The Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT) website has creativity, sharing, collaborating and honouring of Native culture listed as its core values. The aim of the website is to share the Native Stories with the world through the development/creation and distribution of native media. The very setup of the web site exemplifies its mission by utilizing the various forms of media available. The site provides viewers with the option to: (i) watch news stories and discussion guides or (ii) listen to live streams of programs, native radio or podcasts, to name a few. An interactive timeline on the Native American Battles and Massacres adds to the intrigue of the site. In addition it offers a wealth of information on educational resources available with special links to new releases. Search options for subject or grade specific text contributes to the overall ease of use. This is a very dynamic and media rich website which will bring a colourful insight into the lives of FN people.

http://www.nativetelecom.org/

This webpage forms part of the larger website developed by the Congress of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE). CONAIE, established in 1986, is the representative body that was organized to ensure that Indigenous people had a political voice that would articulate their needs and rights as a people in society. The site/web page publishes the Political Declaration of the indigenous people that came out of their fourth congress sitting held in 1993. Included in the list of declaration are their rights of self-determination, sovereignty, and independence. The details and tone of the site signals adamancy, resistance and pride. It echoes in a very clear and concise manner the sentiments and desires of the indigenous people.

http://conaie.nativeweb.org/conaie4.html

The People’s Movement for Human Rights Education  formerly the People’s decade for Human Rights Education (PDHRE) website is dedicated to human rights learning for social and economic transformation.  The organization is an independent, international and non-profit body.  It was established in 1988 to fulfill the need for greater understanding of human rights issues as it related to FN people. The home page is packed with information on human rights issues as well as details about indigenous people;  their livelihood, sexual orientation, work, and minorities to name a few. Users are able to access pictures, video clips and links to numerous resources, articles, reports, dialogue/dissertations and publications. They are also prompted from the onset, to join the different interest groups shown on the site, that seek to address the human rights issue of the FN people.

The outlining of specific subject areas makes navigation much easier. Details on human rights issues are not mentioned only in generalized terms but explained in relation to how it applies to indigenous people,. Overall it is a very comprehensive and well developed website.

http://www.pdhre.org/index.html

While I was studying the Indigenous peoples’ learning approaches for my research paper, I found the following important document. This is a report that introduces the Holistic Lifelong Learning Measurement Framework used to measure the state of Aboriginal learning in Canada. The three main elements of this framework are: sources and domains of knowledge; the lifelong learning journey; and community well-being.

According to the report, sources and domains of knowledge serve as important contributions to Aboriginal learning as a holistic, lifelong process. This element of the framework includes the various learning indicators related to language, culture, the natural world and the world of people (family, Elders, community). Second part of the report (the journey of lifelong learning) measures learning across the lifespan and in different environments such as school, home, community, work and the land. This element of the framework includes the various indicators related to learning for infants and children, youth, young adults, adults and elders. In Final part of this document, community well-being indicators are presented that highlight how economic, health and social challenges can impact Aboriginal people’s learning opportunities.

http://www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/StateAboriginalLearning/SAL-FINALReport_EN.PDF

Linguist Ron Scollen and his wife Suzanne Scollen propose their idea for an “ideal” academy that takes an holistic, place-based approach to education.  At the Academy, three questions get asked of students and faculty:  how well do you know your place; how well do you know your community; and how well do you communicate.  Based firmly on a sense of place, the physical location that is meaningful to the Academy’s teachers and students, the curriculum covers a multitude of disciplines, geology, archeology, history, art, journalism, writing, etc under three heads:  communications, cultural studies, and bioregional studies.

The idea behind the curriculum is to produce graduates who are productive members of society and who ultimately will have a choice of careers to pursue.  So, rather than approaching the curriculum with a view of pushing students towards certain careers, such as researcher or scientist, a practice most evident in Western educational/intellectual traditions, the curriculum seeks to enable all students to become good researchers and good scientists, and just generally sensitive thinkers.   Graduates, regardless of the line of work or career path they ultimately choose, should be cognizant of the impact that their work has on their bioregion.  They need to be aware of the impact that various human activities has on their lives.

The Academy’s title “The Axe Handle” derives from an ancient Chinese proverb that they way to make an axe handle is to have an axe handy so that you can copy it.  The proverb informs the educational philosophy of the Academy where teachers are constantly learning new stuff, and they learn alongside their students.  The teachers model the cognitive skills that they expect their students to acquire, while encouraging students to share information and help each other learn materials.  This is a bit like the concept of constructivism where the educator does not dictate static knowledge to students, but engages them in the learning process by assigning them projects and problems to solve.

Resources:

http://ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/AxeHandle/index.html

Living, learning, and loving on this land claimed by the Ktunaxa, the Sinixt, and the Okanagan, who are we? Of what decent are the families and the students of aboriginal ancestry?

According to Statistics Canada Metis comprise the majority of our FN people. Who are the others? Does the School District have this information?

Statistics Canada provides information for Trail only. The other cities and villages that comprise the school district can not be found. There is no mention of West Kootenay yet East Kootenay and the Boundary Region have statistics. Does this somehow relate to the territorial struggles in this region?

Next step is to see what the school district does or does not know.

Statistics Canada. 2007. Trail, British Columbia (Code5905014) (table). Aboriginal Population Profile. 2006 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 92-594-XWE. Ottawa. Released January 15, 2008.
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-594/index.cfm?Lang=E
(accessed November 12, 2011).

One area of interest that I had thought to investigate was “Patterns of Online Participation” between aboriginal and non aboriginal students. I decided to post the resources gathered just in case someone else had been leaning in this direction. The idea that online participation in courses such as ETEC 521 would differ between FN and others caused me to reflect upon assessment criteria both in MET and in Classrooms.

