Tag Archives: cultural genocide

Module 3- Post 5: The Indigenous Caribbean portal on Ning

The Indigenous Caribbean portal on the Ning platform @ http://indigenouscaribbean.ning.com/ is a great example of how the indigenous people of the Caribbean are making use of technology both to reclaim and preserve their culture. The welcome message on the site encourages one to: create their own on-site blog; a new discussion on the network message board; music; video and photo slideshows that can then be played on any site across the Web. With so many options at their disposal the members of this site have produce a resource that has something for everyone from researcher to tribe member. For example Maximilian Forte is a professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University who’s research interests have focused on the Carib Community of Arima, Trinidad is found here, so also is the Turabo Taino Jaguar Warrior Society of Puerto Rico are also on a quest to honor their Boricua warriors the Boriqueneers that fought for the US in world war two. Ignacio G. Rivera’s question “where do we fit in? It seems like we are constantly fighting to prove that the Taino exists” in one of the discussion forums speaks for many indigenous people of the Caribbean and the world. Finally the article Guyana Police batters Indigenous Family on their Traditional Land… mining is now a problem to indigenous peoples in Guyana uses video to graphically illustrates an encounter of one indigenous group with the police as they tried to protect their lands.

Module 3- Post 2: The Indigenous People of the Caribbean

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As I continue my ETEC:521 journey with renewed purpose I had to drop by http://www.culturalsurvival.org again with a different agenda this time as I am gathering information on indigenous people of the Caribbean. The first page on this quest was Reviving Caribs: Recognition, Patronage and Ceremonial Indigeneity in Trinidad and Tobago –. Wher I learned that aboriginals in my country “were never defeated in any war, nor were treaties ever signed, nor did they become extinct. Their numbers were drastically minimized, their lands usurped, their labor bought and sold, and they were intensely assimilated into Hispanic, Catholic and even urban society”. Because of this assimilation they are facing numerous problems as they try to reclaim their heritage. This is the plight of the indigenous people of Cuba as I found out in my next stop on the site at The Indigenous People of the Caribbean.This page is a review of a book of the same name. From this it can be gathered that even if the book is not perfect it does give valuable information on indigenous people of the Caribbean. To me the most important discovery here is that there are many indigenous communities that are struggling for recognition because of the errors that were written in history about them and the attitudes that resulted from this. Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic all have such indigenous people. The last stop of this log was at Our Land, Our Life, Our Culture: The Indigenous Movement In Guyana. Unlike the other countries mentioned here Guyana has recognised indigenous population. Here I found out that there are nine distinct Indigenous peoples in Guyana- Lokono (Arawak), Akawaio (Kapon), Arecuna (Pemon), Macusi, Warrau, Wapisiana, Wai Wai, Patamona and Kalina (Carib) – comprising 60-80,000 persons, approximately 8-10 percent of the total population. These all united recently to “redefine prevailing political, legal, economic and cultural relations with the state and thereby to transcend four centuries of colonial domination and institutionalized racism that remain firmly entrenched in Guyanese law, policy and practice”. It can therefor serve as an example of what other groups who are in a similar position can do to protect themselves from the present threat of colonisation.

Learning from the experience of indigenous people

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My research question at this point “What African American societies can learn from the experience of indigeneous people in the world of education.”

Background

There are no indigenous people in most of the Caribbean, but here, like all of the Americas is settled primarily by a migrant population of people of many different origins. The migrants who descended from the colonists have emerged to be the domininant economical and political force of the Americas and as such has been able to dictate the way of life for most of the contries. The remaining migrants and the indigenous people in the larger north American Countries are usually lumped together as “minorities”

These minorities have a lower standared of living and a lower success rate at education than the “majority”. The dropout rate for minorities from poverty stricken areas are as follows 81% of Native American, 73% of African American, 66% of Latino, and 34% of Whites (APA, 2012).

Minorities such as African Americans and Native Americans are both stereotyped in traditional media with their heritage and culture ignored by traditional education.

So far we have looked at how indigenuos people are using media to present themselves to the world and the issues that sorround this from our stand point as educators. I suspect that the lessons learned here can be transferred to the classroom of those who teach minorities other than indigenous people

Reference

American Psychological Association(APA). (2012). Facing the School Dropout Dilemma.American Psychological Association . Retrieved June 1, 2013, from http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/school-dropout-prevention.aspx

Module 1 – Post 4 – An Opinionated Article

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http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3225&page=2

This site is an Australian ejournal that does not appear to be scholarly, so is not useful as an official source for research, but is still worth a read. The writer of the article is familiar with the history of government approaches to Aboriginal culture in Australia, and takes a vehement stance that although the government’s language is couched in political correctness, it is actually blatantly racist in the form of assimilation. He uses words that have strong connotations, such as ‘apartheid’, to incite readers to adopt his viewpoint but this excited tone does not make his viewpoint any less accurate. The article has a different feeling than many of the more cautious texts that I have come across and is quite an interesting read. In terms of usefulness for research, the article names many documents, decisions, and events that students could independently research.

