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Connection to Research Topic Module 2

Aboriginal youth producing video games

http://otsi.abtec.org/

This is the home page of project developed to teach game design to Aboriginal youth, and have them create a game based on their own context and experience. It was produced in partnership with the Owisokon Lahache of the Kahnawake Survival School. Part of the plan is to empower Aboriginal youth to see themselves as creators and builders, and the other part is to pass on knowledge from elders and preserve stories.

Does this clash? Not sure. Just finding more and more projects that seem to support the idea that Aboriginal designed new media can be an effective teaching tool, and a method of preservation.

 

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Module 2

2010 Report on the Status of BC First Nations Languages

2010 Report on the Status of BC First Nations Languages

Language is at the core of our identity, members of a family and nations; it provides the underpinnings of our relationship to culture, the land, spirituality, and the intellectual life of a nation.

According to this report by the First People’s Council, a provincial Crown corporation focused on the status of First Nations language, arts and culture as well as support for First Nations communities trying to recover and sustain their heritage, 60% of First Nations languages in Canada are indigenous to British Columbia. Out of the 32 distinct languages and 59 dialects in BC, all are considered to be endangered with 8 being severely endangered, 22 nearly extinct and 3 already extinct.

Fluent First Nations language speakers comprise only 5.1% of the population in 204 BC First Nations community and that minority percentage continues to dwindle. 52% the of these speakers are over the age of 65. The sharp decline in language learning over the last 100 years can be largely attributed to the aggressive assimilation policies enacted by the government and carried out in residential schools.

With the looming threat of First Nations languages potentially becoming extinct, the urgency for revitalization projects has come to the forefront. While language learning within schools is not yet sufficient to effect substantial change, it is gaining momentum as First Nations communities in BC know that language is an invaluable source of indigenous knowledge and cultural identity that can contribute greatly to an individual’s and community’s healing process. The numbers of language learners is steadily increasing as new resources are developed. The First People’s Councils also calls on First Nations communities to welcome collaboration with each other  to maximize the use of available resources and the Canadian government to commit to protecting Aboriginal language and culture through legislation so language revitalization and sustainability become a reality for BC’s First Nations languages.

Fact Sheet
video: Saving First Nations Languages

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Module 2

Cherokee Nation Partners With Apple

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.

 

 

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Module 1

First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model

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.

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Module 1

The Story of the Masks

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.

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Module 1

Seven Sacred Directions: Ojibwe Curriculum

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.

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Module 1

Endangered Cultures

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.

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Module 1

Indigenous Knowledge and Pedagogy

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.

 

 

 

 

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Module 2 Module 3

Virtual Learning Environments and eLearning

This site provides a New Zealand published report on Virtual Learning Environments and e-Learning in the Context of Te Reo Māori and Kaupapa Māori Education.  Emerging themes include:

  • The Learning Environment
  • Relationships and Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Pedagogy
  • Quality Tools

Barriers and benefits to effective eLearning are also identified.

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Module 2 Module 3

Using Moodle to Support Post-Secondary Aboriginal Students

This paper discusses ways to use Moodle to support the learning strengths of Indigenous Australian university students.  It looks at the ways that ICTs can be aligned with Indigenous ways of learning and presented in ways that are culturally relevant.  The paper identifies ways in which Aboriginal learning styles differ from non-Indigenous learning styles, and provides strategies for using Moodle to support Aboriginal eLearning.

www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/auckland09/procs/duggan.pdf

 

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