“Most apparent is the finding that the average number of postings made by aboriginal Canadians in this group was disproportionately lower than that of either the Canadian-born Canadian group, or the adult immigrants to Canada.”

•  Reeder, K., Macfadyen, L. P., Chase, M. and Roche, J. (2004). Negotiating Culture in Cyberspace:                  Participation Patterns and Problematics. Language Learning and Technology, 8(2), 88-105. [9]

• Backroad Connections Pty Ltd (2002). Cross-cultural Issues in Content Development and Teaching Online. (Version 2.00), Australian Flexible Learning Framework Quick Guides series, Australian National Training Authority. [1]

• Bates, T. (2001). International Distance Education: Cultural and Ethical Issues [online]. Distance Education: An International Journal, 22(1), 122-136.[2]

• Chase, M., Macfadyen, L.P., Reeder, K. and Roche, J. (2002). Intercultural Challenges in Networked Learning: Hard Technologies Meet Soft Skills[3]. First Monday, 7(8) (August 2002).

• Lanham, E. & Zhou, W. (2003). Cultural Issues in Online Learning –Is Blended Learning a Possible Solution? International Journal of Computer Processing of Oriental Languages. 16 (4), 275-292. [5]

• Marinetti, A & Dunn, P (2004). Cultural Adaptation – A Necessity for Global e-Learning. [6]

• McLoughlin, C. (1999). Culturally responsive technology use: developing an on-line community of learners. British Journal of Educational Technology. 30(3), 231-244. [7]

• McLoughlin, C. & Oliver, R. (1999). Instructional Design for Cultural Difference: A Case Study of the Indigenous Online Learning in a Tertiary Context. [8]

• Macfadyen, L. P. (2006). Internet-Mediated Communication at the Cultural Interface. In C. Ghaoui (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 373-380). Hershey, PA: The Idea Group, Inc. [link to Macfadyen2006]|}

• Reeder, K., Macfadyen, L. P., Chase, M. and Roche, J. (2004). Negotiating Culture in Cyberspace: Participation Patterns and Problematics. Language Learning and Technology, 8(2), 88-105. [9]

1. Can an individual truly engage with another culture and learn about it without a deep self-examination of their own cultural values? Explain.
2. What is the difference between cross cultural education and multicultural education?
   Two of the questions for reflection from Module 4 have provided me with direction for my paper.
   I am living, sharing, and contributing to a district in which there is no recognized territory.
   Who are our FN students? How do we provide of their cultural needs when the cultural identities are so diverse? Cross cultural education? What might that look like and would it support well being and success? How can/should technology play a part?

   Canadian Council on Learning, Redefining how Success is Measured in First Nations, Inuit and Métis Learning (Ottawa: 2007).

   Statistics and Maps Aboriginal Portal

   The State of Aboriginal Learning in Canada: A Holistic Approach to Measuring Success 2006

    

 1) First Nations House, St. George Campus, University of Toronto where Aboriginal students can seek culturally appropriate services.  It is home of the Aboriginal U of T students, but also provides a link to Toronto’s aboriginal community, allowing others in the university to learn and network.

2) First Nations House Magazine, provides a “glimpse of the richness that the Aboriginal community has to offer at university and society at large”.   It appears 5 issues were created and magazine covers are provided, as well as, the test of a  few feature articles, “Identifying in Film: Exploring Indigenous filmmakers about exploring identity through their work”, “Take a Number Please: A First Year Student dishes on being identified by her Indian status”, “My Degree and Me: a personal narrative of a graduating student”.

3) Aboriginal Education at Universities and Colleges Portal   Our discussions led me to want to know more about programs of study geared to FN students in  Ontario universities and colleges.    I explored the various programs offered for teacher education, undergraduate, graduate work.   Further exploration in to the various  sites and programs provided greater insight regarding research.

4)  Educate Youth in Communities: Thunder Bay mayor, Keith Hobbs. Northern Ontario’s First Nations Voice.   An article examining the  practice of sending Aboriginal teens from across northwestern Ontario to Thunder Bay for high school as they are put in a vulnerable position.   Schooling in northern communities to grade 12. Online education was not mentioned.

5) Fighting Racism with Facts on Crime  An article from  Aboriginal leaders in Thunder Bay are criticizing the media’s role in creating a “climate of fear” underlined with racism in the city, following the high profile given to the latest death of a young Native man and recent media reports of Thunder Bay being the “murder capital” of Canada.  This comment at the end of the article was very interesting ….”  much of the growth of the Aboriginal population in Thunder Bay is due to Native people coming into the city for education opportunities, either in high school or post-secondary education.  What’s the best way to get people away from crime? Give them an education.”

** Nov. 28 – I returned to link #5 to find that the article is no longer available.  Here is a link to all education stories from Wawatay News Online.

This website is a veritable cornucopia of articles written by Steven Semken, an authority on place-based learning and Indigenous education.  Most of the articles, particularly the ones written and published within the past ten years have links to pdf files that readers can download. Among the paper titles includes “Place-Based Teaching and Learning” which was recently accepted for publication in the Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning of Learning.  Unfortunately, that article is not accessible in pdf form, and readers will have to wait until the encyclopedia is published.  Other titles include

“A sense of the American Southwest: Place-based Earth system science for diverse students”

“Factors that influence sense of place as a learning outcome of place-based geoscience teaching”

“Design elements and learning outcomes of two place-based teacher professional programs situated in the Southwest United
States: Concordance with Universal Design for Learning.”

“Putting Earth science back in its place”

“Sense of place in the practice and assessment of place-based science teaching”

Steven Semken is associate professor in the Earth and Space Exploration department at Arizona State University.

http://semken.asu.edu/bibliography/