMob logo [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2009, from UsMob website. http://www.usmob.com.au/index.html

The Centre for Aboriginal Health Research (CAHR) coordinates research activities to help First Nations and Aboriginal communities to encourage and promote healthy lifestyles and improved health services.  A joint initiative of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba and the Foundations of Health, the CAHR works towards integrating scientific and traditional Aboriginal knowledge and approaches to work towards producing new knowledge about health and health care.

The symbol of the turtle logo represents a creation story which is appropriate for the Center’s goal to create new knowledge that encompasses Aboriginal cultural and social realities.  The arrows represent the taking in and giving back of information, the medicine wheel, and the four directions represent the four races on earth, stages of life and the physical, spiritual, emotional and psychological realms of health.

Objectives of the CAHR are:

To support and conduct studies related to traditional healing, prevalent diseases, culture-based approaches to healing, factors that influence health service systems, and addresses gender and age related needs within the First Nations and Aboriginal communities.

To provide community education and training in health research, to facilitate the use of health information and policy development, to advice First Nations and Aboriginal governments on health policy issues.

Links include:

Present Research

Past Research

Publications and Reports

http://www.manitobachiefs.com/

Wilde, D. (designer) AHR Logo, (online image)  Retrieved November 17, 2009  from CAHR website. http://www.umanitoba.ca/centres/cahr/about/background.html

The UN Permanent Forum of Indigenous Peoples‘ (UNPFII) mandate is to provide advice and recommendations on Indigenous issues to the Council, to produce and disseminate information related to Indigenous issues. The Permanent Forum was created in response to feelings that the structure of the United Nations was not organized to response to issues related to Indigenous peoples and that Indigenous peoples’ representation was limited.  The Permanent Forum was established with the framework of the UN International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (1995 – 2004).

Members serve a three year term and  include sixteen independent experts, eight nominated by governments and eight directly by Indigenous organizations in their regions.  Regions include: Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean, the Artic, Central and Eastern Europe, Russian Federation, Central Asia and Transcaucasia, North America, and the Pacific.

Links include:

Indigenous Women and the UN System

Indigenous women and the UNPFII

Briefing Notes

Inter-Agency Task Force on Indigenous Women

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEDAW

Gender and Statistics

Second Meeting of UN Agencies and Indigenous Women representatives of Central America and Mexico

Engaging indigenous women: local-government capacity-building through new technologies in Latin America

Declaration from the Indigenuos Children and Adolescents of Latin America to the 2005 Ibero-American Summit Meeting and press release

Committee on the Rights of the Child: Discussion on the Rights on Indigenous Children – Recommendations

UNPFII logo  image, Retrieved Nov. 17  from  UNPFII website. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/

The Network Environments for Aboriginal Research BC’s (NEARBC) mission is to provide an environment to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal Peoples.  Their mission is to provide a setting where researchers and community members can work together to develop research initiatives that are relevant to Aboriginal peoples. They strive to develop research projects that are competitive nationally and internationally.

The Aboriginal Health Abstract data base page stores research articles related to various Aborignial health issues.  Categories include: mental health, diabetes, child and maternal health, injury or suicide, cardiovascular disease, chronic disease, fetal alcohol syndrome, tobacco, and infectious disease.

Featured Resources include:

Aboriginal Health Research Ethics Protocols

CIHR Guidelines for Health Research Involving Aboriginal People

Protocols & Principles for Conducting Research in a Nuu-Chah-Nulth Context

Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans

NEARBC logo  image, Retrieved Nov. 17  from  NEARBC website. http://www.nearbc.ca/index.php

You have got to watch this, it is amazing!!!

A TED video about a technology that allows the user to use/find digital information while  in her/his physical environment. The learner in the physical world interacts with digital data using physical gestures. No longer will we need desktop computers or laptops. No longer will we have to sit for hours in front of a machine interacting with a machine (computer). We can get information while interacting with our physical world.

Pranav Mistry, an MIT graduate student has created a device called the SixthSense that uses our physical gestures and interactions with real-world objects and integrates/combines them with data (digital information) for ‘just in time” knowledge building.

He hopes that this will solve the digital divide. All equipment needed is extremely cheap and the software is open source. You only need a wireless connection to the internet.

Near the end of the video he shows how his device makes working with digital data the same as working with information in a physical form (on paper)

I love it. I can hardly wait until it becomes the norm.

I think this fits in well with aboriginal pedagogy. The learner can be in the natural environment and interact with digital information at the same time.

Inuit Tapirlit Kanatami (ITK), represents four Inuit regions, Nunatsiavut(Labrador), Nunavik (northern Quebec), Nunavut, and Inuvialuit (Northwest Territories),  and is the national Inuit organization in Canada.

In 1971, the organization was founded to represent Inuit interests.  Working with the Canadian government, ITK negotiated land claim settlements and represented Inuit during consitutional talks in the 1980s.

Although, the organization has enjoyed accomplishments in land claim settlements, creation of Nunavut, enormous challenges remain for the Inuit.  Equal opportunity and prosperity in Canada, the recognition from the federal government that the Inuit have different challenges, concerns, and needs than other Aboriginal peoples in Canada, still challenge the community.

The publication page on the site includes the following articles:

Negotiating Research Relationships with Inuit Communities, a Guide for Researchers

Canadian Inuit Perspectives on Climate Change (Unikkaaqatigiit)

An Integrated Arctic Strategy

Negotiating Research Relationships: A Guide for Communities

The Inuit Action Plan

Circumpolar Declaration on Sovereignty in the Arctic

ITK logo  image, Retrieved Nov. 15 from  Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami website. http://www.itk.ca/