Posts from — September 2010

Champagne, Duane (2009). “Chapter IV: Contemporary Education” in The State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (SOWIP). Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York.

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/SOWIP_web.pdf

This chapter was written for the first UN publication on the State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples which includes statistics and information about issues of health, poverty, education and human rights.

The chapter begins with a review of international agreements that recognize education as a fundamental human right in general and specifically of indigenous peoples. Champagne then provides statistics and stories from indigenous communities worldwide to document the existing education gap, formal school experiences and barriers to education of indigenous young people. He ends with a discussion about the search for alternatives.

The chapter does not discuss the role of IT in education but does make references to teacher attributes, educational materials, curricula design, and teaching methods including the use of radio and mobile schools in remote rural communities.

http://www.firstperspective.ca/

The First Perspective is a site dedicated to aboriginal news and careers in the business world. The focus of which is aboriginal politics in Canada which utilizes an Ottawa watch section. The site is a collection of news articles collected by the site administrator and posted in various sections. This site would be a useful tool in finding primary resources like newspaper articles on recent events. There are no links to outside websites.

http://www.saymag.com/

Say Magazine is a national magazine for and about native youth. It features several themed editions editions geared to lifestyles of all ages. The website is subscription based with archived editions available as summaries only. The most useful part of this site was the links section. It was categorized for ease of researching more sites pertaining to aboriginal events, news or even education.

http://www.ammsa.com/node/7914

The website for the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society says they are an “independent Aboriginal communications organization.”  They also claim to provide “objective, mature and balanced coverage of news, information and entertainment relevant to Aboriginal issues and peoples while maintaining profound respect for the values, principles and traditions of Aboriginal people.” The site has a multitude of links that would take the reader to other aboriginal magazines and community news, such as BC Raven’s Eye or Alberta’s Aboriginal Publication. The site also leads to archived articles and an Edmonton aboriginal radio station. This site, with it’s archived articles is useful for conducting any kind of research. The site even had an Ipad scavenger hunt, which in itself is supporting the use of technology.

Launched in 2007, the CBC Aboriginal website serves as a centralized resource for information on aboriginal life and issues in Canada. I found this website useful because it seems to cover a wide range of current topics, including news stories, arts and cultural happenings, and upcoming events. It also includes some really interesting content developed by First Nations people in Canada. These include:

• The Legends Project (http://www.cbc.ca/aboriginal/2008/06/the-history-of-the-legends-project.html), which archives the traditional oral legends of Canada’s Inuit and First Nations peoples. The legends were originally produced for CBC Radio, but have since been compiled onto compact disc. To date, 8 different nations have participated, with plans to expand to 12 by 2012.
• Ab-Originals (http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/genres/Aboriginal) is a weekly podcast of “the hottest Aboriginal music in Canada,” which is well produced, and was interesting to casually listen to.

http://www.cbc.ca/aboriginal/

When it comes to cyberspace, First Nations peoples are under represented in some ways, to be sure. But when it comes to the massive business of online gaming, First nations groups are among the most powerful in the world. Alwyn Morris is a particularly interesting figure worth knowing more about. He is revered for his gold-medal efforts in the 1984 Summer Olympics and currently heads the Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which owns the exclusive and lucrative branding license to global online gaming powerhouse Bodog.

I know that Deb already posted a link to the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network site but is definitely worth having a closer look at, as it really demonstrates just how sophisticated a media infrastructure exists in First Nations communities across Canada. I was absolutely shocked at the list of television programs I found here. I really had no idea that this many shows had been or are being produced directly by and for First Nations communities. The variety is also something of a shock. There are news programs, dramas, documentaries and quite a few good kids’ series. There are also full episodes of certain shows available, which is great. Even some of the big networks don’t offer this. I also found that their mission statement is quite concise and accurately reflects what they are doing on the site.

Gerry Barrett performs – need I say more? Lots of Native “issues” raised in this very funny piece. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGDy8B0cZwA&feature=related

Unfortunately the website is under construction for Whitehorse General Hospital, however, some information is available through their 2009-2013 Strategic Plan concerning their “unique” health program for First Nations people. Having a background in healthcare and understanding that First Nations people live everywhere in Canada, I have often wondered why more healthcare facilities do NOT have a “unique” health program of their own? This hospital is one to watch and emulate across the country.

“We provide culturally and traditionally appropriate programs to meet the needs of First Nations people. These include recruitment, training and retention of qualified First Nations staff to operate the programs; providing cross-cultural training to all hospital employees; linkages to First Nation communities outside Whitehorse; and providing discharge planning, language, traditional medicine, and dietary needs for First Nations patients. Financial issues continue to be a challenge in providing our unique First Nations Health Program.”

http://www.whitehorsehospital.ca/content/EN/YHC_Strategic_Plan.pdf

This site provides a means to view (and purchase) works of art (sculpture, paintings and craftwork) created by Native artists. It stood out from other online galleries in that it provides a description and background information about each artist and access to view  all of the works of art. Information on upcoming artist exibitions is up-to-date and the site is respectful in that it focuses more on the art, not the sale.

http://www.bearclawgallery.com/aboutus.aspx