Module 1: Connection to Indigenous Knowledge

#1:  What is “indigenous knowledge”?  How is it different?  In this article, Marie Battiste endeavours to define and characterize indigenous knowledge, and describes it as filling the gaps and balancing Eurocentric education.

Indigenous Knowledge and Pedagogy

#2:  After reading Bowers (2000) and Howe (1998), I became interested in what can be done to educate the indigenous learner without manipulating his/her culture.   This article by Aikenhead compares and contrasts the Aboriginal way of knowing science to the Eurocentric approach.   He ends the paper optimistically, citing that one day all people will combine their knowledge for a betterment of the “whole”.

http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/firstnat.pdf

#3:  Continuing along the same theme, I decided to look more locally.   Based on this literature review, the education system in SK seems to acknowledge the necessity of traditional knowledge but has challenges in its implementation.

http://www.education.gov.sk.ca/ablkc-k-12-literature-review

#4:  After contemplating the whale hunt of the Makah in Marker (2006), I was struck by the concept of how, without emotion or spirituality, we can nurture the aboriginal learner through the process of healing.  This report from the Canadian Council on Learning speaks to that:

http://www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/ablkc/ResponsiveEduSys_en.pdf

#5:  In an attempt to contextualize the situation in SK, I was curious as to what advances or successes have been made in the inclusion of indigenous knowledge.  Of special note is the conceptual framework depicted on page 13.  It is a visual representation of the medicine wheel superimposed on a white birch tree.   I connect this illustration with the message from Dr. Lee Brown regarding emotional health.

http://www.education.gov.sk.ca/inspiring-success