http://thesportdigest.com/article/aboriginal-stereotypes-sports-intentions-gone-horribly-wrong

I thought this was an interesting article on the naming of mascots and athletic teams after aboriginal people. The marginalization and stero-typing of indigenous peoples is discussed in this article, with a look at the research into the historical context of such naming conventions. This has been a huge debate over the years, and the author examines the factors relating to this stereotyping.

http://www.unr.edu/nnap/nnc_intro.htm

“This site was developed by the Department of Teaching and Learning Technologies at the University of Nevada, Reno, as part of a statewide initiative funded by SB204.”

This site contains lesson plans, concentrating on social sciences and environmental studies. Under the Nevada Tribes tab, it has a link called Stereotyping of Native Americans. At the end of the article, it has stereotyping activities that can be done with students to educate them on the issues surrounding stereotypes and its deteremental affects.

The website: http://www.bluecorncomics.com/stbasics.htm

dispels the myths of native stereotypes. What I found thought-provoking was their take on Non-Native stereotypes. There is a list (and links)  of presumed Native stereotypes of non-Natives. Very interesting. There are a number of informative articles and links on related topics – it is a very good read.

http://www2.brandonu.ca/library/CJNS/25.1/cjnsv25no1_pg311-335.pdf

This appeared in the The Canadian Journal of Native Studies in 2005. It is an ethnographic research study looking at “print media coverage of Aboriginal issues.” It concludes by stating that stereotyping in the media is prevalent, unsympathetic audiences are common and indifferent attitudes are widespread. Public support of aboriginal issues is generally poor and Canadians in general have little knowledge of Aboriginal concerns. It is an interesting article peering into the Media and perceptions of the public.

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/aboriginal_people/aboriginal_news.cfm

I discovered this to be a great resource for Media and Education Resources for Parents and Teachers. It has a link that is dedicated to breaking the myths on Media Stereotyping of all types of minority groups. There is an article titled ‘Aboriginal People in the News’ that discusses the media portrayal of aboriginal people. It talks about how “Many of the myths and misperceptions that persist among non-aboriginal people are perpetuated by no communication, poor communication, or one-sided communication (Bud White, Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples, 1998). In this modules readings, a lot of the focus is on communication – how we communicate, how the media communicates, and how our perceptions are based on the information we receive.

NativeWeb

http://www.nativeweb.org/

Native Web is a resource centre and database for cultures from around the world.

It has a link to hosted sites: http://www.nativeweb.org/hosted/ which provides the user with a rich resource database. Numerous ideas, topics and articles can be researched in a variety of ways. It is an abundant source of international and national news, events and resources.

Indigenous Knowledge: Local Pathways to Local Development is a document that was published in 2004 from the Knowledge and Learning Group, Africa Region; The World Bank.

http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/ikcomplete.pdf 

This is a publication from the World Bank outlining “solutions for local development.” It highlights a number of successful initiatives that have included the local people. Its mandate is: “We recognize that knowledge is not the exclusive domain of technologically advanced societies. We need to give a new meaning to empowering poor people and helping to give them voice—not as recipients of knowledge, but as contributors and protagonists of their own development.” 

What I found interesting was one of the chapters titled: Indigenous Knowledge and Science and Technology: Conflict, Contradiction or Concurrence?  which has an excerpt that I found enlightening:

“Indigenous knowledge is today considered relevant in the social and human development domains. Its contribution to science and technology is often underestimated or not known. For example, the Maasai pastoralists actively immunized their herds by inoculating healthy animals with saliva froth of freshly diseased ones. Similar was the practice of English midwives, who stored molding bread with their delivery utensils and cloths. Yet, Pasteur received recognition for pioneering vaccination and Fleming for the discovery of penicillin.” 

At the end of the publication there is a table entitled: Institutional Constraints in Adapting Local Knowledge Innovations, that lists some of the barriers that are encountered.  It is a very interesting read.

The Central Austrailain Aboriginal Media Association is one of the largest production film and television production companies in Australia, promoting aboriginal themes and awareness through “indigenous eyes”.

Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) –

The site has a number of important links that showcase the use of technology within aboriginal organizations. There is some interesting content and subject matter that can be explored at length.

http://www.mediaglobal.org/article/2009-05-29/indigenous-tribe-uses-technology-to-re-create-traditional-community-support-system

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1795357&show=abstract

http://www.pathwaystotechnology.ca/

http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/edres/pathfinders/ajohnson/

My office building is located right beside the Aboriginal People Television Network downtown Winnipeg,  which I pass by everyday. It was established in 1999 to “share their [aboriginal] stories with the rest of the world on a national television network dedicated to Aboriginal programming” (APTN). It allows aboriginal people to have a voice by being able to submit proposals and ideas to the station. It is mostly consist of Canadian content, which has features of local and national news and investigative stories directed at Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal audiences. A huge proponent of the stoires come from aboriginal people from across Canada and the world. It allows aboriginal young people to hear the stories that are relevant to them and their culture, and share them with the rest of the nation.

http://www.aptn.ca/>APTN</

I started my interroagation of global and local networks at the Manitoba Government Education website:   http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/abedu/. It is a component of the Education and Literacy Department.

This site looks at the Manitoba strategies and frameworks for aboriginal education and language preservation.

It has a number of important links, including Kindergarten to Grade 12 Aboriginal Languages and Cultures: Manitoba Curriculum Framework of Outcomes.

In this document, one of the elders states: ““Language is power to understand culture.”  I never quite thought of language that way – as a gateway to culture – but it really is the fundamental cornerstone in understanding any culture. Therefore, preserving language of indigenous people becomes the cornor stone of understanding culture.

The site has a number of informational links including:

Bridging Two Worlds: Aboriginal Education and Employment Action Plan 2008-2011 – Education Action Plan

Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into Curricula – for curriculum developers

Manitoba Kindergarten to Grade 4 Aboriginal Languages and Cultures: Bibliography of Recommended Picture Books/Novels with Suggested Uses: A Reference for Selecting Learning Resources ( 194 KB)

The Way We Speak: An Annotated Bibliography of Aboriginal Language Resources in Manitoba ( 218 KB) – an extensive bilbliography of available resources

Aboriginal Language Instruction in Manitoba – May 2001 ( 64 KB) – a study looking at the availability of aboriginal languages in the Manitoba school systems.