Category — Module 3

http://www3.nfb.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/index.php?mode=home&language=english

A site displaying a number of documentary films by and about Aboriginal peoples. There are lots of interesting films to view here, organized around themes. There is also a section on how to use the films in classrooms, as well as a rationale surrounding the collection. It also includes a lesson plan on an idea of how to use the films in class. The collection is large and diverse, and is conveniently organized.

Emily

This is a 2010 document published by “The Conference Board of Canada”.  It looks at ways in which eLearning can narrow the gap between First Nations people living on reserves and non-Aboriginal people in Canada.  The findings are based only on a brief literature review, but it does present a list of 11 recommendations supported by other research I have encountered.

Link

While looking for resources to support online learners I came across this blog.  (http://firstnationspedagogy.com/blog/).  It has pages for education, activism, governance, health, history, knowledge, and featured articles.  There are podcasts, videos, images, information, and dialogue on all these aspects.  There are not a lot of entries from the past two years, but the information is still very relevant and well presented.

Learning Indigenous Science from Place

Research Study Examining Indigenous-Based Science Perspectives in Saskatchewan First Nations and Metis Community Contexts

This 158 page report is based on a 2007 project, in which a group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal scholars, teachers and administrators investigated the potential inclusion of First Nations and Metis perspectives in the Saskatchewan school science curriculum. The purpose of the project was to find different ways to improve the achievement levels of Aboriginal students. “The research model provided a process and avenue through which community members could collectively clarify problems and formulate new visions for the future, implement and test meaningful solutions and thereby generate new knowledge” (p. 6). The researchers focused on “Aboriginal Peoples who have been previously marginalized from opportunities to envision, develop, and operate policies, programs, and services” as the primary sources of knowledge (p. 6).

The Learning Garden: Place-based Learning for Holistic First Nations’ Community Health

Mirella L. Stroink, Connie H. Nelson, and Brian McLaren, Lakehead University

This case study is featured on the Canadian Council on Learning and it specifically addresses the idea of contextual learning and community health for First Nations communities. “This report presents the development and findings of the Learning Garden program, which was developed and run in partnership with Ginoogaming and Aroland First Nations in Northwestern Ontario. The Learning Garden program was developed with the purpose of increasing physical, emotional, and social indicators of health, while taking an initial step toward community resilience in the area of food by increasing local food knowledge” (p. 6).

New Learning: Transformational designs for Pedagogy and Assessment

“Literacies presents a contemporary approach to literacy learning and teaching, developing and extending ‘Multiliteracies’ theory and practice.” This online book presents 15 chapters of information on different aspects of literacies, one of which is dedicated to Literacies on a Human Scale, more specifically Eight Aboriginal Ways of Learning. This chapter includes information on story sharing, learning maps, symbols and images, and so forth. More information on this topic has been recorded using a wiki at: http://8ways.wikispaces.com/.

Indigenous Teaching at Australian Universities

“We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners of this land, and pay our respects to the Elders past and present”

The Australian Learning & Teaching Council, has dedicated a part of their work to Indigenous teaching at Australian Universities. This website features a set of “research-based exemplars for good practice” on Indigenous teaching, based on research interviews with 26 Indigenous and non-Indigenous university teachers across New South Wales and Victoria, as well as materials from recent forums on indigenous learning and teaching.  Topics include:

1. What is Indigenous Teaching?

2. What does ‘Indigenous Studies’ include?

3. Who are the teachers?

4. Who are the students?

5. 15 approaches to indigenous teaching

Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Center

The Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Center is one of the five knowledge centers of the Canadian Council on Learning and  “was created to provide a collaborative national forum that would support the development of effective solutions for the challenges faced by First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners” (Canadian Council on Learning, 2011). The Center consists of more than 80 organizations and individuals from across Canada, dedicated towards finding solutions for the improvement of Aboriginal learning in Canada. Their website features a number of featured publications addressing Aboriginal learning, gender issues, the role of elders, Metis post-secondary education systems, and indigenous knowledge.

CTV Winnipeg: Officials Hope Education Program Will Help Preserve Aboriginal Language

I thought this was a great link because it shows that action is being taken to bring back aboriginal languages in Winnipeg. This link is for an article and a new clip talking about some schools in Winnipeg that have begun to offer students of all backgrounds the opportunity to learn the Ojibwe language. This a great means of reintroducing tradition culture from that region and a way of decolonizing.

http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20101214/wpg_language_101214/20101214/?hub=WinnipegHomees

Dozens of Aboriginal Languages Near Death: UNESCO

The second link is for a video and article based on data from the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO. A linguistic professor who teaches Aboriginal languages talks about the data that has been collected around Aboriginal language loss. Many languages have already been lost and about 88 languages are endangering of extinction. There is a fear that these languages will be lost altogether or they will only remain in written format as no one will be able to speak the languages anymore.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20091106/dying_languages_091108/

The Indigenous Studies Portal (iPortal) is a webpage that has been created as a venue for all types of electronic resources associated with Indigenous studies. This initiative has been taken on by the University of Saskatchewan. The website also consists of other artefacts such as pictures, etc. It has details about events at the University that are associated with indigenous people. There is also teaching tools available on this site.

http://iportal.usask.ca/index.php?sid=354430150&cat=804&start=50&t=sub_pages&rtype_limit=2