In the December 23, 2010 issue of the Seattle Times newspaper, columnist Murray Evans’ headline reported: Cherokee, Apple Partner to put language on iPhones.

Although 290 000 individuals belong to the Cherokee Nation, only about 8 000 Cherokee speakers remain. To combat this decline, tribal officials created a Cherokee-only language immersion school in Oklahoma in 2001 where children enrolled in kindergarten through grade 5 work on their laptops using a Macintosh operating system that recognizes the 85 Cherokee syllables that the blacksmith Sequoyah converted to written form in 1821.

In September 2010 after discussions and meetings with the Cherokee chief about developing more Cherokee language software, Apple announced they would release Cherokee applications for the iPod and iPhone. These apps allow individuals to continue communicating in Cherokee outside of the school environment and have started to appeal to people outside of the educational setting as well, illustrating the initial success of this innovative approach meant to strengthen cultural identity through indigenous language development.

First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model

Through discussions with First Nations education professionals, researchers, and community experts, the Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Center, a branch of the Canadian Council on Learning, presents a framework for assessing the success of lifelong learning using a First Nations holistic model. This model honours the First Nations view that learning is an organic and reflective process that emphasizes the cyclical interconnectedness of life and the importance of sustaining it, while acknowledging and incorporating the presence of Western knowledge. It connects opportunities for lifelong learning to individual well-being and collective well-being that is further nurtured by mentors within the community.

The Story of the Masks

Sponsored by the Virtual Museum of Canada, The Story of the Masks is authored by the Kwakwaka’wakw people of the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. Identified collectively as the Kwawkewlths by Indian Affairs and as the Kwakiutl by anthropologists, the Kwakwaka’wakw people are comprised of distinct groups living in different locations, but who speak the Kwa„wala language.

Within this site, the role the masks played in Kwakwaka’wakw society is explored using the collection of masks on exhibit at the U’mista Cultural Center at the Nuyumbalees Museum in Alert Bay, British Columbia. Understanding the legend behind each type of masks and the ceremonies that they were a part of is a central theme that illuminates the significance of the masks to Kwakwaka’wakw communities and the preservation of their identity and heritage. The importance of the masks is reflected in how they are integrated into Potlatch ceremonies, a historical, social, economic, spiritual and educational pillar for Kwakwaka’wakw communities. Although the Canadian government’s attempts to undermine this ceremony, as it was viewed to be in opposition to assimilation policies, led to the Potlatch being outlawed in 1885, the Story of the Masks shares the Kwakwaka’wakw people’s continued story of cultural survival.

Diagram for Ojibwe Curriculum (4 Directions Teaching, 2006)

Elder LillianPitawanakwat shares the sacred teachings of the Medicine Wheel in this article on Ojibwe/Powawatomi teaching. Although her focus is on Ojibwe knowledge, she also points out that across First Nations groups, these teachings are basically the same. Each of the Seven Sacred Directions has seven teachings, which in turn have sub-teachings as well. The Four Cardinal points within the seven directions remind individuals of the need for balance in their lives as well as within themselves. Along with the Seven Stages of Life – from birth to death – we can also find the Seven Grandfather Teachings that provide the gifts of honesty, humility, courage, wisdom, respect, generosity and love.

Wade Davis’ TED talk on endangered cultures.

Wade Davis, one of National Geographic’s Explorers in Residence, is an anthropologist and ethnobotanist advocating for indigenous cultures around the world. Out of the 6 000 languages that once existed, less than half are still taught to children placing them on an endangered list that supersedes the extinction rate within the biosphere. Without language, cultural identity is difficult to embrace. He contends that preserving the Earth’s cultural diversity, which he labels as the ethnosphere, requires the Western world to acknowledging the importance of indigenous cultures and indigenous ways of knowing before more cultures and their languages become extinct.

Indigenous Knowledge & Pedagogy in First Nations Education: A Literature Review with Recommendations (Dr. Marie Battiste, 2002)

In response to the Government of Canada’s evolving commitment to work with First Nations to improve Aboriginal educational opportunities, Dr. Marie Battiste unveils a framework that extends beyond a program of steps to be implemented to illustrate the shift in perspective that will be required to move past the Eurocentric assumptions and prejudices that have undermined Aboriginal education and have been indifferent towards Indigenous knowledge. The task of breaking through the colonial mindset that continues to view Indigenous ways of knowing as inferior because it cannot be effectively categorized and analysed using Eurocentric logic involves acknowledging the value of Indigenous knowledge and re-examining the widespread acceptance that Eurocentric knowledge commands the most value. Battiste calls on the Canadian government to recognize that Aboriginal education is distinct and accept that they have a responsibility to protect Aboriginal knowledge, languages, and heritage.

Aboriginal learning and identity continue to be affected by curriculum and authoritative behaviour in Canadian schools that propagate a Eurocentric perspective of learning and thinking which have isolated Aboriginal people from educational opportunities that build individual and community wholeness. In the pursuit of balancing our educational system, indigenous ways of knowing must be valued and respected. Embracing the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in our schools moves beyond teaching indigenous heritage and creates transformative educational opportunities that seek to overcome the mistrust and deprivation that still emanate from colonization.