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.

In week 10 out reading about Inuit elders really got me thinking about their role in native communities.  Many cultures embrace their elders as a source of wisdom but I am aware of few groups that elevate them to a status equivalent to first nations groups.

The website http://www.niichro.com/Elders/Elders7.html shares some great information about Native American Elders, Leaders, Seniors and the demographics behind Native communities.  The website is focused on a cross-cultural look at diversity and aging and I must say there is some great information and insight here.

The site is a joint project between the National Indian and Inuit Community Health Representatives Organization (NIICHRO) and the Canadian Ethnocultural Council (CEC) and is focused on addressing issues for elders in first nations communities.

Here are some of the concepts that the site focuses on and their links:

• Different Histories, Some Common Issues
• Seniors and Elders
• Some Demographic Trends
• Elders at Risk
• The Normal Process of Ageing
• Essential Elements of Ageing Well
• Barriers to Ageing Well: The Problem of Unwanted Isolation
• A Wholistic Approach to Unwanted Isolation

Check out the site for more information and some insight into issues facing Aboriginal elders.

“Reconciliation Australia is an independent, not-for-profit organization… building and promoting reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians for the well being of the nation.”  This is taken from their description in “Who is RA” under “About RA.”  If you are interested in anything to do with Indigenous Australian issues, this site will surely not disappoint.

As there is simply too much information available on the website to mention here, some of the highlights are: reconciliation resources and action plans, their current projects, facts and figures, films and music, learning tools for schools, and what might be the most useful for research, their publications.  In their links section, they have divided them into nine different categories including media, documentaries, government, and stats & facts.

The Indigenous Research Center of the Americas (IRCA) is housed in the Department of Native American Studies at the University of California, Davis. Based on a hemispheric perspective, IRCA seeks to understand and express both the local and global dimensions of indigenous peoples in the American hemisphere. IRCA is an interdisciplinary, inter-institutional research program established with an interest in and commitment to the demographic, social, economic, political and cultural importance of indigenous peoples and the issues of self-determinatation, sovereignty and self-development. The Center has a particular interest in the global and transnational connections of indigenous peoples as well as their growing participation in the reshaping of local, regional and national identities and communities. IRCA provides an open forum for indigenous scholars, indigenous community, spiritual and political leaders and non-Indigenous researchers who are concerned with developing a hemispheric and interdisciplinary approach to the past, present and future realities of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

The previous description was taken in its entirety from their homepage, as I would not be able to succinctly paraphrase it without leaving out meaningful details. The information presented on the site is indeed limited, but potentially very useful and will most likely grow.  There are currently six research publications available, which are posted in one of the following categories:

• Culture and identity
• Health and food
• International agreements
• Technology and communication
• Territoriality

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 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/

http://cwis.org/

The first three lines on the website read:

• Access to indigenous peoples knowledge and ideas
• Conflict resolution based on mutual consent
• Protecting the rights of indigenous peoples

The site was established in 1994 and is the non-profit research and education organization’s online presence.  The organization offers education programs as well as internships and fellowships through their Fourth World Institute. Their web site offers access to multiple sources of information about indigenous issues such as online Fourth World Journal, the Fourth World Eye blog (eZine), a Forum for Global Exchange, the Chief George Manuel virtual library, a media center with video and audio media, photo galleries, etc.  The site has a much more modest collection of external links.  As this is an .org web site, donations are solicited.