Category Archives: Module 4

Urban Aboriginal Primitive Technology Studies & Practice

Leave a reply

The Urban Aboriginal Primitive Technology Studies & Practice page is a site targeting urban indigenous people that provides information on how to make things like dreamcatchers, crossbows, cattail visors, shelters and pretty much everything other traditional aboriginal practice you could think of.

Although there is no vision statement included, it appears that the goal of the website is to support the development of traditional skills by offering resources and instructional materials (often in video format) among people who do not have opportunities to learn these practices through elders or community members.

The site demonstrates a practical approach to technology and how it can be used to support cultural transmission.  It fits in well (I think) with the focus of Module 4.

 

 

Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study

Leave a reply

The Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study is a research project whose goal is to explore the “values, experiences and aspirations” of indigenous people living in Canadian urban areas.

It includes reports specific to a number of Canadian cities (Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, etc) that have a large indigenous population as well as providing a number of other studies, media and resources covering urban indigenous issues.

The site also released Key Findings based on their research.  Here is a summary of a few of them:

  • Most urban aboriginals feel comfortable in the city but still are connected to their traditional homes.
  • Most urban aboriginals have minimal fear of losing their culture.
  • Racism and dealing with negative stereotypes from non-aboriginals was a factor in the lives of many urban aboriginals.

The site is worth investigating if you are researching urban indigeneity.

 

An Approach to Aboriginal Cultural Landscape

Leave a reply

A section of the Parks Canada website is designated to outlining Aboriginal cultures and their relationship to the land and understanding of the cultural landscape.  This section of the website reads like a university paper (including academic sources) and contains a description of various aspects of the Aboriginal relationship to the land (i.e. differences between Aboriginal and Western worldview and Aboriginal views on environmental protection etc.).  There are no external links but the site does provide an email for comments about anything written in this section.  This actually provides a good introduction and overview that would be beneficial to anyone looking for a basic introduction regarding Aboriginal relationship to the environment.

MediaIndigena

Leave a reply

MediaIndigena is a content aggregate blog (or, an “interactive media magazine”) that I have found useful throughout the past 13 weeks for keeping an ear to the ground on the myriad of topics that have been brought up through our discussions and readings. The site is authored by ten individuals with very different backgrounds and professions (of which you can read about by clicking their names), sort of like the ETEC521 research blog but hopefully not about to culminate it’s posting cycle! If you’re interested in keeping up with MediaIndigena, they’re also available via twitter and facebook, and, following those links you’re sure to snowball to other such blogs, websites, and organizations.

City of Vancouver – Directory of Aboriginal services and context

Leave a reply

The City of Vancouver’s department of Social Planning has created a directory of Aboriginal resources entitled:  Aboriginal Inventory of Services and Context. The website helps city staff and Vancouverites develop an understanding of the activities and stakeholders relating to Aboriginal issues within Vancouver. The directory is intended to help Vancouverites make informed decisions about how the City can best support the Aboriginal community.

Each report (see partial list below) provides: a) relevant background on each topic b) a list of the organizations and communities involved with that topic  and c) info on partnerships, committees, trends, and gaps in services

Much of the research cited in the reports was conducted by locals and provides excellent information about Vancouver’s Indigenous communities that isn’t readily available anywhere else.  I found this site to be indispensable in writing my paper about Vancouver’s urban Aboriginal youth.  Here are some of the documents (of dozens) available on the site:

  • Coast Salish First Nations html PDF
  • Outreach and Engagement html PDF
  • Arts, Culture & Multimedia html PDF
  • Education html PDF
  • Elders html PDF
  • Two-Spirit / LGBTQ html PDF *Some Aboriginal people refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gendered people as Two-spirited.

Keep them coming back for more – Amy Parent

Leave a reply

In 2009, now PhD student at UBC and video speaker from Module 2 of Etec 521, Amy Parent completed her Master’s thesis:  Keep them coming back for more: Urban Aboriginal Youth’s perceptions and experiences of Wholistic education in Vancouver.

The goal of the thesis was to gain insight into the experiences of Aboriginal youth who were participating in Aboriginal organizations in Vancouver.

Amy also published a community report that is available on the Vancouver based Urban Native Youth Association website.  This 8 page report summarizes the 196 page dissertation that she submitted and contains key findings and lessons learned from the youth.

In writing her thesis, Parent hoped that it would encourage development of a wholistic educational framework for Aboriginal youth which pursues the goal of transformative praxis by honouring Indigenous culture within a positive, empowering and generative contemporary urban context.  I’ve read both the report and the thesis and can tell you that her research was exhaustive, thought-provoking, and ground-breaking.

Of note, Parent add a fifth R (relationships) to the well-received Four R research framework put forward by Kirkness & Barnhardt (1991).  These authors argued that  research in Aboriginal communities should be reciprocal, relevant, responsible, and respectful.  For Parent, the fifth R allows her to maintain relational accountability to her family, clan (Nisga’a), and community.

I recommend the study for anyone who is looking for an extensive literature review of leading Indigenous research.  Additionally, Amy’s findings on urban Aboriginal youth are thoughtfully framed by an explanation of wholistic education that is second to none.  Finally, the commentary, stories, and interjections about her guide, the Raven, is worth the price of admission on its own.

Raven’s Children II: Aboriginal Youth Health in BC

Leave a reply

Raven’s Children and Raven’s Children II were both published by the McCreary Centre Society (MCS).  MCS is a nongovernment, non-profit organization involved in improving the health of B.C. youth through research, education and community-based projects

In 1992, MCS conducted the first Adolescent Health Survey (AHS) with close to 16,000 youth in schools throughout B.C.  In 1998, MCS conducted the second AHS with approx 26,000 students.  In 2003, MCS conducted the 3rd AHS with over 30,500 youth.  Raven’s Children II, combines the data from responses of more than 4,800 Aboriginal students who took part in province-wide youth health surveys in 1992, 1998 and 2003.

