http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginals

This website is devoted totally to aboriginal issues, including:

• land claims
• celebrations
• heritage
• facts & figures
• FAQs
• Native Affairs
• Disputes
• Leadership & models
• politics
• residential schools
• Native rights
• National Rewards

You may link to the Home Page or internal pages of the CBC Digital Archives Web site, but may not link directly to images or media clips, copy any of the material, or give the appearance that any of our content is a part of any other website. Most of the images, audio, video and text on this site is the property of CBC and Radio-Canada, or have been acquired with permission for use on this site.

This particular page archives.cbc.ca/for_teachers/525/called “Current Aboriginal Issues” has a webquest in the form of a pdf.

More Resources For Teachers – Educational activities

• All Grades – Going to a Residential School
• 6-8 – A Letter from School
• 9-10 – Residential School Diary
• 11-12Healing and Reconciliation
• 11-12 – Current Aboriginal Issues
• 11-12 – First Nations Reborn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_peoples_in_Canada

I don’t know why I didn’t think of wikipedia before, but this page has a great list of resources and information on the  Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Since I am a totally rookie, this site is a great jumping point for me.

I am still in the search for bogs, so if anyone finds some please let me know.

Creative Spirits

I came across this site linked to an actual Australian government website. I cruised through quite a bit of it before I actually worked my way back to the homepage. It was only then that I realized that this was a blog created by a non-Aboriginal. The following quote from the author really jumped out at me:

“I present Aboriginal culture in Australia from a different angle. While you can find many texts by white authors I like to involve Aboriginal authors, Aboriginal resources and even Aboriginal people themselves as much as possible.”

I’m quite confident that I would have noticed this statement in the past but after reading chapter four of the textbook and participating in the discussion threads I have to say I take issue with this. I’m curious to hear if others feel the same way.

As an alum of UWO, I often visit the Western NEws to see what is up. I cam e across this article that I know some of my classmates would use Online course preserves Mohawk language

David Kanatawakhon-Maracle, part of in the Department of Anthropology, teaches an online distance studies course called Introduction to the Mohawk Language. He uses MP3 recordings, combined with html to workbooks enabling students to click on the word and hear the pronunciation.

David believes “If you change a language, you change a culture and if you lose a language, you lose a culture,”

URL: http://www.firstvoices.com/scripts/WebObjects.exe/FirstVoices.woa/wa/file

The First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation, with the support of government agencies such as the Department of Canadian Heritage, and the British Columbia Ministry of Aboriginal Relations, as well as other partners, has created a set of online tools to assist indigenous people with indigenous language instruction, exploration and cultural revitalization.

Writing systems, images, sounds, videos, and games are embedded on the site, and many are accessible by the general public (some language resources are password protected so as to respect the customs of those particular communities).  In addition to an interactive map and listing of many indigenous languages in Canada, the website also provides a section specifically for children at http://www.firstvoiceskids.com/ , where many languages can be explored by clicking on pictures for sounds, videos and writing.

This site is an attempt to use digital technology to connect people with their language, and by extension, their culture.  In addition to focusing on indigenous community members and their efforts in language documentation and revitalization, in many instances, this site also provides the opportunity for non-community members to explore indigenous languages and to learn more about the diversity of indigenous languages in Canada.

http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/indigenous/film/

This website is an official government portal to Australian Indigenous film, including a history of Indigenous film that weaves it closely to the developing intercultural dynamic from the silent film period of the 1920’s to present day. The history culminates in a reference to Ten Canoes (de Heer 2006), “Australia’s first feature film to be made entirely in an Aboriginal language (although narrated in English).”

An important inclusion on this page, and that of the Ten Canoes website (well-worth a visit) is the following warning: “This article may contain the names and images of Aboriginal and Islander people now deceased. It also contains links to sites that may use images of Aboriginal and Islander people now deceased.”

According to McGrath and Philips (2007), it is a sign of respect to a deceased person not to use their first name, at least in direct reference to that person, for a period of up to several years. Eventually, the deceased’s name will often be used to name a new child in the family in order to maintain continuity in the family.

This Portal also contains links to many other useful resources related to Indigenous film in Australia, including similar sites, film sites, info about Indigenous filmmakers, and so on.

One aspect of this site that I find diminishes the status of Australian Indigenous film is that the government ministry responsible for this website is the Ministry of Culture and Recreation (my emphasis). While recreation, or play, may be a component of cultural activity, it seems disrespectful to put the two on an equal footing.

Reference

McGrath, P., & Phillips, E. (2007). Australian findings on aboriginal cultural practices associated with clothing, hair, possessions and use of name of deceased persons. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 14(1), 57-66. Retrieved from http://resolver.scholarsportal.info.librweb.laurentian.ca/resolve/13227114/v14i0001/57_afoacpuonodp