I am not sure how we all missed this site but it is another excellent resource.  In module 2 there were some readings related to Aboriginal groups and their use of discussion boards but throughout the course I rarely found “active” discussion boards with frequent, new content.

http://www.firstnations.com/ is definitely a site with an active an active First Nations community.  Among their newest topics are concepts concerning:

• Nov 30 A Poem (3)
• Nov 30 Another Poem (1)
• Nov 30 A Bald Eagle and a Man (0)
• Nov 30 Osiyo Nigada! (4)
• Nov 30 Development as colonialism (4)
• Nov 30 Native American Style flutes (12)
• Nov 30 Native American Heritage Day (12)
• Nov 30 Shroud Of Turin…. (11)
• Nov 30 Intertribal Market (7)
• Nov 29 The Crow (19)
• Nov 29 Lotikwahu (6)
• Nov 28 the road (1)
• Nov 28 Salish Sea – some recognition. (0)

I have given many of the posts a quick read and they provide an interesting insight into current issues facing first nations people.

The site also offers some great links to other websites, some of which have been previously mentioned here.

finally I found a aboriginal blog that is built to participate in networked culture

http://www.abtec.org/blog/?page_id=2

Form their site

“The main objective of AbTeC is to discover, define and implement methods by which Aboriginal people can use networked communication technology to strengthen our cultures. AbTeC’s Skins project will bring Aboriginal community organizations together with academic institutions to conduct research into the means by which the power of digital and networked technology can be put to use in producing and preserving our knowledge, culture and language. We will work with elder who have stories to tell, bands who have histories to preserve, and Aboriginal language speakers who want to share their knowledge. The goal is to provide conceptual and practical tools that will allow us to create new, Aboriginally-determined territories within the collection of web-pages, online games, chat rooms, bulletin boards and virtual environments that we call cyberspace.”

Love it!

The site cites current projects that include the use of computers in cyber pow wows, 3D story telling and computer programing

http://www.indigenouseducation.org/index.html

This Indigenous Education Institute (IEI) was created as a non-profit venture “with a mission to preserve, protect and apply traditional Indigenous knowledge in a contemporary setting, that of Indigenous peoples today, around the world”. Representatives from IEI have traveled around the world giving presentations to Indigenous organizations and institutions, as well as mainstream universities and K-12 schools.

Although IEI is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the administrators and board members represent various Indigenous groups. IEI is doing some important work in examing Native and Western Science in order to share awareness of Indigenous research methods and evaluation with the Western World. I was happy to learn that a priority of IEI is to assist Indigenous youth in building positive self-esteem and a strong sense of identity based on traditional cultural knowledge.  Overall, this is an informative and well-organized website!

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

Indigenous Science Network 

I came across this site while working with my math team on the implementation of new curriculum. We were looking for links to include in a resources list  for indigenous math and science.

The site includes links to news, research articles, conferences and calendar of events. What drew us to the page was the indigenous science link.

Developed by the Heritage Community Foundation this site is an “edukit” which is designed to enhance student understanding of the knowledge developed by Fist Nation people throughout history.

http://www.edukits.ca/aboriginal/contributions/index.htm

This resource was developed in conjunction with numerous agencies including Alberta Aboriginal Affairs, Museums, Schools, Aboriginal researchers, historians and elders such as Billy Joe Laboucan and Laura Okemaw.

The site features a student and a teacher zone.  In the student zone you will find numerous activities, biographies, puzzles, games, links and a photo gallery.  The resources contain a great deal of information about Aboriginal people and honours the contributions made by such historical figures as Alex Decoteau, Pakan and Star Blanket, as well as present day people like Allen Sapp and Jordin Tootoo.  In the teachers zone you can find activities and lesson plans for integrating these resources into the classroom.  There are both junior and senior high sections containing links to curriculum outcomes, teacher information, a full lesson plan and related downloads.

