Horizons: Policy Research Initiative (March, 2008) titled Hope or Heartbreak: Aboriginal Youth and Canada’s Future

This document contains multiple articles pertaining to issues facing Aboriginal youth.  I was particularly interested in Castellano’s article titled, “Reflections on Identity and Empowerment.”   Castellano discusses the foundation (and policy) necessary for Aborginal youth to be empowered, connect to their community, and find academic and personal success in Canadian society.  The article highlights Aboriginal youth historical and current resiliency, and provides information on how to support youth and acknowledge their experiences.   Aboriginal youth have a promising future, however the author indicates government and educational policy will need to be created and implemented to support youth.

Castellano, M.  (2008).  Reflections on identity and empowerment: Recurring themes in the discourse on and with aboriginal youth.  Horizons: Policy Research Initiative, 10(1), p.   7-12.  Retrieved from www.horizons.gc.ca/doclib/Horizons_Vol10Num1_final_e.pdf

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This article is part of an Ontario government education series focused on putting Research into Practice.  Toulouse’s article provides an overview of core aboriginal teachings and values.   I found this article applicable because it is attempting to bridge the divide between non-indigenous teachers and Indigenous students.  Dr. Toulouse is an Anishinabek woman from the community of Sagamok First Nation and in the article she shares the “living teachings” of the Ojibwe people. The article describes the teachings of respect, love, bravery, wisdom, humility, honesty, truth and what they imply for education, how educators can incorporate them in their classes, and how schools can honour them.  Toulouse also identifies the following Aboriginal learning styles:

1. Collaboration
2. Reflection
3. Visualization
4.  Holistic

Toulouse reminds us that Aboriginal student success is contingent on self-esteem, and teachers respecting Aboriginal culture, language, and worldview.  This article is a quick read, has multiple visuals, and quick tidbits of information to give interested teachers an introduction into understanding, respecting, and teaching Indigenous students.

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Toulouse, P.  (2008).  Integrating aboriginal teaching and values into the classroom. What                 works? Research into practice.  Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Toulouse.pdf

The teaching treaties project reminded me of the work Heather McGregor shared with us about the Residential Schools unit.  The development and implementation process has been slightly different, however both projects are trying to create a new narrative and contribute to the decolonization of education.

“(Un)usual narratives, like teaching treaties represent ways to begin developing new sets of relations, new sets of understandings and the possibilities for change (Tupper & Cappello, 2008).

The research article is a fascinating read and shares Treaty learning experiences of indigenous and non-indigenous students and teachers.

A Teaching Treaties Wiki was also developed to support the Tool Kit.   Teachers who attend the Treaty workshop develop lessons and then upload them to the wiki (also reminding me of a potential of the wiki for teachers in the North).  While looking through the lessons, I found some excellent ideas, however I was also reminded of the necessity to be critical of content, language, use of cultural components, and curricular add-on activities to ensure I was respecting Indigenous teaching and learning practices.

Tupper, J.A. & Cappello, M.  (2008).  Teaching treaties as (un)usual narratives: Disrupting the        curricular commonsense.  Curriculum Inquiry, 38(5), p. 559-578.  doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2008.00436.x

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The Urban Native Youth Association is a non-profit organization based in Vancouver.  The organization provides support for Indigenous youth who are living off-reserve in Vancouver.  “UNYA’S mandate is to provide meaningful opportunities for Native youth (Aboriginal, Metis, Inuit, First Nations, Status, Non-Status) in the urban setting. Our goal is to be a safe place for Native youth to come and find out about programs and services at UNYA and in the broader community.”  The website is an example of how groups and Indigenous communities are using technology to reach community members.

The website has multiple resources including information on parenting, health, eating on a budget, empowering youth, sexual exploitation, sports and rec, GLBTQT/ Two-Spirited Youth issues, and post-secondary education. As well, there are links to multiple news articles focusing on indigenous education issues such as: curriculum, Aboriginal Focus School, and graduation.

I felt this site was a worthwhile read because it targets urban Aboriginal youth (which my paper is focused on), is a technological forum for support, and presents pertinent issues for its audience.