The report was written under the direction of Kim van der Woerd of the Namgis First Nation.  Kim is a Ph.D. Candidate at Simon Fraser University.  Here are some interesting findings from the 2003 AHS that was published in 2005:

  • Most Aboriginal students rate their health as good or excellent.
  • Most Aboriginal students feel strongly connected to their families and school.
  • Nearly two-thirds want to continue their education beyond high school.
  • Almost three-quarters regularly participate in organized extracurricular activities.

The authors of Raven’s Children II noted that while Aboriginal youth have made some progress in rates alcohol consumption, smoking, pregnancy, there are issues that continue to pose a significant challenge for youths, parents, educators, Aboriginal leaders, and government: Problem Areas –

  • One in five Aboriginal students experienced racial discrimination.
  • Too many Aboriginal youth think about or attempt suicide and rates have not improved in the past decade.
  • Too many Aboriginal students, especially girls, continue to experience sexual and physical abuse.
  • Fewer youth reported feeling safe at school in 2003 than in 1998.

Raven’s II is a very comprehensive report, but it’s also very easy to read.  I recommend it for anyone who is searching for up-to-date and extensive information about the health of BC’s Aboriginal children

Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study

Leave a reply

Aboriginals are the fastest growing population in Canada.  The 2006 census revealed that there are half a million First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people living in Canadian cities and that over 50% of this population is under 25 year old.  Given the dramatic increase in urban populations, 60% of Canada’s Aboriginals now reside in urban settings, more research is sorely needed to understand how Aboriginals and Non-Aboriginals are relating in this atmosphere of rapidly changing demographics.

The Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study (UAPS) began to take shape when Michael Adams, founder and president of Environics Research Group and the non-profit Environics Institute, and Dr. David Newhouse, Chair of Indigenous Studies at Trent University, found themselves at a conference discussing social change among Canada’s Aboriginal groups.  In response to the startling information emerging from the 2006 census, Dr. Newhouse asked: “Does the average Canadian have any image of who these people are, how they relate to their cities, what they are contributing, or what their challenges are?”

The approach being suggested by Dr. Newhouse differs from earlier studies that focused research on social-services being utilized by Aboriginal populations.  That research tended to view Aboriginal communities through the lens of some problem or need— without the needed complexity to generate meaningful understandings of urban Aboriginal groups.

Hence the UAPS was born.  The Study has been funded by the government of Canada, the governments of various provinces, some private organizations, Elections Canada, and the United Way.   The goal of the UAPS was to gone beyond the numbers and capture the values, experiences and aspirations of Aboriginal peoples living in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Ottawa. 2,614 First Nations peoples, Métis and Inuit living in these major Canadian cities, as well as 2,501 non-Aboriginal Canadians were surveyed.

    Click here for the UAPS report summary, full report, or quick key findings from the study.  City findings are also available such as the  Vancouver City Report

      This research is useful for anyone looking for comprehensive information about the dynamic interaction between Non-Aboriginals and Aboriginals in Canada’s major cities.

      Vancouver Aboriginal-Focused School of Choice

      Leave a reply

      On June 10, 2011, the Vancouver School Board announced that it is moving forward with its plans for an Aboriginal-Focused School of Choice. This school is scheduled to open, at least partially, as early as September, 2012.  The school will focus on quality education by teaching and learning through Aboriginal world views, knowledge, culture and values.

      To avoid the mandatory stigma and legacy of residential schooling, the school will be one of choice and will be open to all students, Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal – although preference will be given to First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, including individuals with Indian status or without status.

      VSB trustees have put together a working group to develop short and longer-range implementation plans for the school.  The plan is to start small with a cohort of 30 grade 8 students, perhaps using the mini-school model that has been successfully used for other enrichment and alternative programs.  Extensive consultation and years of planning have gone into the decision to move ahead with the school.   The consultation process which began in January, 2011 was led by UBC’s Dr. Joanne Archibald and included a team of graduate students.  Student, parent, staff Forums were held at four different VSB sites between January 21 and January 27 with over 130 individuals sharing feedback, proposals, concerns, and insights.  I read the entire report and can tell you that it contains many inspirational and heart-wrenching stories of those who endured the legacy of racism, discrimination, and residential schooling that has long characterized BC’s educational system.  Interestingly, a substantial number of Indigenous persons from outside of BC attended the forums and described how they have been involved in successful Aboriginal school implementations on the prairies and the U.S.

      The consultation forums focused on the need for Wholistic education, and got into specifics such as those surrounding time-tabling, teacher recruitment, teacher retention, training, physical space, Funding! and mission.  There is still considerable work to be done on these issues, but the report on the consultation process is a great resource for anyone interested in authentic, Aboriginal-guided, wholistic approaches to education.

      To view the report, please click here: Report on Aboriginal Education Forums

      Digital Indigenous Democracy

      Leave a reply

      Digital Indigenous Democracy is an experimental project aiming at the innovative use of interactive digital media by remote indigenous communities- Baffin Island Inuit communities. Being aware of global threat to the existence of indigenous languages and to local environments, the project proposes to facilitate interactive media to make the voice of indigenous communities be heard.

      This project installs the infrastructure (high-speed internet) in remote indigenous communities. However, it does not simply accelerate the digitization of indigenous culture and are not motivated from the need of the outside, but rather it focuses on the partnership between indigenous peoples and the dominant society. That is, its process is collaborative and democratic. According to the web-site, the common costs for the projects will be generated from membership fees by communities and sponsor organizations. I hope this project succeeds in establishing a democratic model of “indigenizing” technology.

      Ky
      Module 4: #5