Category — Module 4

http://www.ldb.org/indheal.htm

Lori A. Colomeda & Eberhard R. Wenzel

This site examines the indigenous cultures and the impact that the present day has on traditional lands and ways of life. It examines present day life on indigenous health and health issues. It compares indigenous education to the Western linear education system that is presently taught. Cultural contexts and values need to be taken into account when examining indigenous health and education.

http://www.esf.edu/nativepeoples/weaving.pdf

May 2002 issue of Bioscience

“Traditional ecological knowledge can be a source of new biological insights and potential models for conservation biology and sustainable development.”

This article calls for traditional ecological knowledge to be incorporated into curriculum to encourage participation from aboriginal people and increase collaborative relationships. It helps to recognize the contribution of traditional ecological knowledge on today’s society and educational system.

http://www.scidev.net/en/policy-briefs/raising-awareness-of-indigenous-knowledge-in-scien.html

“Over recent years, a greater awareness of indigenous knowledge has increasingly been linked to global sustainability.” This article highlights indigenous knowledge amongst science and technology education and recognizes indigenous knowledge within a scientific context. It highlights the impact of Western education on indigenous knowledge, and lobbies for a collaborative educational relationship.

http://www.ienearth.org/cits.html

“A network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions.” This site promotes education and awareness and mobilizes individual’s consciousness surrounding environmental issues. It has international support and recognition as it rallies behind environment and global issues.

The power of the Internet is undeniably strong and tends to be a first point of reference when trying to learn about anything. Whether or not that’s a good thing I don’t know but it’s a fact. I have been looking at many band websites over the course of this course and I’m happy to say that I think Haisla.ca is definitely on the right track. Like many websites it’s difficult to maintain especially when you’re first starting out but I think this site has great bones. You can see there’s multimedia capabilities, forum capabilities, a newsletter etc. There are also links to local artists and their work, the local Haisla-run radio station and its archives, as well as links to important documents pertaining to things like treaty negotiations. The news and events are kept up-to-date and there are specific calls to action such as youth events and Council meetings etc. It’s not perfect by any stretch but I myself think it’s wonderful to see the Haisla maintaining authority over this space in cyberspace.

Founded in 1976 in order to serve the educational and cultural needs of Saskatchewan’s Métis, the Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture is an exceptionally well designed and built web portal of useful online digital learning tools about Metis Culture and traditions.   In traditional Métis and Aboriginal peoples’ society, education was informal and was passed down to youth from the Elders.  This form of education centred on resource extraction and how to make a living off of the land.

Since bison were at the centre of the Métis economy during the golden age of the Métis Nation (1816-1869), this hardy animal is a fitting symbol of traditional Métis education. Métis youth would have learned from their Elders the many useful and lifesaving applications, which this one animal provided to their entire society.  This section contains all learning resources commissioned for the Virtual Museum, in addition to many of the Gabriel Dumont Institute’s proven educational resources from the past.  The Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research (GDI) was founded in 1976 in order to serve the educational and cultural needs of Saskatchewan’s Métis. GDI is the official educational affiliate of the Métis Nation – Saskatchewan.

In these oral history sessions, where stories are passed down “digitally,” one session I think particularly interesting and expressive of the essence of these online resources is the Michif storytelling circle that would occur one day prior to the opening of the National Michif Language Conference held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.   The Storytellers told their own stories and answered questions prepared by the Institute. The entire proceedings of the workshop are in Michif-Cree. All told, there is approximately six hours of discussion in Michif-Cree relating to stories, traditional lifeways and families.

Web portal link:  http://www.metismuseum.ca/main.php

A suite of web-based tools and services designed to support Aboriginal people engaged in language archiving, language teaching & culture revitalization, the FirstVoices Language Archive contains thousands of text entries in many diverse Aboriginal writing systems, imbedded with learning tools such as sounds, pictures and videos.   In addition, a companion set of interactive online games is designed to present the archived FirstVoices language data in creative learning activities.   What is intriguing is that there is a great deal of respect in this process of teaching, as some language archives at FirstVoices are publicly accessible, while others are password protected at the request of the language community.  As Linda Smith argues in her noteworthy book, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous “research” as a concept is still hurtful and resonates with imperialistic connotations of taking and leaving without benefitting those indigenous peoples who have been researched.