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I was fascinated to find this article by one of Canada’s leading environmental activists and scientists acknowledging Traditional Aboriginal Knowledge.  David Suzuki describes how traditional Aboriginal knowledge can assist scientists in protecting the boreal forest.  “Traditional knowledge held by Canada’s First Nations is not just a relic of the past. It offers scientists, policy-makers, resource companies, environmentalists, and anyone else who cares about the boreal a vitally important information source to better manage the region’s land and resources” (Suzuki, 2010).  This article could be used in an ecological systems, environment, or climate change science unit.

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I first heard of Shannen’s Dream last year and was blown away by the social action endeavors of this young woman to bring “safe and comfy schools” to all First Nation communities.  I was reminded of Shannen this module for two reasons. First, like the youth in March Point she was empowered to take action and advocate for change in her community.  She is an inspiration for young people across Canada and particularly Indigenous youth.  Shannen used video and social media to connect with children and media outlets across the country to raise awareness of the educational injustices Attawapiskat students were facing.  Secondly, she empowered her community and the country to change the funding model of Aboriginal education in Canada, thus taking a step towards decolonization.  After her untimely death, her classmates, family and community continued to advocate for improved funding, resulting in a funding change this year.

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I was surprised to find a strong Aboriginal education Centre within the Toronto DSB because the GTA has become so urbanized.  Upon reflection I realized how essential it would be to provide support for the sometimes hidden urban Aboriginal youth in Canada’s largest city.  The TDSB website provides various resources and articles, including a reference to Attawapiskat in a discussion of decolonization in education: Moving Beyond the Colonial Legacy.  An excellent resource for teachers is also provided titled Since Time Immemorial.  This curriculum resource offers best practices in including Aboriginal Peoples in the curriculum through instructional strategies, activities, and curriculum connections.  A link to Ontario Government’s Aboriginal Teacher’s Tool Kit provides teachers with further strategies and ways to integrate Aboriginal experiences, learning and culture into their teaching.

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The Project of Heart is an artistic social action project intending to influence decolonization in Canada by raising awareness of residential schools and human rights.  Canadian students and citizens are asked to take ownership over the residential schools atrocities and the continued discrimination Indigenous people experience in Canada.  Similar to Paulette Regan, the project describes how it is essential for Canadians to feel uncomfortable visiting and participating in the project, in order to become an ally.

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The FNESC website provide an overview of First Nations education in BC.  The organization highlights the importance of a separate First Nations Education System providing a holistic education to students.  The schools are an example of self-determination and recognition of First Nation Peoples as a distinct society.  This video describes the structure of the school system and the education system values.  The BC First Nations Education System is a step towards decolonizing Indigenous education in Canada.  Funding has been a serious issue for First Nation schools, however at the beginning of 2012 the federal government passed a new funding system, which will decrease the gap between First Nation Schools and public schools.

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I felt like I hit the jackpot when I found the “Decolonizing Pedagogies Booklet.”   This booklet answered many of my questions regarding how teachers could decolonize instruction. Heather E. McGregor, UBC PhD candidate, prepared this booklet in 2012, referencing key Indigenous Studies Scholars: Linda Smith, Marie Battiste, Michael Marker, Susan Dion and Paulette Regan.    McGregor suggests Aboriginal ways of learning, various decolonizing pedagogies, samples of decolonizing pedagogy and challenges to decolonizing education. Key decolonizing pedagogies include:

• Helping learners come to recognize and know the structures of colonization and their implications.
• Engaging in activities that disrupt those structures on an individual and collective level.
• Recentring of Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.
• Facilitating engagement with possibilities for making change in the world.
• Supporting Indigenous self-determination (McGregor, 2012, p. 4)

McGregor, H. (2012). Decolonizing pedagogies booklet. Service Project for Aboriginal Focus School: Vancouver School Board.  Retrieved from http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CEwQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.ubc.ca%2Fedst591%2Ffiles%2F2012%2F03%2FDecolonizing_Pedagogies_Booklet.pdf&ei=j92SUI-2CqfDiwKm24GIDQ&usg=AFQjCNEQgK6SfXKcz7Thr9CSLhDaliR6cA

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