A Look Through Indigenous Eyes

http://www.worldpulse.com/node/12206

A very powerful occount written by Cristina Quisbert about the Discriminations and Racism in her native Bolivia.  Christina gives a brief history of the Domination of the 36 Indigenous Peoples over the last 5 centuries by Spanish Rule.  Her quote “losers should be under the power of winners” resonates the feeling of helplessness the Bolivian “Indians” have been feeling for quite some time, where a white face automatically lent itself to an air of superiority over anyone “ Indigenous Looking”

The article goes on to chronicle the stride Indigenous People have taken since Bolivia became a republic in 1825, with marginal inclusion in the Government, first by males, and finally by females. Despite continued open racism in many areas of Bolivia, on December 18, 2005 Evo Morales Ayma was elected the first Indigenous President.  The fight for equality continues among indigenous people throughout the world.   Felicitación Christina.

The Ecology of Hinduism

http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=77

In the Hindu faith, ecology of the mind is a necessary prerequisite to the ecology of the natural world.  One cannot exist without the other.  A central belief in God extends to preservation of the human mind which in turn is nourished by food, a cycle of ecology of respect and preservation of all forms of life in earth.  We cannot cut off the branch on which we sit.  We must contribute to the maintenance of the cycle of life. The sacredness of the cow is attributed to the milk to nourish our bodies, and the manure to nourish our land.

These themes run parallel to the ecology of indigenous people.  Indigenous knowledge, becoming favourable to western ideologies, is the nourishment and protection of the land, through firsthand knowledge and generations of learning.  Indigenous people teach the ecology of nature through stories, language, and traditions.  This ecology of the mind is essential for the protection of the natural resources needed to sustain and nourish their people.

This balance of mind and nature has long been the footpath followed by indigenous people around the world.  ‘We are disturbing the balance because of our greed for material enjoyment and our craze for power’, a sentiment of both Hinduism and Indigenous People.

Rethinking Contemporary Indigenous Rights

http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/31954645/Toward-Sustainable-SelfDetermination-Rethinking-the-Contemporary-IndigenousRights-Discourse

This is a very intense discourse by Jeff Corntassel in which he references many of the shortcomings of previous attempts of self-determination by indigenous people throughout the world.  Jeff is able to give historical references to self-determination claims that do not work and that have negative consequences for indigenous people in the future. 

As well as pointing out past and current problems, Jeff makes some suggestions to rectify the situation, most notably through the political venue of the United Nations.  At one point he seems to want to bring up the notion of forceful resistance, but cleverly steers away from that politically charged notion.

Revitalizing Canada’s Indigenous Languages

http://www.universityaffairs.ca/fight-to-revitalize-canadas-indigenous-languages.aspx

Language is one of the cornerstones of culture.  With the exception of the Inuit “Inuktitut” still spoken fluently by 2/3 of Canada’s Inuit people, the rest of Canada’s indigenous languages are at or near extinction levels.  This website chronicles some of the projects, both past and present that have been put in place to try to stabilize and/or revive some of the indigenous languages.  There are a number of links throughout the site, linking to specific projects dealing with language revitalization. 

The Yawenda Project is an attempt to revitalize the Wendake language which researchers say has not been spoken for over a century.  “Nesting” is a preschool program where students are paired with elders to enable these young individuals to grow up bilingual.  Both of these programs have experienced a fair amount of success, but economic factors have slowed progress recently.

Worth a look, especially the Wendake Link.

The Aboriginal People of Sri Lanka

http://vedda.org/

Sri Lanka’s indigenous inhabitants, the Veddas — or Wanniya-laeto  “forest-dwellers” as they call themselves — preserve a direct line of descent from the island’s original Neolithic community dating from at least 16,000 BC and probably far earlier.  This very comprehensive website offers numerous links to most aspects of Veddas culture and history.

Robert Knox was one of the first westerners to give an account of Wanniya-laeto culture in 1681 when the island was known as Ceylon.  His chronicles and a host of others that followed are laid out so the reader can “easily” follow how western colonization has altered and interacted with these indigenous people for over four centuries. 

Early photographs, maps, conflicts, and treaties are all part of the history and wreckage undergone by the Wanniya-laeto people since western historians and anthropologists have entered into this unique island culture.

Stories of Our Elders is a website dedicated to telling both the experiential and mythological/ traditional stories of the Cree and Ojibway people. The site takes a very innovative approach to archiving 22 stories in written, digital audio, and digital video formats all provided in both English and Cree or Ojibway. There’s also a small but interesting set of historical photographs related to the stories and storytellers and a map with detailed information about the tribes involved.

 In addition to providing a very interesting set of stories told by a variety of respected elders and community members, the site also offers users tips on moving forward with similar projects. They specifically address difficulties related to embedding syllabic fonts, which would be useful for anybody working on a multilingual web project, as well as tips for acquiring funding to pursue these types of projects.

