Tag Archives: aboriginal education

Module 4 Post 5: Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools, Alaska Native Knowledge Network

Alaska Native Knowledge Network. (1998). Alaska standards for culturally responsive schools. [web document] Retrieved from http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/publications/standards.html

Some may have come across this already, in week 10, but on the Alaska Native Knowledge Network’s website is this document listing the standards for students, educators, curriculum, schools, and communities developed by the Assembly of Alaska Native Educators. It’s a valuable tool in assessing if what is being done in our classes, schools and communities is heading in the right direction to be culturally responsive.

Module 4 Post 4: Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Alaska Native Ways of Knowing, Ray Barnhardt and Angayuquq Oscar Kawagley

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Barnhardt, R., and Kawagley, A., (2005). Indigensous knowledge systems and Alaska native ways of knowing. Anthropology & Education Quarterly. 36(1). 8-23

In this article, Barnhardt and Kawagley describe some of the programs arising from a gathering of Alaska Native elders and educators challenged with identifying ways in which traditional knowledge and epistemologies can enrich the school curriculum and learning experiences of their students. The article builds on the premises that contemporary Western education systems lack relevance for many aboriginal students and, for those raised with traditional stories and ways of knowing, it alienates their cultural sense of knowing and being through compartmentalization and decontextualization–approaches that are diametrically opposite to many holistic and integrated aboriginal world views. It also recognizes the benefit to all, native and non-native people alike, of the paradigm shift in recognizing the legitimacy and integrity of indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing. It is from this same perspective that I will be examining culturally responsive, place-based learning in contemporary education.

Facilitated at least in part by having a greater majority of Aboriginal students in more of their school districts than is common elsewhere such as BC, the University of Alaska fairbanks, under contract with the Alaska Federation of Natives and funded through the National Science Foundation, developed the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI). This initiative has sought and developed numerous “educational reform strategies focussing on integrating local knowledge and pedagogical practices into all aspects of the education system… [that have] provided a fertile, real-world context in which to address the many issues associated with learning and Indigenous knowledge systems.” These strategies can serve as a model for similar reforms elsewhere.

Module 4 Post 1: Education and Place: A Review Essay, Jan Nespor

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Nespor, J. (2008) Education and place: A review essay. Educational Theory. 58(4). 475-489

This article is a review of books published by three prominent theorists in place-based education: Paul theobald’s Teaching the Commons, C.A. Bower’s Revitalizing the Commons, and David Gruenewald and Gregory Smith’s anthology Place-Based Education in the Global Age. It first examines the theorists’ definitions of “place and place-making,” how their theories address differences and dichotomies of gender, class, ethnicity, etc., and problems associated with implementation of place-based education as defined by these theorists and informed by a few others.

While Nespor’s article is informative of perceptions of place, place-based education and many of the difficulties associated with conceptualizing and theorizing such an educational praxis, it is approached from a Western, and presumptively dominant, culture and thus somewhat antithetical to my purpose of theorizing a culturally responsive and responsible place-based educational approach. Included in the article are considerations for shifting the for focus from place-based to “place-conscious” (p.480) in which the intent is to make learners conscious about the place(s) about which their education is based acknowledging that it is often not the place in which they live and learn, and is frequently a larger “commons” than would be considered from an aboriginal perspective; and having an ultimate goal of reducing that commons to a more localized scale.

Module 4- Post 4: THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE AMERICAS website

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http://www.educationcaribbean.com/resources/encyclopaedia/history/history01.asp

There is a wide world of indigenous people around me and they have used the web to inform my ignorance of the fact. An example of this is the indigenous people THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE AMERICAS web site . Below are some useful articles that are found here.

The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Arawaks/Tainos
The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Caribs/Kalinagos
The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Aztecs
The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Incas
The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Mayans

What really caught my attention here are not these but the fact that website is owned by the Neal & Massy group a very successful local business conglomerate that expanded throughout the Caribbean. Which show that corporate Caribbean is aware of our indigenous heritage. On a sour note the site has not been updated since 2006 so some of the links do not work. Tragically these all had to do with education with such topics as lesson plans. However those that do are still good.

