Category Archives: General

Weblog 4 module 5 Idle No More TREMBLAY

Although existing since 1982, Idle No More really gained power during the 2011 Canadian elections in response to the negative, spiraling and often neo-liberal motivated policies across North America. Specifically targeting the omnibus bills proposed by the conservative government (C-45 was the most divisive one) Idle No More mobilized a protest movement spanning both the United States and Canada. Inspiring for others in opposition to the Harper government policies, Idle No More presented a cohesive movement despite starting in a country with unprecedented apathy and a lack of history in social upheaval and discourse with regards to anything but a lost hockey game.

Idle no more unifies a broken people into a cohesive force

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/detail?sid=323c2af6-83b2-4736-9ad8-942b2b8020e3%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=23&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=88411858

An unprecedented moment in history

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b9388b4c-8098-40c8-894a-f67c575f7f09%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&hid=23

Summer and the future of Idle no More

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b162eb20-e82c-402c-85a3-cf26ad99c4c1%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=23

Death Knell for Idle No More, or just the exasperations of the embedded status quo

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e1f41e9e-a20d-497c-a647-bb47016a3e29%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&hid=23

If other movements had joined with Idle No More, would Canada look different today? Would we have a different prime minister or at least a leadership interested in addressing the people’s needs rather than lobbying efforts. All in all, if the general Canadian population had as much bravery and interest in political process as the participants in Idle No More, Canada would be a much better, and more cohesive bastion of democracy.

Weblog 4 module 4 Equality on the Reserve TREMBLAY

In our post colonial world, the word equality has more power in its context than most. Although by the time Canada was colonized and dominated by the colonial British, slavery had been abolished in the Empire, the belief in manifest destiny was still very apparent and as such policy tended to reflect a belief in the “savage” and “the other”. So does equality exist on the reserve and how much power do the constituents have to make sure that it continues? The search for documentation not based in propaganda about the economic equality of reserves led me to these articles that cover the spectrum of how “equal” it might be to live on a reserve.

Manufacturing regional disparity

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2012.00445.x/pdf

Aboriginal income disparity

http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/journals/canadian_public_policy/v037/37.1.pendakur.html

Finding a leader

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=aa9923a5-a4e4-41b0-b3f9-c7cb5cafa879%40sessionmgr10&vid=1&hid=23

First nations values and positive change in the governing of parkland

http://link.springer.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10745-012-9495-2.pdf

The battle for equality conflicting with the understanding of ethics

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/science/article/pii/S019074091000294X

Weblog 4 module 3 Success on the Reserve TREMBLAY

Although the first step in asserting autonomy and self determination is defining the understanding of what you own, the second, and some would argue more important, is how to actually implement those economic opportunities within the framework of your community understanding. The successful implementation of those opportunities rely on two main criteria:

1) An understanding of the rules and more importantly the possible special exploitations within the reserve law that the community can apply to give itself a competitive advantage.

2) The strengths and weaknesses of the community and how to properly use those strengths and address those weaknesses with the resources available.

Taking these steps have not only improved the First Nations people’s living conditions but in a lot of situations, they have begun to thrive:

Partnership with Lockheed martin on a Nova Scotia Reserve

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/detail?sid=e11d5340-2368-4990-bd4c-849e6cd8694f%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&hid=23&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=11781703

Williams Lake Smoked salmon business running for almost 20 years

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/detail?sid=8e91ecab-d0a6-446e-b636-f8f3bbb9424e%40sessionmgr13&vid=2&hid=23&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=66639907

Executive MBA offered by SFU for people with experience dealing with First Nations Admin

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b7ad3bc3-3e40-4e72-9358-d6fb675b10a6%40sessionmgr10&vid=1&hid=23

Strict financial regulation and policy leading to success

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=92a4ed89-9176-4a53-aa58-b215b46c58a2%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&hid=23

Weblog 4 module 2 First Nations Goal Setting TREMBLAY

The secret to the success of any movement is a steadfast belief in what they are doing is right and that it will benefit them in the long run. Quite often this is weaned from a strong leader, or sometimes, as was the case in WW2, opposition to ideas so horrible that the people are left with no other choice. Canada’s first nations people have been put in the latter of the two positions and are now at a junction between a rock and a hard place. Their culture, and through it the will of their people, have been intentionally and systematically destroyed over the past two hundred plus years and recently (within our lifetimes) they have started to realize the first step to significant positive change, is to own who you are, what you are and more importantly, (with regards to the ignorance and belligerence of the current Canadian government) what you own.

Canadian first nations have begun to exercise their rights to the wealth contained in their own lands and as such are starting to make Canadians more aware of their plight and assert their autonomy over their lands once again, an important first step in regaining control of the destructive situation.

