Author Archives: Deb Kim

DEB (M4-#5): AIPP

http://www.aippnet.org/home/index.php

Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact (AIPP) is an organization of Indigenous peoples’ movement in Asia. AIPP has its members in various regions in 14 different countries. Regions include Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Northeast India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. AIPP also has regular communications and contacts with about 80 other indigenous organizations and individuals.

DEB (M4-#4): Information Technology and Indigenous People (Book)

Title of the book: Information Technology and Indigenous People

Author(s)/Editor(s): Laurel Evelyn Dyson; Max Hendriks; Stephen Grant

Release Date: August, 2006

This book provides “theoretical and empirical information related to the planning and execution of IT projects aimed at serving indigenous people. It explores many cultural concerns with IT implementation, including language issues and questions of cultural appropriateness, and brings together cutting-edge research from both indigenous and non-indigenous scholars”. (excerpt from http://www.igi-global.com/bookstore/titledetails.aspx?titleid=581)

Many Indigenous people these days are paying attention to information technology because it’s a way to preserve their traditions and cultures for future generations and a way to provide their communities with “economic and social renewal”. However, the reality, such as financial, geographic, and educational issues, is resisting them to adopt IT. Most Indigenous communities can’t afford the cost of technological tools. Geographical isolation is also preventing them from having contact with technologies. Moreover, due to a lack of education, most of the communities don’t have an IT person who is computer literate. This book explores these problems and suggests possible solutions.

DEB (M4-#3): ITEC

http://itecusa.org/

  • “Develop, Produce and Distribute unique tools and training for frontier areas”.
  • “Train and Equip indigenous God-followers to care for the physical and spiritual needs of their people”.
  • “Build Bridges of understanding and partnership between Christian churches in developed nations and those in frontier areas”.

I-TEC supports the Great Commission by helping indigenous churches to overcome the technological and educational obstacles. As missionaries understand the significance of technology and education in Indigenous communities, they have supported many native churches with technological and educational needs and have tried to bridge the gap.

Projects, including a portable dental lab, solar-powered radio transmitters for the Amazon jungle, and training programs for the Aboriginal, have been done and are still ongoing.

DEB (M4-#2): Remembering the Children

http://www.rememberingthechildren.ca/

This website was also discovered while I was doing a research on my final project. This is an excerpt from the website: 

Remembering the Children was a March 2008 multi-city tour by Aboriginal and church leaders to promote the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools”.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was officially launched on June 1, 2008. The commission’s website is

http://www.trc-cvr.ca/

Both websites show how much effort the Aboriginal leaders are putting for reconciliation in regards to residential schooling in Canada. It’s a painful history to them, but still not recognized by many people. There is a chronological order of the history of residential schools from 1857 to 2007 until the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was finalized and implemented. Throughout the exploration of these two websites, I hope people to learn about the sad legacy of residential schools in Canada and be aware that it’s an on-going issue to be resolved.

DEB (M4-#1): Where are the children?

www.wherearethechildren.ca

While doing a research on residential schooling in Canada, I came across this website. It’s an educational website on “healing the legacy of the residential schools”. It’s divided into the following 6 section:

  • Blackboard: You can experience an interactive history of residential schools in Canada
  • Map: You can travel through the map and timeline to visit schools and explore the history of residential schools in Canada
  • Bookcase: You can select textbooks, the dictionary and teacher’s guide. This section is beneficial to SS and history teachers.
  • School: You can explore Mohawk Institute Residential School in 3D. This will help you visualize what the RS was like back in time.
  • Projector: You can listen to the RS survivors and their lives before, during, and after residential schools.
  • Exhibit: This section is a photo gallery.

I discovered some information on residential schools in Canada from this website and used it for my final project.

DEB (M3-#5): Relations with First Nations: Decolonization in the Canadian Context

http://blog.fedcan.ca/2011/05/10/relations-with-first-nations-decolonization-in-the-canadian-context/

This article is written by Mark Aquash from UBC in 2011, focusing on stengthening processes of decolonization and community development. According to Aquash, indigenous intellecuals and communities are facing some challenges. They are:

  • Dealing with the legacies of Canada’s colonial history
  • Working towards the decolonization of Canadian legislation and realtions with the First Nations
  • Decolonizing the colonial mindset and educational systems as well as the First Nations identities and communities.

He explains that decolonization requires learning about who they are in relation to their ancestors and healing in their life. It also requires confronting on-going challenges and efforts to assimilate into both their communities and mainstream communities.

DEB (M3-#4): Native American Nations

http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/nations.html

“The proliferation of Web pages has made it difficult for many people to distinguish those pages developed by American Indians from those developed by the wannabes”. (Smith & Ward, 2000)

Unfortunately this website is last updated in September, 2008. However, it contains many Indian Nations by alphabetical order. Most of the pages listed are maintained by particular nations or individuals in particular nations they belong to. Not all pages have specific information on their tribes. However, the web pages maintained by their own nations are more detailed than those who aren’t. Those pages that were developed and maintained by Indian Nations were marked with a drum symbol so that readers know.

DEB (M3-#3): Aboriginal Perspectives

http://www3.onf.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/index.php?mode=home&language=english

This website introduces features National Film Board of Canada documentaries by and about Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. It’s created especially for high school and upper elementary school students and teachers to assist them in understanding Aboriginal history, arts, culture, aspects, and life. One can also learn about past and current issues relating to the lives of Aboriginal People through excerpts or films. The archives are grouped according to the following themes:

  • The arts
  • Cinema and representation
  • Colonialism and racism
  • History and Origins
  • Indigenous knowledge
  • Sovereignty and resistance
  • Youth

What caught into my eyes was Our Nationhood under the teme, Sovereignty and Resistance. As I’m learning about sovereignty in the other course that I’m taking, the difference between the Trudeau government’s perspective and the First Nations’ perspective on the issue of Aboriginal rights is a very sensitive issue to discuss.

DEB (M3-#2): Terri Janke and Company

http://www.terrijanke.com.au/

While searching for the IPR, I was able to discover this website by Terri Janke.
She is the Australian solicitor director of Terri Janke and Company Pty Ltd. who was born in an Aboriginal community in Cairns.
She regonizes that Aboriginal people all over the world “share not only common life challenges; but opportunities in sharing their traditional knowledge, culture and extraordinary talents with the wider community to mutual benefit”.
In this sense, her company’s goal is to build “a culture or respect where knowledge and innovation work together”.
She founded the firm in 2000 and it’s a 100% owned Indigenous company.

With others, she also wrote and published “Our Culture: Our Culture” which discusses and reports topics on Australian indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights. To tell you the truth, it consists of about 380 pages of information on IPR, so I just skimed through it but it gives valuable information on IPR.

This is the paper: OUR CULTURE: OUR CULTURE

DEB (M3-#1): Aboriginal Art Online

http://www.aboriginalartonline.com

Aboriginal Art Online is a website which introduces and sells contemporary Aboriginal art all over the world. They work directly with Aboriginal community art centres, so people visiting this website can select from authetic works at very decent prices.

If you click Resources and Links section, it also discusses copyright and IP protection for Indigenous heritage. As the issue of whether there is adequate protection for indigenous arts and IP is an on-going topic among the First Nations artists and communities, this section helps both Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people to gain some information on IP and how to protect indigenous IP.