The Tyee

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Module #4, Post #5

http://thetyee.ca/Series/2011/09/07/Successful-First-Nations-Education/

This website is an independent daily online newspaper about BC news, culture, and solutions. This page specifically is about Successful Practices in First Nations Education. It contains a series of news articles by reporter Katie Hyslop who takes a look at inspiring models of education done differently.

The series includes these articles:

As there are many articles to read, I will focus on one to give an idea of the success of doing things differently for aboriginal education. I read the article Amidst the Big City, an Aboriginal Public School? This article is about how Vancouver’s school board sees potential in a school designed to appeal to urban First Nations youth. Their school involves aboriginal and aboriginal-aware teachers, parents, elders, and the community. This school proposal seems to be controversial because some see it as segregation. This article leads to another site, ALIVE (Aboriginal Life in Vancouver Enhancement), which is a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of urban aborginals.

I think that the series provided by The Tyee provides information on various educational opportunities that are out there for aboriginal youth and ideas about what can be done to improve and sustain aboriginal culture amongst the aboriginal youth.

Module 3 Post 5: Opening Doors to the Future: Applying Local Knowledge in Curriculum Development, Veronica Ingas

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Ignas, V. (2004) Opening doors to the future: Applying local knowledge in curriculum development. Canadian Journal of Native Education. (28)1/2. 49-60.

Ingas begins her article with statistics comparing Indigenous and non-Indigenous graduation rates and, like many others, identifies the significantly lower Indigenous graduation rates as evidence of an education system that is failing Indigenous students. The result, she postulates, of the contemporary system’s lack of valuing Indigenous cultural contexts and local level knowledge, and therefore failing to be meaningful to Indigenous students. More typically, the contemporary system has “distanced and denied First Nations [sic] knowledge” (p.49) and left students feeling that “their ways of knowing are inferior or inadequate.” (p.55)

Ingas goes on to describe how successful curricular models must value Indigenous ways of knowing, world view and traditional ecological knowledge, and describes the Forests for the Future science curriculum that she co-developed for the BC high schools through the partnership with community members, parents, Elders and educational professionals. Ingas’ preferred method of instruction is an inquiry based model that requires students to “assume the primary responsibility for planning, conducting and evaluating their investigations” (Moore, Moore, Cunningham & Cunningham, 1998, p. 280) through content that “should address issues, controversies or provocative questions inspired by experiences in the [students’ lives].” Kanevsky, 1999, p. 58)

Kanevsky, L. (1999). The toolkit for for curriculum differentiation. Lanny Kanevsy. October Edition.

Moore, D., Moore S., Cunningham, P., & Cunninghamj., (1998) Developing readers and writers in the content areas (3rd ed.) Don Mills, ON: Longman.

St. Joseph’s Memorial – Weblog 3 – 4

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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.

Harper’s Apology – Weblog 3 – 3

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Harper’s Apology

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100015644/1100100015649

This site, from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, contains a transcript of the apology Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave for residential schools on June 11, 2008.

The apology was issued, on behalf of the Government of Canada, to all people impacted by residential schools, particular those whose had survived the horrific treatment at the aforementioned schools. The apology admits over 150,000 children were separated from their families during this tumultuous time. He states the schools were started, partly, to meet the educational needs of Aboriginal children in the 1800s. The need to assimilate children was based on the belief Aboriginal culture was inferior to European culture. 132 schools were funded nationwide with every province containing them, with the exception of Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. The government recognizes these schools were a tragedy and should have never occurred.

The government also recognizes the fallout to residential schools and the impact it has had on people and communities. Although, Harper states, some enjoyed their time at school, these positives are overshadowed by the tragic stories of survivors. He also recognized the absence of an apology has slowed down the healing process. The onus should fall on the government and country for not issuing an apology earlier and they must shoulder the burden. He apologizes to all survivors and families impacted by residential schools. He also recognized the steps that need to be taken moving forward, including the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

This apology will be used in my project because it is the first time the government truly recognized what an atrocity occurred on Canadian soil. It also began the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which will a small focus of the project. I also remember watching the apology on television and wondering the sincerity of it. Given what occurred, I can’t help but wonder if healing will ever happen.

