I came across this proposal made to establish world cultural heritage hay to give indigenous people chance to ‘showcase their culture’ at the UN Department of Public Information News and Media Division New York branch web site. I thought it was a fitting way to end these post since it is the voice of the people themselves. The link is at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/hr5132.doc.htm it summarizes the presentation made by representatives for indigenous people from all over the world.
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.
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.
Friedel, T. (2011). Looking for learning in all the wrong places: Urban native youth’s cultured response to Western-oriented place-based learning. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 24(5). 531-546.
In this article, Tracy Friedel analyses the response on native youth to an outbound place-based learning experience, which is ment to reconnect them with their ancestral territories. The analysis takes place within the greater context of the youth striving to be both “Aboriginal” and “modern” at the same time, stereotypes of the “Ecological Indian,” Western interpretations of place-based learning and the responsibilities of Indigenous youth to “protect and preserve their traditional lands, resources and sacred sites upon which indigenous cultural heritage and identity is based.”
Friedel finds the youths’ response to be neither apathetic nor rebellious toward hegemonic power, but a subtle and complex cultured response based in orality, kinship and community. Somewhat ironically, she describes the groups’ recognition of the most significant places to not be within nature, but in the van used to transport the youths between sites.
Additional concepts of note described in the article include: Indigenous youths’ sense of urgency in preserving their culture, particularly with respect to traditional languages; the false perception of Western ecological/environmental experiences as synonymous with place-based learning and identity; and the focus of educational research aimed at improving Aboriginal graduation rates juxtaposed with the youths motivations for significant learning
Basso, K. (1996). Stalking with stories. In Wisdom sits in places: Landscape and language among the Western Apache. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
In this chapter of Wisdom Sits in Places, Basso exemplifies the reciprocal relationship of the Western Apache to their land is as it informs their moral being and self-image which then defines their relationship to the physical world, including the land. To do this, Basso elucidates the meaning of a variety of phrases from Western Apache elders that, when interpreted from a Western perspective seem nonsensical. However; Basso demonstrates that when taken in context of the Western Apache world view, which he also asserts is not dissimilar from many other Indigenous world views, these sayings not only make sense, but are deeply rooted in social and cultural belief. In his approach, Basso recollects his teachings under Western Apache elder, Nick Thompson, over a number of summers. In these recollections he describes the significance and subtleties of Indigenous place names, then connects stories to them–noting how Western Apache stories are always rooted in places, and all places have stories. Finally he describes the four main genre of Western Apache stories (distinguished by their temporal locations) and explains how historical tales, short and direct, are used to guide members of their society on “what it is that being an Apache should normally and properly entail.” (p. 52)
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.
The Taino are yet another indigenous people that has resurrected themselves from extinction in the westernized history book of the Caribbean . The Taino facts is a good starting point for those interested in learning more about these people. As noted on the site it is “An extension of the United Confederation of Taino People’s premier online news service the “Voice of the Taino People Online”, this educational initiative is dedicated to increasing the visibility of Indigenous Peoples from throughout the Caribbean region and the Diaspora in the Spirit of Our Ancestors”. It provides information on United Confederation of Taino People’s,the culture of the Taino people and the issues they face . In addition it provide links to other Taino site as shown below which makes a great resource for the subject.
This a another great example of how indigenous people are leveraging web technology to recover their identity.
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 & Knowing in Indigenous Societies Today
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001807/180754e.pdf
At 128 page this book is not meant for online viewing but for print. Read however you choose this book is a valuable resource for anyone who is interested in indigenous people and educational. The introduction provides a very good framework for understanding of the differences between education from a western context and indigenous cultures. It provides insights as to the friction that is generated between the two. This was very useful to me as I am now learning about indigenous people and education.
The rest of the book consist of the accounts of the following eight different issues on the topic from eight different indigenous people from different countries around the world:
This goes a long way in establish how indigenous people around the world face the same problem with westernized education.
What makes this article different for me is that it provides insights in to the education of indigenous people by chronicling the complex history of an indigenous people educational institution from a boarding school to a university. Because is focuses on an institution rather than a program it provides a working example both how the thinking on the education of native people has evolved over the years and the challenges that arose over time. As I read I became convinced that more institution that caters for the need indigenous people are needed in the world of education.