I noticed that Terri has posted a YouTube clip related to this report earlier in the semester but since I have been taking such a close look at it for my own work, I thought I would post the entire report here. There is plenty of very useful up-to-date data in the report and the findings are very relevant to the work we’ve done in the class to date. It is worth noting that as I’ve brought this up within the community I am working in, there has been plenty of skepticism about the motives for the report and the findings within. I suggest you make those judgments for yourself, as at the very least it is an interesting read filled with compelling data related to the importance of preserving First Nations languages and the specific challanges and opportunities with British Columbia.

www.fphlcc.ca/…/2010–report-on-the-status-of-bc–first–nations–languages.pdf

As mentioned in the learning café, the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger contains a comprehensive guide to the thousands of endangered languages around the world, including those in Canada and British Columbia.

The Atlas is described on the UNESCO site as:

“……presented on the eve of International Mother Language Day (21 February), enables searches according to several criteria, and ranks the 2,500 endangered languages that are listed according to five different levels of vitality: unsafe, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered and extinct.”

The interactive map and statistics page are easy to navigate. Most of the available information appears to rely on census data, which is in some cases dated and comes with the usual set of limitations related to census taking. However, being able to compare data on issues facing indigenous languages around the world is quite useful when discussing languages issues related to Canadian First Nations.

And who knew there was actually an International Mother Languages Day?!?!

The First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation

The site was created with the recognition that First Peoples’ languages are in peril. With that acknowledgment, there are two stated purposes.

One part of the site is the First Voices language archives the documentation of languages. Rather than simply recording and flash freezing (Littlebear, 1996) the languages, the purpose here is to use the recorded language as a learning tool. This program has been running since 2003 with funding from the province of British Columbia and the Department of Canadian Heritage. So far they have archived less than 5% of the potential languages.

The other main section is the Aboriginal Languages Initiative. Summarized on the page:
The Aboriginal Languages Initiative (ALI) is a federal program funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage. The ALI provides funding support for community and regionally-based projects directed at maintaining, revitalizing and promoting First Nations languages. ALI funds are distributed to provincial and territorial delivery organizations. http://www.fpcf.ca/ali2010forms/index.htm
This section has an application system for interested groups to request participation.

The site gives hope that there is enough interest to possibly save some languages that are on the verge of extinction.

Littlebear, R. (1996). Preface. In G. Cantoni (Ed.), Stabilizing indigenous languages. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University, Center for Excellence in Education.

Shawn A-in-chut Atleo National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo is a Hereditary Chief from the Ahousaht First Nation. In July 2009, A-in-chut was elected to a three-year mandate as National Chief to the Assembly of First Nations. A-in-chut served two terms as Regional Chief of the BC AFN. In this time, he committed to the principles of working together through inclusion and respect. In March 2005, a historic Leadership Accord was signed, overcoming decades of discord among First Nations leadership in BC. A-in-chut graduated in 2003 with a Masters of Education in Adult Learning and Global Change from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (in partnership with University of British Columbia, University of the Western Cape South Africa, and University of Linkoping Sweden). In 2008, A-in-chut’s commitment to education was recognized in his appointment as Chancellor of Vancouver Island University, becoming BC’s first indigenous Chancellor. A-in-chut is supported by and gains strength from his partner of 24 years Nancy and their two adult children, Tyson and Tara. Traditional teachings have guided A-in-chut to serve First Nations as a leader, facilitator, mediator, planner and teacher.

National Chief Atleo uses Youtube to keep in touch with communities across the country. He has a monthly address on line.

Cpl. Francis Pegahmagabow of the Parry Island Band in Ontario was decorated three times for the marksmanship and scouting skills he displayed in Belgium and France. Known as ‘Peggy’ to other members of his battalion, he survived the war and later became chief of his band. This portrait of him by artist Irma Coucill was commissioned for the Indian Hall of Fame collection, housed in the museum of the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario. (Woodland Cultural Centre) The most highly decorated Canadian Native in the First World War was Francis Pegahmagabow

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/other/native/peaceful

http://www.cier.ca

Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER)

They are a national, First Nation-directed environmental non-profit organisation with charitable status. They were established in 1994 by a group of First Nation Chiefs from across Canada. Through their programs, we take action on climate change, build sustainable communities, protect lands and waters, and conserve biodiversity.

They  envision “Sustainable First Nation Communities and a Healthy Environment”. Their mission is to “assist First Nations with building the capacity to address the environmental issues they face”.

They are guided by the values of: Respect, Integrity, Innovation and Excellence, Balance and Teamwork.

http://fnbc.info

Indigenous Views – A Blog covering issues affecting First Nations people and communities.. Very interactive blog with good discussions and resources available.Good example of First Nations communities working together and using technology to share important information.

Partnering with Indigenous Peoples to Defend their Lands, Languages and Cultures is the theme of this website.  Their work under the guidance of our Indigenous-led Program Council, Cultural Survival partners with Indigenous communities to defend their rights and sustain their cultures. They have helped develop the knowledge, advocacy tools, and strategic partnerships they need to protect their rights. Every Cultural Survival program is designed to become self-sustaining and run entirely by the Indigenous community.

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/?gclid=CK-p7_CuraUCFQITbAodUDzqYA