Category — Module 3

This article from the Canadian Journal of Native Education is based on a six month school ethnographic study that was conducted at an Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) program in Chile. The objective of this program was to show that schools could be a good venue for cultural, linguistic and ethnic identity reconstruction. This article shows that many indigenous groups are beginning to take a stand and develop programs to help address the problems they are facing and to reconnect with their cultures. This IBE program in Mapuche, Chile centered in on how the Kimun Indigenous knowledge and the Mapudungun language could be embraced to create culturally relevant pedagogy which would help in the process of decolonization. In this program, an ancestral educator was used as an agent for cultural and linguistic transmission through the process of using indigenous knowledge as his curricular objective.

http://bit.ly/rAhddD

This article from the Canadian Journal of Native Education talks about the importance of aboriginal languages and how language is a means of preserving knowledge. The article also highlights and challenges the practices and occurrences that have happened in the past which resulted in language and knowledge to be discredited and left behind. Aboriginal educational concerns are discussed and the importance of the presence of curriculum that is aligned to aboriginal culture is encouraged as a means of protecting and respecting these cultures.

http://www.cbu.ca/mrc/autumn-seed

This website is a conglomeration of different resources that have been put together as a means of reference for strategies for learning and education to aid in the development of individuals in Saskatchewan. The initiative of AERC is to work with schools, faculties, scholars, students, the government, etc., to build an inclusive relationship amongst all individuals who are associated with Aboriginal education. The aboriginal education research centre tries to address educational decolonization through their research project in an effort to develop tools that will help to increase Aboriginal students’ success.

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

Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report was released on 25 August 2011. Starting in 2002, the Council of Australian Governments commissioned the Steering Committee to produce a regular report against key indicators of Indigenous disadvantage. This report has an important long-term objective. It is to inform Australian governments about whether policies and programs are achieving positive outcomes for Indigenous people. This will help guide where further work is needed. The report is composed of different topics related to Indigenous people. The report presents valuable information related to education and training, healthy lives, economic participation, home environment, safe and supportive communities, governance/leadership, and measuring multiple disadvantage of Indigenous people in Australia.

http://www.pc.gov.au/gsp/reports/indigenous/key-indicators-2011

The Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS) is an independent, non-profit research and education organization dedicated to wider understanding and appreciation of the ideas and knowledge of indigenous peoples and the social, economic and political realities of indigenous nations. The Center fosters better understanding between peoples through the publication and distribution of literature written and voiced by leading contributors from Fourth World Nations. One of the main goals of CWIS is to establish cooperation between nations and to democratize international relations between nations and between nations and states.

The CWIS website provides information on education programs for the First Nations (certificate program with a master degree option) in the States, including certificate programs and special institutes for the Indigenous People. CWIS also publishes a journal (Fourth World Journal) that explains world events or activities that address climate change and the environment, political change, history, education economics, social change, traditional knowledge systems and the creative arts, related to the Indigenous people and societies. The CWIS website also sells books that contain important research findings and analyses about indigenous peoples and their knowledge.

http://www.cwis.org

Dare to Lead is a commonwealth funded national project with a focus on improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students. Dare to Lead began in 2000 when representatives of the four peak principals associations met at a national forum and agreed that Indigenous education would be their highest priority. It is an initiative of the profession and specifically of Principals Australia acting on behalf of its members and their associations. The Project is funded by the Australian Government with the support of the Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. In general, Dare to Lead schools commit to improving the educational outcomes of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and also to ensuring that all their students develop an informed understanding of Australia’s Indigenous culture.

http://www.daretolead.edu.au/servlet/Web?s=169694&p=DTL08_Home

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

I have been surfing the net to find resources that will help me with my focus of educating the First Nations child in a regular school. I need to find resources that will teach me ways to reach out to my First Nation students and tell me why these methods would be effective. There are lots of sites and documents but after our journey through this course I am very cautious about what I choose. From the plethora of information I have to find meaningful, authentic sources. After our readings about non aboriginal researchers and their tainted work, the wannabee Indians and their half-baked philosophies, and the passionate Indian radicals without sound traditional reasoning, I have to sift and sort to find some gold nuggets.

There is much work out there done by First Nation researchers or work by non-aboriginals that has the support and approval of the First Nations people. I have found articles about the history of First Nations education, the First Nations Pedagogical beliefs, challenges faced by First Nation students in schools on and off reserves, and learning styles that are conducive to educating a First Nations child. There are documents from various education ministries from all over Canada in which they propose and approve of ways in which First Nation beliefs can be incorporated into to regular teaching content to make the learning more applicable, and in my opinion more complete. Here are some of them:

1. Learning Styles of American Indian/Alaska Native Students: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Practice
By Cornel Pewewardy

2. Aboriginal Education in Canada: A Retrospective and a Prospective
By Verna J. Kirkness

3. Joining the Circle: A Practitioner’s Guide to Responsive Education for Native Students By Agnes Grant and LaVina Gillespie

4. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: First Nations Education in Canada
By Faith Maina

5. Teaching in a First Nations School: An Information Handbook for Teachers New to First Nations Schools
2006 by First Nation Summit of British Columbia

6. Some Ministry Documents:

INTEGRATING ABORIGINAL PERSPECTIVES INTO CURRICULA: A Resource for Curriculum Developers, Teachers, and Administrators 2003 Manitoba Education

Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework (2007) @

Shared Learning British Columbia

CBC Archives: Native Issues

This collection of CBC Archives includes 30 radio clips and 36 television clips under 12 topics focusing on Aboriginal peoples. Broadcasts span several decades, from 1955 to present times. Topics range from celebrating Aboriginal heritage to social and economic issues to Aboriginal rights and political activism. Each presentation offers background history and facts to better understand its context, and the site includes connections for teachers to additional educational material and resources to extend awareness and understanding of the topics.