The importance of First nations owning the rights to their lands and natural resources

http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/pdf/10.1080/08941920.2012.724522

The importance of successful role models and long term goals on the reserve

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b6ca290a-e0d0-4faa-8211-40b1e8dc99d9%40sessionmgr15&vid=1&hid=23

The financial/fiscal importance of owning the issue and letting go/moving forward despite the past

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=227e1f89-40fd-4130-b1f8-b30bfeccb9f9%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=23

Focusing the emotion from the past into something positive for the future

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=b6c1ffa3-60f5-43cf-b75d-7d0be713370e%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&hid=23

Enabling socially just, inclusive education for everyone

http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/doi/pdf/10.1080/13603111003671640

First Nations using Curtis’ photographs

Module 4, Post 1

I’ve been reading Patricia Vervoort’s essay “Edward S. Curtis’ “Representations”: Then and Now” and was surprised by how a number of aboriginal artists use his work for self-representation. She is not the only theorist who has looked at this approach that seems to border on anathema for some aboriginals. In many ways taking and using those pictures lessens their mimetic power, so that the fictitious “savage” is now able to work outside the confines set by the dominant society. These artists are reclaiming a commodified object and turning it into something they can use for self-representation:

http://blog.ocad.ca/wordpress/drpt2b07-fw2011-01/files/2012/04/Poitras4.jpg

In some ways this is similar to the End of the Trail…

http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/170/flashcards/1853170/jpg/fraser_end_of_the_trail_copy1348846258519.jpg

Some first-nations love it, others loathe it. The question has to be asked…are these artists working within a “post-modern” (i.e. Western) framework of deconstructing the “noble savage” and if so are they being helpful or a pest to their own people, especially the elders who may not approve of this work?

Weblog 4 post 1 Apartheid in Canada TREMBLAY

Compared to my other posts this will be an extremely short blog post, but I think it’s possibly the best (if possibly the least impartial) resource that I’ve shared and honestly I’m not sure if it’s been shared before so apologies for that if it has. When looking for information on contemporary reserves while attempting to solidify the links the between the colonial process and mindset of exploitation to the neo-liberal economic doctrine, I came across this documentary on youtube. It compares the situation on Canada’s reserves with that of South Africa during Apartheid. Here are all 11 links:

Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ourc-wchVhI

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMzq0Od9q3c

Part 3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmHnYgTJCdQ

Part 4:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbyM6sVc79k

Part 5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FakBG1b5kM

Part 6:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_ixa0Dwvlo

Part 7:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejck_MehevQ

Part 8:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z3-qJSulTY

Part 9:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL8CUfcWv6A

Part 10:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OUwUycTJ4M

Part 11:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz1guL0rFOc

Hope this helps some of you out. It certainly did me.

A photograph for the masses or An individual’s story

Module 3, Post 5

As more and more aboriginal photographers become recognized for their work, a thought struck me that I’m not entirely sure I can answer. How are we, as visual recipients, supposed to react and engage with their work? Once a photograph is out in the public realm, the way the dominant society engages with it is mainly determined by the rules (spoke and unspoken, written and unwritten) of how to view any kind of media. This poses a problem because the interpretation of a work is an inherent part of those unspoken rules of the dominant society.

I think that “refocusing” the lens of the camera for an indigenous presence needs to go hand-in-hand with teaching the dominant society to be sensitive to the work of others (this includes minorities and aboriginals), and to allow those who produce the work to explain it themselves. This is something the dominant society has lost, even for those who are a part of it. It’s a sense of responsibility and respect and humility for humanity that the dominant society appears to have lost in the realm of art, while this can be partly blamed on post-modernism, I think it can actually be traced much further back.

Here is an example of a media production company that has shared photographs online but has not really given much context to the images posted (this can lead to many interpretations):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanrez/

Here is something that I think goes the distance to help out journalists/media producers give context to their work:

http://www.riic.ca/the-guide/in-the-field/aboriginal-customs-and-protocols/

This is what happens when an aboriginal is allowed to describe aboriginal work in the context of the dominant society:

http://www.ccp.org.au/flash/2009/11/glenn-pilkington/

I need to start wrapping up my research to make heads and tails of all of this.

Module 3 Weblog

Post #1

The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling

http://digitalliteracyintheclassroom.pbworks.com/f/Educ-Uses-DS.pdf

This article on digital storytelling  provides a basic information on digital storytelling including whwat it is, where it came from, how it can leveraged as a tool to engage learners when providing instruction, and how creating digital stories can be an effective medium through which students can improve on literacy skills.   The article delves into very particular aspects of  digital story telling from the types of stories based on the topic to the many skills that it helps develop (digital citizenship, problem solving, technological, organizational, etc. ).

 

Post #2

When Aboriginal and Métis Teachers use Storytelling

as an Instructional Practice

http://www.education.gov.sk.ca/storytelling

This research study examines how seven First Nations and Métis teachers use storytelling and how storytelling is a fundamental part of their professional and cultural practice.  Through the use of story telling, the teachers truly become facilitators and connectors if ideas in order to make the curriculum understandable and meaningful.  As the study states, the sharing of stories fosters and represents shared learning, shared, values, and equity, which is a powerful statement; one that all teachers aspire to create in their classroom.

