Posts from — October 2011

Aboriginal Education Strategy is part of the Ontario Ministry of Education website; their basic goal is to bring awareness to Aboriginal Education Strategies to help “students achieve their full potential”. They provide links to policies that are in place, curriculum for native studies and native languages along with the background of aboriginal education initiatives in Ontario.

This article originally came out in the Northeast Indian Quarterly, and provides a lengthy description of what the Tainos—the Indigenous peoples who lived on the Caribbean Islands before Columbus’s arrival.   The account of these people, as the author, Jose Barriero, points out, is a classic example of “the gaze” at work.  The description comes from observations made by Europeans.  These peoples are described, for instance as peaceably people, although curiously they are also described as cannibals, healthy, strong, muscular, closely connected the earth, and for whom working with the hands to till the soil was perhaps the greatest honor.  The commentators who made these observations then called these peoples primitive.  Unfortunately turning around these stereotypes proves difficult because entire populations of these peoples on some islands, for instance Jamaica, were wiped out within 200 years of Columbus’s arrival.

Barriero sums up the issue succinctly when he states

The history of the European contact with America and its subsequent conquest has been written and rewritten but seldom from an indigenous perspective and never from the continuity of an Indian survival over that history Western historians have had a tendency to disregard the Indian oral sources and many a fundamental lie about Indian culture has been carried from early written texts into the modern day.

References

Barreiro, J. (1990).  A Note on Taino:  Whither progress? Northeast Indian Quarterly, Fall.  Retrieved from http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/41/013.html#R2

Denver, October 10, 2011.  Although icy rains kept spectators at bay, a few braved the cold, damp Colorado weather to participate in the annual Columbus Day parade.  Among the participants were a group of individuals protesting the idea of paying homage to a man whom they feel is responsible for present-day greed and injustice, Christopher Columbus.  Although fighting for the discontinuation of Columbus Day celebrations, the protestors had a few, more pressing demands, which reflect contemporary issues.

They wanted the Occupy Wall Street protestors, and the Occupy Denver Protestors to remember the plight of the Native Americans and their lands and cultures.  Specifically, they called for “repudiating ‘Doctrine of Christian Discovery,’”  and allowing Indigenous peoples to give their “free” and “informed consent” to land development before such lands are captured and developed.  The protestors refer specifically to the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.  In the midst of the dominant culture protesting the ills that are meted out to them in the various Occupy protests, one Indigenous protestor at the Columbus Day parade notes, “Without addressing justice for Indigenous Peoples, there can never be a genuine movement for justice and equality in the United States.”

References

Berry, C. (2011, October 10).  “Columbus Day protests widens.”  Indian Country.  Retrieved from  http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/10/columbus-day-protest-widens/

http://fnbc.info/FNTC

Description:
The First Nations Technology Council (FNTC) supports the full integration of technologies to improve the lives of all First Nations (FN) in BC.  It was created by a FN Summit Resolution to develop a technology plan for the FN of BC.  The plan includes ensuring all 203 FN groups are connected with high speed broadband and have access to the necessary support to access and maintain these technologies.

The site has several resources, training opportunities, and useful links which includes an open discussion forum on First Nations Technology in BC.  There people can share resources and engage in meaningful discussion.  The office of the FNTC is located in West Vancouver (on the Squamish Nation).

~ Ryan

http://www.fnbc.info/content/about-first-nations-bc-portal

Description:
The First Nations of British Columbia Portal (FNBCP) was put together in partnership between the First Nations Technology Council, New Relationship Trust and several other community groups and organizations throughout BC.   The focus of the FNBCP is to provide a resource where individuals can communicate, share ideas, experiences and research key documents pertinent to First Nations (FN) in BC.

Features of the Portal include, scholarship applications, job postings, News & Events, Events Calendars, etc. all of which are kept up-to-date by the administrators of the FNBCP.  It also has a link to Indigenous Views – a blog covering issues important to FN people.

~ Ryan

This discussion paper explores issues of identity that have unwittingly been adopted by Aborigine peoples of Australia, identities that were created by non-Indigenous Australians, but which have filtered into the Indigenous communities with disastrous effect.  White Australians, for instance, view Indigenous peoples as lacking in education, healthcare, and economic development.  They try to make these peoples more mainstream (more Western), and in the process removes control of their lifestyles from the Aborigines.  The seeming deficit that plagues Indigenous peoples carries with it negative connotations and stereotyping.

The paper shows that the “stereotype threat”—where peoples may not believe in the stereotypes themselves, but they are deeply affected because they know that others subscribe to them—is a significant issue that carries currency for Australian Aborigines.  This even causes divisiveness among tribes as some tribes view others as more or less “Aboriginal” than the others.

