Category — Module 1

Visit: http://www.svs.is/ahdr/ahdr%20chapters/english%20version/AHDR_chp%2010.pdf

This site clearly addresses the education systems of indigenous education in Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada (25) Russia and Saami. In the article the terms, ‘education’ and ‘educational system’ were explored by the authors of the document, Gunilla Johansson, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, Chris Paci, Arctic Athabascan Council, Canada, and Sylvi Stenersen Hovdenak, University of Oslo, Norway. The article compares mainstream education with Indigenous education in the various countries.

Visit: http://books.publishing.monash.edu/apps/bookworm/view/Closing+the+Gap+in+Education%3F/55/xhtml/part03chapter01.html

 This site is based on educational policies to overcome the challenges facing indigenous education in Australia. These policies were outlined in section 3 of a book edited by Nieuwenhuysen Ilana Snyder and John entitled “Closing the Gap in Education? Improving Outcomes in Southern World Societies”.  This section of the book is written John Altman and Bill Fogarty. It clearly outlines the challenges faced by indigenous education and mentions the implementation of an education policy to address the challenges in Australia.

Visit :http://menziesfoundation.org.au/education/IndEd%20Workshop%20presentations/Closing%20the%20gap%20in%20Indigenous%20education%20-%20Workshop%20Report.pdf

 This site is based on a report of a workshop on indigenous education conducted by the Menzies Foundation, East Melbourne, Australia on the July 7-8, 2010. The report explicitly states the purpose of the workshop, which was mainly focused on the measures to be taken to improve the educational background of Indigenous children in northern and remote Australia. The report also summarised the main conclusions and recommendations brainstormed by the participants of the workshop.

The Cultural Survival Organization has been partnering with different Indigenous Communities worldwide for the past forty years to help them protect their land, language and culture. This organization basis its work on, ‘The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.’ The site is used to highlight the issues Indigenous people face. The sight is also a venue for advocacy against mistreatment of natives. Although this site is used as a means for fundraising; it is also educational and contains a lot of information about issues such as language loss, etc. It also highlights tools and endeavours that have been put into place to help preserve the native culture. Hence, it is a good resource to refer to for information regarding cultural loss and ways in which the Aboriginal culture has and can be preserved.

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/australia?gclid=COu7k9r5uKsCFRdlgwod3h7ogg

This webpage is a conglomeration of links in a section called ‘The Aboriginal Canada Portal and the Government of Canada Website’. The portal offers an array of information on programs and services specifically related to Canadians of Aboriginal decent. The Resources for Teachers Section, consists of a collection of links for resources that cater to Aboriginal education. This educational tool kit allows for teachers to help students to examine Aboriginal culture through the use of lesson plans, activities and other educational resources that are linked to Aboriginal culture and their understandings. There is an additional, interesting section at the bottom of the page called, ‘Did you Know,’ that includes interesting facts such as “Pine trees were used by First Nations to make tea that helped relieve coughs.”

http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/acp/site.nsf/eng/ao31045.html

This government of Canada Webpage is a part of a collection called the Atlas of Canada which depicts information about Canada and its history through the use of maps. It includes data and information about different indigenous languages where they are/located, what groups spoke what languages and whether those languages still exist. The site contains information from the 1996 census that highlights the decline of Aboriginal languages in areas throughout Canada.

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/maps/peopleandsociety/lang/aboriginallanguages/1

This website has been set up as a means of trying to keep Aboriginal culture and language alive. The site recognizes Aboriginal languages as a major part of the education of youth. The site refers to the loss of control over education that Aboriginal people have experienced to date and the belief that resources such as this site will assist youth of today and of the future in reclaiming their heritage. The site consists of lessons with translations, songs, a dictionary, posters and other resources to help individuals from an Aboriginal decent to learn or refresh their language skills.

http://www.firstnationhelp.com/ali/

Aboriginal Educational Contexts

This site is a rich collection of “school-developed context-based teaching and learning projects collaboratively developed by teachers, Aboriginal education workers and local community members”. It presents projects dealing with Aboriginal Studies, Aboriginal Languages, Aboriginal Art, Quality Aboriginal Languages Teaching (QALT), School and Community Partnerships, and support material to assist secondary school teachers in delivering Aboriginal and Indigenous cross-curriculum content.

An Indigenous Model for Teaching and Learning

“Applied to education, the Medicine Wheel illustrates the necessity of attending to the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of learning and personal development.”

This site gives a very detailed overview of various approaches to instruction in Indigenous education. It introduces concepts such as the Medicine Wheel as a tool encompassing different dimensions of learning and personal development, along with other more familiar strategies such as storytelling, talking circles, concept mapping, concept webbing, critical thinking activities, experiential learning, and so forth.

First Nations Pedagogy Online

This site describes the meaning and importance of experiential learning in First Nations traditional teaching and learning. It presents a different interpretation of the uses of experiential learning that is categorized into four ‘villages’ and defined as “a spectrum of meanings, practices, and ideologies, which emerge out of the work and commitments of policy makers, educators, trainers, change agents, and ‘ordinary’ people all over the world”. The site also introduces the Experiential Learning Model and the First Nations Experiential Learning Cycle, as well as a community building exercise that utilizes these frameworks.