Website:  http://www.firstvoices.com/en/index-canada-west

Inspired by two other similar innovative online digital projects, namely the Aboriginal Youth Network and Aboriginal Digital Opportunities, Aboriginal stories were collected and then displayed on the Aboriginal Cultures and Traditions Storytelling website in both digital audio and text forms.

In 2005, the Lillooet Public Library began recording stories and songs for the library’s digital collection initiative.  Seven stories written by elementary school students about Lillooet, and two preschool songs with St’át’imc translations by Ms. Lémya7, were recorded and added to the library’s website in mp3 format. The library continues to add more stories and songs in the future in order to build a digital collection.  The stories and songs can either be streamed by clicking on the play button on the player, or downloaded onto the  computer.

This type of oral histories and songs captures the essence of First Nations’ storytelling, which is a powerful and traditional way of passing down knowledge to younger generations and preserving culture and heritage.   As Ms. Lémya7 teaches St’át’imc at the elementary schools in Lillooet, she often provides the library with her own translations of the preschool songs, such as The Itsy Bitsy Spider and If You’re Happy and You Know It, as well as singing them so they could be put on the website. Ms. Lémya7’s translations are less literal and instead capture the basic concepts of the original English versions of the songs.

In using these songs to help teach St’át’imc vocabulary to her students, the goal is to make them available on the internet so that more parents will be able to share them with their children.

http://zope.bclibrary.ca/lala/kids/stories-songs/digital-collection-initiative

The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center is a tribally owned-and-operated, state-of-the-art complex located in Mashantucket, Conn.  Opened on August 11, 1998, it presents the history of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, the histories and cultures of other tribes, and the region’s natural history through a series of innovative presentations — both physically on-site and also virtually online.

Utilizing the latest in exhibit design and technology, the 85,000-square-foot permanent indoor exhibits present four types of interpretation to the visitor: dioramas, text panels, interactive computer programs, and a series of films. Evolving Mashantucket Pequot life is conveyed through dioramas and exhibits, films and videos, interactive programs, archival materials, ethnographic and archaeological collections, and commissioned works of art and traditional crafts by Native artisans.  Seven computer interactives, including more than three hours of original documentary video, have been created. A total of 13 films and video programs are on view throughout the permanent exhibit space in 10 locations. The visually impaired are able to move through the exhibits utilizing an infrared communications system and access audio interpretation, with selected replica artifacts available for all to touch in specially designated areas, including spearheads, fur clothing and tools.

Its online resources I believe compliment the exhibits very well.  In particular, its online audio archives, “Listen Up! Online Audio,” offer some of the interesting, and free, audio content currently available online that is relevant to the scope of its collections — a podcast is a series of audio programs in MP3 format that can be downloaded individually.

Website link:  http://www.pequotmuseum.org/

Global Voices is an fascinating “web community” that is supported by more than 300 bloggers and translators around the world who work together to bring you reports from blogs and citizen media everywhere. This web community emphasizes on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media.

By being able to “aggregate, curate, and amplify the global conversation online” this website highlights places and people other media often ignore — and that is often the indigenous peoples hidden from the mainstream colonial mainstream society (and their accompanying media).  This website portal is an example of the web 2.0 technologies afforded to us, which allow literally mllions of people around the world who are blogging, podcasting, and uploading photos, videos, and information across the globe.    Amazingly, this team of volunteer authors and part-time editors are active participants in the blogospheres they write about on Global Voices that work as a virtual community across multiple time zones.

This is an example of citizen journalism.  But more importantly, it is about giving voice to where none is given.

Website link: http://globalvoicesonline.org/