The paper summarizes a workshop held in 2009 at the University of Queensland, and attended by 16 Aborigines from various tribes.  The workshop provided a safe place for these members of various backgrounds to discuss the issues and explore possible solutions.

The workshop was conducted not following the agenda of non-Indigenous peoples, but on the Aborigine’s terms.  The workshop followed the Engoori method, which is an Aborigine practice focusing on strengths by 1)  Remembering and reconnecting with the what makes people strong 2) Re-examining and re-learning behaviors, and abandoning those that are harmful 3) recreating and renewing.  The workshop was designed to reverse the practice of lateral violence (performing acts of violence among members of the same Indigenous group instead of at the system that imposed the false identity in the first place).

They took as their model a similar workshop convened in 2007 which aimed to develop strong relationships between the Ipswich Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islanders , and the Australian government.  The participants identified six issues to address:  developing a sense of place, space and center; maintaining strong family ties; strengthening the capacity of organizations and groups; renewing traditions and customs; acquiring education and skills for employment; exploring ways to be financially independent.  The idea was to remove the cultural “ideals” imposed on these people by non-Indigenous peoples.  Instead of focusing on what they wanted, what they didn’t have, and what they needed, the participants, who represented varying backgrounds and ages were encouraged to focus on what made them strong, what they had, and what they could do.

References

Mithaka, S., Ross, J., Crossing, F., & Fforde, C. (2011).  “Will the real Aborigine please stand up”:  Strategies for breaking the stereotypes and changing the conversations.  Retrieved from http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/research/documents/AIATSISDiscussionPaper28.pdf

http://www.fns.bc.ca/

Description:
The First Nations Summit (FNS) is made up of First Nations (FN) and Tribal Councils in BC.  The Website provides a venue for FN in BC to access information regarding Treaty negotiations (past, present and future) as well as other issues important to the FN in BC.

The site also provides a calendar of events, useful links, information and a library of catalogued documents and resources important to FN in BC.

~Ryan

http://www.nsnews.com/harvest+healing/5490289/story.html

Description: 
I first learned about this organization by way of a local newspaper in my community, the North Shore News.  There was an article titled: A harvest of healing: Growing food and changing lives in the Squamish Nation from October 3, 2011.  This organization provides many services to the members of the Squamish Nation which include improving the health/wellness of its community, operating a community kitchen (which provides healthy meals) and cultivating a community garden.  The organization focuses on youth participation to tend the garden as well as train them with the culinary skills necessary to maintain the community kitchen.  The main focus of the kitchen is providing healthy meal planning and food preparation skills (including food safety) that will promote a healthy lifestyle.  Many people taking advantage of the community kitchen cannot afford to prepare meals for themselves or lack the skills necessary to do so.

~ Ryan

Brazil plans to build the third largest hydroelectric dam which will have devastating effects.  Not only will it flood out over 300 acres of land, but it will displace thousands of inhabitants, most of whom are indigenous peoples.  It will also destroy the wildlife habitats of land mammals and fish.  The latest concerns center on the plants that will now lie at the bottom of the dam, rotting slowly and releasing the greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere.

This article points out the global ramifications of building this dam, but it does not focus on the plight on the indigenous peoples.  In fact the article’s rhetoric suggests that it might actually be a good thing for the inhabitants along the Xingu River to relocate because “The thousands of indigenous people and peasants who scratch a living out of the forest and the river will see their main source of drinking water and food dwindle.”  The writer doesn’t take into account that what she perceives as poverty is a way of life for the Indigenous peoples:  not only will their food, water, and transportation be threatened, but their culture, history, rituals, stories will be flooded out as well.

References

Gerken, J. (2011, September 15).  Belo Monte Dam Project Draws even more Concerns.  Huffington Post Green.  Retrieved October 2, 2011 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/15/brazilian-dam-draws-protest_n_938401.html

http://www.longhousemedia.org/

Description:
As part of our course readings (Discussion #8: Traditional Culture, Technology and Youth), I came across Longhouse Media.  The mission of Longhouse media is “to catalyze indigenous people and communities to use media as a tool for self-expression, cultural preservation, and social change”.

They offer a program called Native Lens which teaches Indigenous Youth media and filmmaking skills.  They teach Indigenous youth to tell their own stories through digital mediums thus ending the stereotypes that have been perpetuated by mainstream media.

Personally I found the video March Point to be very intriguing hence my search for the website and organization.

~ Ryan