 

Post #3

Aboriginal Digital Opportunities Addressing Aboriginal Learning Needs Through the Use of Learning Technologies

http://fnbc.info/userfiles/file/_pdf/Tools%20&%20Resources%20fntc/Aboriginal%20digital%20opportunities%20report.pdf

“Aboriginal communities find themselves in an interesting situation. With respect to the digital era, they are…at
the starting gate with all sectors of Canadian society. [Aboriginal peoples] also perhaps stand to benefit the most from the digital era.” (Shirley Serafini, Deputy Minister, Indian and Northern Affairs, 2000)

This research report conducted by The Conference Board of Canada presents findings on current status of digital technology.  It briefly states the benefits, challenges and necessity of technology to empower learners in aboriginal communities.  The study measures the current status and use and provides a roadmap to bridge the digital divide and increase the impact and engagement through technology in education.

 

Post #4

Aboriginal Culture in the Digital Age

http://www.kta.on.ca/pdf/AboriginalCultureinaDigitalAge.pdf

This paper identifies and examines the fit of ICT to promote aboriginal identity, culture and values.  The value in this paper is that it poses questions that educators should be asking when meeting the ICT standards when it comes to indigenous students.

Questions such as:

  • What possibilities does ICT open up for meeting the cultural challenges facing Aboriginal peoples today?
  • Why is cultural preservation and continuity so important?
  • Given the subtleties and nuances of language and dialects, to what degree can ICT be employed to ensure the intricacies of Aboriginal cultures are not lost?

This article does an exceptional job at connecting pieces and provides value for equipping students with the components within the ICT program of studies.

 

Post #5

Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into Curricula

http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/policy/abpersp/ab_persp.pdf

If you don’t tell your children who and what they are, they won’t know. How can they be proud of what they don’t know? – Salish Elder

This curriculum resource supplement created by the government of Manitoba speaks to educational stakeholders including teachers, administrators, curriculum developers on the importance of integrating Aboriginal education.  The premise of the document evolves around the idea that all students should be exposed to the contributions made by everyone in the development of Canada, including the indigenous.   The benefits to student belonging to Aboriginal communities are obvious, but what those from non-Aboriginal descent, will develop an understanding and respect for all cultures, and values all the while eliminating stereotypes that exists about Aboriginal people.

 

Residential School Syndrome – Weblog 3 – 5

Residential School Experience

http://pimatisiwin.com/uploads/291994116.pdf

The document is a doctoral thesis outlining the idea of a specific post-traumatic stress disorder called the “residential school syndrome.”  The question posed is the damage done from residential schools or colonization as a whole.  The author was a psychologist at a residential school in 1991 and 1992. He found many youth suffered emotional problems following the closure of the school .

The document discusses the history of residential schools, following the Riel rebellion. This I found very interesting, as I had previously never thought there was a link between the two, but it makes a lot of sense.  It also discusses the way students were ‘herded’ and separated at the school, often from family members. It also discusses the way students were given numbers as a way of further stripping culture. No names, just numbers.

It discusses a 1991 study based in Williams Lake in which 89 of 187 adults admitted to sexual abuse, the interesting thing to note is that 60 also refused to answer the question.

It also discusses the way in which the school not only tried to change the culture of students, but change the way they viewed culture as well.  It discusses the number of disorders many survivors have individually, but also the damage done to the communities as a whole.   The article documents, through interviews, some problems facing some survivors, including poverty, violence, and substance abuse.

The article offers suggestions for future study, but does determine that residential school syndrome does exist and affects people to this day.

I will use this article more for its bibliography than anything. I am in the process of trying to track down the research from 1991 in William’s Lake that is documented. My hopes are to see the results first hand, so I may extrapolate the data myself.

TM

 

St. Joseph’s Memorial – Weblog 3 – 4

Events for St. Joseph’s Reunion

http://www.splatsin.ca/wp-content/uploads/SJM-COMMEMORATION-COMMUNIQUE-December-21-2012.pdf

This site shows the planning of the committee which culiminated in a memorial in May of 2013.  It’s purpose was to help facilitate the healing process as St. Joseph’s residential school was one of the more horrific schools. The interesting point was it was organized by the Esketemc First Nations. It also shows that St. Joseph’s drew from 15 First Nation communities and operated, officially, for 90 years.

The first event was put on by SD27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin) and I knew a few people that attended and said it was extremely informative.

The original funding for the memorial came from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  However, additional funding was raised through events.  It also shows that SD27 used their Professional development day as a focus on residential schools. I am not sure if that is accurate as the date sited is in April, so it may have been a non-instructional day.

It discusses the unveiling of the monuments and what can be done in the future as it pertains to education around the residential school issue in William’s Lake. It also discusses the book (although the title was changed) They Called me Number One by Bev Sellars a recount of her time at St. Joseph’s.

This document will not be used in my project as a source, however, it was valuable as it clearly demonstrated the work that went into the day. It is also important to note that the day, although initially funded by TRC, was also completely organized by the School district and the Esketemc First Nations.

An additional thing that came from this event was the idea for a day in September to become an annual remembering residential schools day. This year it will be on Sept. 30 (I think) and orange t-shirts will be worn and teachers are being asked to discuss residential schools in classes on that day. I have been in contact with both my Aboriginal teacher liaison and  Principal for an event to occur in my library on that day. Every little bit helps.

TM