The shame of residential schools in Canada

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In order to research the generation loss of aboriginal languages due to the horrible suffering of First Nation students as a result of being sent to residential schools in Canada, I first need to research residential schools in general and read about the shameful way that Canada’s non-aboriginal government dealt with our Frist Nation people. This site even discusses the official apology, presented by prime minister, Stephen Harper, on my birthday, June 11th, 2008.

http://www.shannonthunderbird.com/residential_schools.htm

Sad story after sad story about how children were forcibly taken from their homes when they were 6 years old (abused and forbidden to speak their own language or celebrate their culture) and then returned when they were 14. Some never made it home and died at the schools (the reasons of death were covered up). Horror stories about what went on in these residential school took years before they reached the ears of those who could do something about it. (Hare, 2011) discusses the rigorous, religious indoctrination that went on and how students were punished for speaking their own language. One girl told her story, after leaving school, that her tongue hurt every time she spoke her langue. It was the result of the physical and psychological damage that had been incurred at school, when she had a needle stuck into her tongue every time she spoke her native language. The most tragic part was that when (and if) the children returned home, they lived divided lives since they could no longer relate to their families.

Module 1 – Weblog Due June 3

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Weblog 1 – Marijke Henschel May 27,2013

(http://www.afn.ca/index.php/en) Assembly of First Nations Website:

The ASF website is one made by an organization that represents all First Nations Citizens in Canada. On the site there is access to latest news and current issues of the First Nation Citizens in Canada at this particular moment. There is access to information on topics such as health, residential schools, population statistics and more. There is a lot of information on government interactions, funding and more in order to deal with misconceptions about First Nations people. There are also posts by the National Chief Shawn Atleo expressing topics such as the latest federal budget, letters sent to the Prime Minister of Canada and more.

This site would be very valuable for research of First Nations issues as it has current and past issues on the site, and in general has a large variety of information on various topics such as; Education, Ending Violence, Finance, First Nations E-Community, Land Rights and Claims and Parliamentary Relations.

(http://www.dickshovel.com/www.html) First Nations: Issues of Consequence

This particular site’s link will send you to the index for the site. This site seems to be a collection of different opinions and writings from the internet and includes historical pieces and interviews. This site seems to focus on the atrocities committed against First Nations People in the past and the stereotypes and misconceptions they have had to endure. Since the site is not from scholarly journals it may not be directly useful for research material but there is so much content on this site that it could definitely be used as a starting place for research ideas. If you are interested in residential schooling, there are many resources dedicated to this as well as the American equivalents of residential schools. As this site contains thought-provoking and controversial matter it can definitely be used to find a direction for research.

(http://www.iwgia.org/) International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)

This website focuses on many different types of topics surrounding the Indigenous community such as: Poverty, Racism, Development, Intellectual Property Rights, Identification of Indigenous Peoples and more. The main focus of the site seems to be on the rights of Indigenous peoples. This site would be great for research in international Indigenous affairs as links are provided to organizations around the world (United Nations) and other subcommittees. This site has scholarly references and academic citations which would be a great asset when looking for research on International Indigenous people’s Issues. There is also the ability to search different publications for articles on the site.

(http://firstpeoplesvoices.com/index.htm) Native History – Native Experiences – Native Voices of First Nations People

This particular site has many different types of topics. One tab on the left hand side (Invented White History and Imagery) was quite shocking as it shows examples of American Indian people as being portrayed as wild and savage in the “darkness” through old paintings and other examples in history. This site provides access to Western beliefs about First Nations as well as how western society and beliefs were basically forced upon them. Other tabs with great amount of information would be the “Native Values” tab on the left. “Cultural Genocide” is also very eye-opening as well.

This particular site would be beneficial for research on the trials and tribulations of Indigenous people and how western culture has taken them over. If you read “About the Author” of this site, you will find that it is written by a non-First Nations woman.

(http://www.fnuniv.ca/) First Nations University of Canada

This particular site is a University web page. This University was founded in 1976 with connection to the University of Regina and has multiple campuses in Saskatchewan. The site has a list of programs, as well as job opportunities. Some examples being a Health and Science Camp Supervisor, Community Based Program Coordinator and Business and Public Administration position at different campuses.

Although this site has less research on Indigenous history and knowledge, this would be a great example of First Nations support towards post-secondary education. This also may provide insight into possible techniques in order to motivate First Nations students to pursue education beyond high school.

Historical Overview of First Nations History: A Government Website

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Module #1_Post #1

My final project centers on how to use interactive web 2.0 technology in a social constructionist’s approach in First Nation 12, as a means to gain an understanding of First Nations road from contact to Self-Government. As a Social Studies teacher for grades ten to twelve, revisionist history has always been central to my pedagogical approach in teaching. The central focus of my final project examines how the use of interactive Web 2.0 technology in First Nations 12 can be used to examine various artifacts in First Nations history and collaboration can be used to shape students’ understanding of history. Some of the open ended questions I may use, would focus on the Calder Case and the Nisga’a treaty and how this is related to the conflict between oral and written history. The Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AADNC) website (www.aandc-aadnc.gc.ca, 2012) would be utilized to provide a background into First Nations Studies, as an initial investigation into revisionist history.

The segment of the AADNC website I examined provides a wide overview of various elements of First Nations in Canada from pre-contact until present. This website is a good resource to understand assimilation, cultural genocide and the current land claims struggles in the First Nations’ road to self-government. Essential in my project is the development of resources that can be used by students in examining revisionist history. As a government website, it contains various links that clearly define terms, and links to supporting material under the umbrella of the government website. This website does not clearly examine the role western ideas of property play into assimilation and cultural genocide. I currently teach a segment of History 12 from India’s perspective on colonization, to provide students with an insight into how others view the British Empire. At the turn of the 20^th century, our Premier McBride ran on the slogan “Keep BC white” in reference to Asian immigration. In my project, I would try to use this website as a basis to start my student projects in.

Website Address:

First Nations in Canada http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1307460872523