“New survey sheds light on cultural stereotypes”

Reginald Bibby from the University of Lethbridge (my old school) has released the findings of his research study concerning Aboriginal teenagers. Unfortunately, the entire study is not available online for free. However, I was able to find a summary of the findings written by the author at http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/fp/Young+aboriginals+true+colours+same+ours/3662136/story.html

There are some interesting things in it, especially in the light of the interview with Amy Parent that we studied.

The summary of the article states that young Native people are very similar to the general population. The article then goes on to state the differences, which include a much greater spirituality. The survey also states a similar finding about technology.

In the light of the Returning to Gitxaata video, it’s also important to note that the research has been released for sale privately, or in summarized form in newspapers. It was touching to see the response of the people when the UBC team returned with their research. Unfortunately, this did not happen in this case. While the nature of the research was different, surveying a demographic across different nations, it still would have been nice to see an attempt to bring the results to the people concerned.