Here is an example of the resources available for a Grade 12 Lessons on Aboriginals in Business:

Generalization & Rationale

Objectives

Introductory Activity

Main Lesson

Download

Anyone who is trying to incorporate more Aboriginal history and knowledge into their classroom should consider checking out this site.  Also it gives a good idea of how such traditional First Nation knowledge can be weaved into the curriculum.

“Nepal Journals OnLine (NepJOL) is a service to provide access to Nepalese published research, and increase worldwide knowledge of indigenous scholarship.” There are 42 academic journals with 139 tables of contents listing 1960 articles of which 1319 are in full text. Unlike the journal selection offered by Digital Himilaya, these journals are all in English. There is also a journal content search option allowing searches by; all, authors, title, abstract, index terms, full text, date, supplementary files, etc.

Of course all the information accessible from NepJOL is specific to Nepal and might not be very useful for research of other areas or Indigenous groups.

The Indigenous Knowledge Project

This project is run by the Information Technology & Electrical Engineering of The University of Queensland Australia. The site is not current having been last updated in July, 2008 and the most recent publications are from 2006. However, it is an interesting site on IK management software. The stated objective of the site is to see how IT can be used to allow Indigenous communities to conserve their IK and culture in a sensitive way. The project aims to work with the custodians of IK to develop suitable software that preserves IK while respecting Indigenous protocols with respect to access. It also emphasizes the importance of maintaining ownership and control of  IK within the community.

Web site: http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~eresearch/projects/ikm/index.html

Web Site Links

The site offers some interesting papers such as “Software Tools for Indigenous Knowledge Management” http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~eresearch/papers/2003/IKM_software.pdf but of  most interest is the software that the project has developed for IK management.

There is the XML Metadata Editor/Generator Application (XMEG), which allows the user to record metadata onto an IK media file, not only to describe the content, but also to restrict access.

My particular interest is the demo they have created of an Indigenous Knowledge Web site: Indigenous Knowledge Web Demo http://maenad.itee.uq.edu.au/kweb/

The Alaska Native Knowledge Network

Web site URL:  http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/index.html

This site is run from the University of Alaska Fairbanks , is a resource fro educators interested in Indigenous Alaskan knowledge and ways of knowing. This is a serious, up to date, culturally sensitive and culturally relevant resource for educators in Alaska working with Indigenous communities. The ASKN site offers a long list of its own publications, both digital and print. These include articles, books, guidelines, DVDs, CD ROMS and posters. The ASKN also publishes a digital newsletter, and a catalogue is available online dating back to 1996. The site offers culturally based curriculum resources organized through a Curriculum Spiral Chart. These resources have been chosen to show how Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing and Western knowledge systems can be combined in a culturally relevant curriculum.

As an example, Some Curriculum resources are located at: http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/resources.html

Some Lesson plans are located at: http://ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/units/index.html

There is also an up to date calendar of events, and finally a moderated listserv for announcements.

This professional and well-maintained site is a good example of what a teaching university can offer as a resource for educators working in rural communities.

The Four Directions Teachings website

Web Site URL: http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/

The Four Directions Teachings site is a very professional project. This Canadian site receives money from the Department of Cultural Heritage. It is a beautifully produced resource for incorporating native knowledge in the classroom. It aims to protect and promote indigenous knowledge. The site mixes audio teachings by elders and beautiful flash videos. The site is an example of how with careful research and consulting a high quality product is possible. Careful consideration has even been given to the interface that aims to “replicate the fundamental flow of movement and interconnectivity of the indigenous experience.”

The site also provides downloadable lesson plans that aim to take maximum advantage of the oral teachings included in the site. The lesson plans are designed to incorporate the holistic nature of indigenous teaching methodologies, incorporating the idea of multi disciplinary learning and the medicine wheel. The four sections of the wheel incorporate the idea of Native Learning styles the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical aspects of the learning process, and each lesson plan aims to use and balance all four parts.

The teacher’s resources include learning activities (lesson plans) for each of the tribes represented for incorporating the audio material provided by the elders into the classroom at different educational levels.

I really recommend that anyone who has the time looks at the site and reads the teacher’s resource document at http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/Teacher_Resource_Kit.pdf