The Residential School System

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The Residential School System

http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government-policy/the-residential-school-system.html

This website, through the University of British Columbia (shout out!), is an excellent look at the residential system in BC and Canada. It discusses the purpose of the residential school which was to assimilate and destroy culture. As the site points out it was to, “kill the Indian in the child.” It stated in the 1880s, with the church assuming the role of educator and forcing theological beliefs on children who were uprooted from their homes. The site discusses the torment these children faced on a daily basis: abuse, which was physical, psychological, and sexual . It also outlines the inferior education the children received, often only to grade 5 and preparing the children for a life in agriculture or wood working. It was not until the 1990s that churches began to recognize their part in this destructive ploy.

The site is a great source because it also outlines the ‘need’ for residential schools. The government of the time believed in order to settle Canada, the Aboriginal population needed to be reformed and the best way to do that was indoctrination at an early age. They went as far as to make it illegal for First Nations to attend schools which were not residential. The conditions at the residential school also highlighted the capabilities the government thought Aboriginal children possessed. Work was geared toward practical ability: sewing, carpentry and farming. Ironically, for a school, it was so unfocused on education that many students only reached grade 5 by 18 years of age. Many children died to the unsanitary conditions faced at residential schools, yet the value placed on Aboriginal life was so low the schools continued for a century.

In the late 1950s the government finally began to treat these institutions more like a school and began to hire qualified staff, and the 80 years of mistreatment was swept under the rug. The worthlessness created by these schools is still in communities today. As an aside, when St. Joseph’s finally shut down many non-Native peoples had no idea what when on because that implied worthlessness still lingered in 1981.

This site will be very valuable to my project because it outlines why the government felt the need to create residential schools and always demonstrates how the schools created a sense of despair and worthlessness in many Aboriginal communities. Many Aboriginal people are still reluctant to attend schools and are distrustful of schools due to the horrifying repercussions these schools caused. I hope to glean from this site some of the overt means of making students ashamed of their culture and some of the not-so-overt means of destroying self worth.

Module 3 Post 4: Curriculum Change in Nunavut: Towards Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, Heather McGregor.

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McGregor, H. (2012). Curriculum change in Nunavut: Towards Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. McGill Journal of Education. (47)3. 285-302

Though part of the required reading for this course, I am including this article in my weblog as it pertains directly to my research paper envisioning respectful and responsible place-based education within the contemporary model. In the article, Heather McGregor briefly outlines the political climate in Nunavut, and history of curriculum change that has brought about the current iterations of educational policy and practise that privilege Inuit language(s) and culture.

Through extensive collaboration with parents, elders, education professionals and policy makers; and coming at an extensive cost in effort and financial resources, the curriculum development initiatives in Nunavut exemplify “the kind of place-based culturally-responsive and Indigenous-knowledge based educational change called for by Indigenous education advocates.” (p.289) Furthermore, the process and product may be seen as successful examples upon which other jurisdictions may look.

McGregor cautiously identifies the significant Inuit population majority as reducing the constraints (p.290) to swift progress that may not be possible in the context of my research for educational change in more multi-cultural settings. However this does not devalue the examples set forth in the article, it simply re-identifies an obvious obstacle to my purpose. Nonetheless, I cam hopeful for a culturally blended and balanced learning experience that is inclusive of traditional environmental knowledge, experiential learning opportunities, Elders as teachers and caring between teacher and learner–all key aspects identified by McGregor (p.209-291)–without the requirement of Indigenous students to “give up or leave behind their rights, language, identities, histories and world views in order to participate” (p.288) and do not let “the formal system or [non-Indigenous] structures change those ways so much that they lose their meaning, and still prepare children to attain a standard level of education.” (p.295)

Of significant note, McGregor identifies that specific values and beliefs must be made explicit when reconceptualizing education, particularly when the majority of teachers are not Indigenous themselves.