To make Self Governance in Education a reality, several processes need to be put into place, including sustainable funding, the preparation of aboriginal educational leaders, and the development of educational systems that meet the needs of each community. First Nations Pedagogy Online is the culmination of a project funded by BC Campus that allowed education experts from Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and Kwantlen Polytechnic University to create an online resource that builds on research, consultation, and community-based activities. This site provides best practices and support for online learning initiatives that are intended for aboriginal students, elders, educators, curriculum developers, and educational leaders in the field of Indigenous education.

http://firstnationspedagogy.ca/index.html

This document has been produced by the European Union and UNICEF. The objective of this document is to frame a series of practical recommendations intended for a wide readership of governments, international organizations and agencies, civil society, educators and those who learn from them, in the field of minorities and Indigenous peoples. While working on my research topic, I found this report that describes the existing international legal framework of the right to education of Indigenous people. The document also emphasizes that the educational environment cannot be seen in isolation from the wider societal conditions experienced by Indigenous people and minorities. It describes in details that education is a vital gateway to the enjoyment of a wide range of other rights and fundamental freedoms, without which Indigenous people and their societies remain economically, socially and culturally impoverished.

http://www.unicef.org/lac/worlds_minorities_and_indigenous_peoples_2009.pdf

Reviving Our Culture, Mapping our Future

This interesting clip explains the story of a special gathering for Indigenous people in Venda, South Africa. It shows Indigenous leaders from different countries explore a simple yet powerful way to express the past and present of their territory and livelihoods onto hand-drawn maps. The maps highlight the importance of their culture, sacred sites and territory, and empower them to map the future towards which they need to strive.

While I was searching for resources related to placed based education (my research topic), I found the following article by Pattnaik. It focuses on different aspects of educational programs for Indigenous people. The article tries to  draw attention to the impact of colonization on aboriginal children, while discussing some successful efforts by international organizations and indigenous communities to counter these effects. Meanwhile, it highlights the uniqueness of various aboriginal cultures, and shares diverse educational approaches for Indigenous  people.

The Gaia Foundation emerged in the early 1980’s to demonstrate how human development and well being are derived from the health and understanding of the living planet (Gaia), and indeed the Universe itself, of which we are an inextricable part. Its early focus was to support Indigenous communities in the Amazon in their struggle to secure the rights to their territory, and Gaia was successful in raising international awareness and support in Europe. A Micro-projects program for rainforest community initiatives enabled funds and technical support to be channeled to indigenous groups in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela (also in Thailand and Malaysia), for legal training, productive projects, territorial demarcation and cultural recuperation.

In Gaia Foundation, one of the main areas of work  is Indigenous knowledge. It is believed that Indigenous societies hold knowledge and wisdom to be of greatest value in life. Meanwhile, Indigenous knowledge is embedded in cultural practices  which are both highly adapted to their landscape  and very responsive to changes within it. These knowledge systems are founded in respect, reciprocity and working with Natures’ laws, which ensures that humans live in mutually enhancing ways with their ecosystem.

http://www.gaiafoundation.org/

Aboriginal Education Research Center (AERC) is a growing research center that seeks to explore and develop success strategies for learning and education of the largest growing population in Saskatchewan. Through partnerships with scholars, faculty, students, community-based organizations, schools, federal and provincial governments, AERC is working to build stronger inclusive relationships among those involved with Aboriginal education. AERC researches and studies the needs of Aboriginal student populations, successful pedagogy and practices, and experimental methods to shape future policy and directions of provincial and band schools. It aims to improve the educational capacity of schools to retain and meet the needs of Aboriginal students, while improving the knowledge and sensitivity of other students and school staff to Aboriginal peoples. In addition, it tries to develop supportive partnerships with Aboriginal communities, elders, institutions and organizations while mobilizing knowledge and practices among educational institutions through dialogues, conferences, publications, and websites on Aboriginal education. AERC also aims to facilitate dialogues with Aboriginal communities, organizations and elders to develop collaborative protocols and practices for ethical research in various indigenous fields.

http://aerc.usask.ca/index.html

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) is an institution for information and research about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, past and present. The Institute undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical community-based research, holds a valuable collection of films, photographs, video and audio recordings and the world’s largest collections of printed and other resource materials for Indigenous studies. Its activities affirm and raise awareness among all Australians, and people of other nations, of the richness and diversity of Australian Indigenous cultures and histories.

http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/

While searching for my research study, I found the Journal of American Indian Education (JAIE) as a professional journal that publishes papers directly related to the education of American Indian/Alaska Natives. The Journal also invites scholarship on educational issues pertaining to Native Peoples of the world, including First Nations (Aboriginal People of Canada), Native Hawaiian, Maori, Indigenous Peoples of Latin American and others. The goal of the Journal of American Indian Education is to improve Native Education through knowledge generation and transmission to classrooms and other educational settings. It encourages dialogue between researchers and teachers through research-based scholar and practitioner articles elucidating current innovations in the classroom.

http://jaie.asu.edu/

The Indigenous Education Institute is as a non-profit institution with a mission to preserve, protect and apply traditional Indigenous knowledge in a contemporary setting, that of Indigenous peoples today, around the world. Some of the the fundamental goals of the institute are:

-Initiating and maintaining collaborative research involving traditional knowledge holders,

-Organizing, articulating, and developing strategic and realistic application of the research to Indigenous education in order to provide cultural enrichment and empowerment to succeeding generations,

-Preserving and maintaining the diversity of Indigenous languages and cultures,

-Enhancing recognition of Indigenous science, in juxtaposition with western science, through processes that respect the honor and integrity of both ways of knowing,

-Researching and developing relevant systems of Indigenous strategic planning and evaluation, to enhance organizational effectiveness,

-Supporting Indigenous communities in the research of their own knowledge and needs, enabling responsible capacity building to effect transformational and sustainable change,

and promoting global networking among Indigenous communities to enhance the awareness and inter-relationships of Indigenous ways of knowing.

http://www.indigenouseducation.org

The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education is a peer reviewed research journal publishing articles in the field of indigenous education. It is the only journal for educators devoted specifically to issues of practice, pedagogy and policy in indigenous education in Australia. It includes topics on the participation of indigenous people in education and training; equitable and appropriate access and achievement of indigenous people in education and training; and, the teaching of indigenous studies, cultures and languages to both indigenous and non-indigenous students.

http://www.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie/