Category — Module 1

In the following post, I would like to start by reviewing three chapters found in the SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction which look at issues of Indigenous education as they refer to past and present educational reforms.  These articles represent the studies of various researchers that deal with the issues of universalization or globalization of education and curriculum and its effect and alienation of indigenous youth leading to increased drop-out rates and disengagement.  All three chapters can be found in The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction at http://knowledge.sagepub.com/view/hdbk_curriculum/SAGE.xml.  Note, you need to be connected to the VPN in order for the links to work.

Following these three articles, I will look specifically at a successful model of Indigenous schools referred to in Farrell’s article and, finally, I have included a link to a 2009 declaration of rights by Canada’s First Nation people, referring specifically to the section on education.

Resource One:

In Deyhle, Swisher Stevens and Galvan’s article, on “Indigenous resistance and renewal: From colonizing practices to self-determination”, focusses on the effects of colonization of Indigenous peoples and the importance of self-determination in their struggle to decolonize.  The chapter quotes the words of Colonel Pratt on the education of Natives as “the end to be gained….is the Indian to lose his identity” (p.331).  The authors describe the struggle of Indigenous people to regain the right to self-determination of Indigenous education through their own schools in which their values, culture, tradition and languages are taught and respected within their communities.  This is in direct contradiction to the current public system that they believe has continued to colonize their youth through assimilation and marginalization.  The authors suggest that local language, in conjunction with local knowledge, would improve students understanding and connection with their culture and propel them beyond what could be accomplished through the introduction of fragmented cultural knowledge within a decontextualized environment. Although a challenging endeavor, the reclaiming of authentic Indigenous knowledge among the youth has led to improvements in pride, tribal relations and communication, and learning.

Reference:

Deyhle, D., Swisher, K., Stevens, T., & Galván, R. (2008). Indigenous resistance and renewal: From colonizing practices to self-determination. In F. Connelly, M. He, & J. Phillion (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction. (pp. 329-349). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412976572.n16

Resource Two:

Increasingly, the world has become a global village in which time and place have accelerated and blurred.  Power struggles over dominant perspective have led to a westernization of pedagogy and curricular content across the globe.  Other cultures become marginalized by the vast flow of western ideas; and, whether consciously or unconsciously, curriculum across the globe becomes universalized.  Anderson-Levitt, in her article, asks a question that places the responsibility back in the hands of educators, “How have we come to teach what we teach and to teach as we do?” (p.349). Ultimately, this article provides insight into the Indigenous struggle for self-determination, and in truth, a reality that all students are facing in this cultural crisis.  This is a global concern that, as Deyhle et al. describe in the previous resource, creates disengagement and disconnection between the curriculum and the students.

Reference:

Anderson-Levitt, K. (2008). Globalization and curriculum. In F. Connelly, M. He, & J. Phillion (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction. (pp. 349-369). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412976572.n17

Resource Three:

Farrell in “Community education in developing countries: The quiet revolution in schooling”, notes that,

similar to the findings of Deyhle et al., a focus on local knowledge results in greater curricular learning.  Upon the analysis of over 200 alternative programs in community education, standardized curriculum scored the lowest in terms of learning, whereas, localized curriculum improved learning, self-confidence and self-esteem.  Successful examples that were given were Escuela Nueva in Columbia and Guatemala, The Community Schools Program in Egypt, and the Non-Formal Primary Program in Bangladesh.  Farrell points to the aspects of these models that appear to increase success including a varied and student-centered approach focussing on context, local relevance, and community involvement that enables student’s to identify with the curriculum.   This speaks to the idea that colonization and globalization may be counterproductive to engagement and learning.  Essentially, Anderson-Levitt’s article describes the current model as an undemocratic processes in which individual and cultural meaning are displaced by more dominant and powerful perspectives.  These three articles lead me to believe that the democratic self-determination and involvement in youth education by tribal communities has a far greater potential to succeed than the present educational model.

Reference:

Farrell, J. (2008). Community education in developing countries: The quiet revolution in schooling. In F. Connelly, M. He, & J. Phillion (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction. (pp. 369-391). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412976572.n18

Resource Four:

Rachel Kline, in “A Model for Improving Rural Schools: Escuela Nueva in Columbia and Guatemala”, describes the Escuela Nueva (EN) school reform model for rural and Indigenous students.  In the article she provides the context, components and potential for expansion to other contexts of the EN model. In particular, the Guatemala Project was directed towards the Mayan-speaking Indigenous people with the plan to improve rural education.  In these one-teacher rural schools, teachers implemented a program consisting of “active pedagogy, flexible promotion, student government and community involvement” (p 176).  One of the reasons that the author believes that this model was successful, where other reform initiatives failed, is because of the involvement of teachers and administrators.  In this reform model, educators developed the curriculum, workbooks, and teacher guides from the grassroots level.  Of particular concern was the static or “fixed” nature of the previous model derived in the Escuela Nueva project that was thought to contribute to its diminishing success. This was considered in the Guatemala project by enabling the curriculum to be flexible, relevant and current.  To further increase the effectiveness and relevance of the curriculum, Guatemalan educators also created bilingual materials. These models, along with others, may serve to demonstrate to educators and policy makers how they can better educate those that are marginalized by our society.

Reference:

Kline, R. (2002).  A model for improving rural schools: Escuela Nueva in Colombia and Guatemala. Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE), 2(2), 170-181. Retrieved from             http://www.tc.columbia.edu/CICE

Resource Five:

In the Assembly of First Nations document, “First nation control of first nation education: It’s our vision, it’s our time”, the Assembly provides a blueprint for self-determination of the First Nation’s educational program across Canada.  In it, they request the right to control a diverse and holistic program of education in which their community members are taught local knowledge and curriculum that is based on their beliefs, values and traditions in their native language.

This desire to study their local knowledge, beliefs, values and traditions in their native language is significant.   As Deyhle et al. mentioned previously, it is through a people’s native language that their culture is given context, a “sort of filter” through which they can better connect to their world and understand their community (p. 338).

Reference:

Assembly of First Nations. (December, 2009). First Nation control of First Nation education: It’s our vision, it’s our time. Retrieved from http://64.26.129.156/calltoaction/Documents/FNCFNE.pdf

 In conclusion, these articles, models, and calls for self-determination by the Indigenous Nations indicates the need for Indigenous education to be specific to local communities and consist of the involvement of the community and their cultural artifacts to pick up where books and teacher’s knowledge leaves off.  In Farrell’s and Kline’s articles, they provide real situations that indicate how to counter globalized education and further colonization, and create improved learning for Indigenous students.

Cheers, Steve MacKenzie

The Innu Virtual Museum provides an excellent example of the use of technology to create a record of the elders’ (Tipatshimuna’s) stories.  The Innu people have created a digital website to share their traditional lives with other Innu and people across Canada.  The perspectives provided offer an understanding of what life was like for Innu youth and families.  Exhibit galleries, videos, audio clips, Innu youth stories and elder autobiographies help create this digital cultural story.

I believe this website would be an excellent resource for teaching about Canada’s Indigenous, particularly northern Quebec and Labrador.  As well, the collection is an excellent example of empowering Indigenous youth to learn about their culture through the use of technology.

Camille

I never realized the potential of Google Earth to preserve cultures.  Chief Almir Surui of the Brazilian Indigenous Surui recognized that Google Earth would enable his people to create and preserve a cultural map of their ancestral lands.  The article on Mashable provides an overview of the Surui project in text and video format.

Chief Almir Surui was concerned with two issues: loss of culture and unsustainable illegal logging of the Amazon. “These days you can’t separate talking about culture from talking about technology, there’s no separation between these things,” Chief Almir Surui told Mashable.  Chief Almir embraced technology and partnered with Google: training Elders and a group of young students on how to use laptops and cellphones to take pictures, videos, map locations and record stories.  The result is a technological record of Surui historical sites, land, animals and traditions.

I was struck by this story because I believe Chief Almir Surui recognized that his tribe was fighting a losing battle, and therefore needed to combine traditional methods with western technological approaches.  Combined, the elders and students have brought awareness to Amazon deforestation and the challenges affecting Indigenous people.

Camille

Resistance through Re-presenting Culture

“If not us, then who?”  The Traditional Pathways to Health Project encouraged students to use video to record their culture’s perspective on healthy living.  This paper reviews the journey students and teachers undertook to educate themselves and their community on health related issues, while preserving their culture via video.  Students were required to plan, research and develop their video to be shared with their community.

Students believed this activity provided them with an opportunity to resist the Eurocentric education system and connect with their traditional culture.  The project empowered students to learn about their community and to share their experiences in order to promote awareness and understanding.

Camille

The UNESCO Teacher Education Module provides an overview of key topics concerning Indigenous education.  Six modules are provided for teachers to examine:

1.The wisdom of the elders.

2. UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

3. Why is indigenous knowledge important?

4. Living by indigenous knowledge.

5. Indigenous and formal education.

6. Enhancing the curriculum through indigenous knowledge.

Of particular interest to me was the section on Indigenous and formal education.  This section highlighted the differences between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge.  I was reminded of Marker’s (2006) article, “After the Makah Whale Hunt: Indigenous Knowledge and Limits to Multicultural Discourse.”  The very first point made in the comparison is that Indigenous Education values the sacred and spiritual knowledge, whereas formal education often excludes the spiritual and is very secular.  This correlates with the obliviousness presented by the administrators, teachers and students to the Whale Hunt and the Makah student’s story.

This website is an excellent read for educators to gain an understanding of how to honour Indigenous traditional education, support Indigenous students in the classroom, and provide Indigenous perspective.

Camille

Crossing the Digital Divide: College of Menominee Nation uses technology to restore language

Like many Indigenous cultures, the Menominee Nation’s language is threatened. This article describes the action the Menominee Tribal College took to preserve their language and culture, while preparing their students for the future.  Three aspects are discussed: online education, teacher-student interactions, and a Community Technology Center.

In order to reach Menominee students across the country the college began using on-line classes.  Instructors have further embraced technology: downloading over 100 hours of audio recordings on to iPods and creating new digital movies involving students and elders.  Social media may also be a valuable tool by connecting youth with elders who support them in their language development.   The tribal nation recognized that not all people have access to technology, thus they built the Community Technology Center, which offers computers and internet access for the public.

The Menominee example highlights the capabilities of technology to preserve Indigenous culture and encourage youth to make connections to tradition and elders.

Camille

Hello,

The following web page:

http://www.olsn.ca/fnplw/index.aspx

…represents the Northern portion of Southern Ontario (hopefully this makes sense to you).

The webpage is meant to describe and draw attention to the yearly celebration of First Nations Public Libraries, given the acronym FNPLW. I’m not sure of the exact scope of the event but it seems to be celebrated within Ontario for sure, and it looks like its been going on for the past three years during the first week in February.

I think this sort of event is a great opportunity to showcase opportunities provided by a public Library where access is not an issue. This kind of event will also hopefully break down any imaginary walls for First Nations people regarding accessing literature in a plce that encourages use of materials.

I currently work in a secondary school library for one block, and since beginning this new area of teaching there seems to be an overwhelming amount of information distributed regaridng the incorportation of technology into teaching and learning. During my research of First Nations libraries so far there hasn’t been too much discussion of any incorportation of technology or possible uses that work best with oral traditions. Still searching though…

Thanks.

-Regen

#2 Saskatchwan Ecological Network

This website has general information for Ecological Issues in Saskatchewan, but has a great section on Eco-Education and Indigenous Education. In particular, one of their focusses is using technology in a way that supports Indigenous values.

Of particular interest was an interview with the Director of Cultural Resource Development and Publications for the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Center which provides an overview of how educators (particularly non-Indigenous educators) can teach in a respectful manner about sustainability including an Indigenous perspective. There are some great resources, written by Indigenous Educators, interviews with other important community members and links to other schools and organizations that might be useful for individuals (Indigenous or not) who have an interest inrespectfulIndigenous Education.

http://econet.ca/eco-ed/indigenous_resources.html

#3 Rekindling Traditions

From the Saskatchewan Eco-Network I found myself on a particularly interesting website which included units that combined TEK and Indigenous values with “Western Science”. Their goal is to provide resources so that “students are not expected to set aside their culture’s view of the material world when they study science at school”. The project is funded through 3 school divisions, the University of Saskatchewan, the Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation and the Cameco Access Program for Engineering and Science and is called the Cross-Cultural Science and Technology Units Project.

One of the things I particularly liked about this website was that the way a user moves through it. For example, in the units menu you pick an animal to enter a section. The animals are in a circle. Whoever designed the website made a concious effort for it to be aesthetically more holistic (less linear) and perhaps more meaningful to Indigenous users. Even entering the website requires that you click on the raven, instead of an “enter” sign.

The resources specific to certain grades/topics and are very well laid out, providing additional resources for teachers and students in a print or web-based format. Contributors include teachers, elders and community members. A collaborative process like this, where the correct sources and individuals participate in a meaningful way, is a good example (or starting point) for how technology education can include Indigenous values in a respectful and meaningful way.

http://www.usask.ca/education/ccstu/

Hello again,

Found this pdf document to help individuals build advocacy for ‘Tribal’ libraries.

The document is at the following address:

http://www.ala.org/offices/sites/ala.org.offices/files/content/olos/toolkits/tribal_toolkit.pdf

The document gives individuals key points & people to write to and present with in order to gain popularity for First Nations Libraries. 

This is the first American article I have read and it seems some of the terms were different when compared to general Canadian perspectives.

As for future websites and research, it seems that there is much more information and resources for the province of Ontario which makes me wonder why? I will further look into Reserve populations for each province and see if there are large differences from province to province. I will also look into if Ontario is just being more inclusive than other provinces.

Thanks.

-Regen

Hello,

Again, after conducting some online searches, I found a link to the home page for the Mississauga First Nation Public Library. The site can be accessed at the following address:

http://www.onlink.net/~mfnlib/library.htm

The site itself is nothing fancy but the successful implementation of the library itself is incredible. From the website, the library opened in 1986, and currently serves an on-reserve population of 465 people. Among lending all sorts of materials, the library also produces a Firts Naitions Newsletter that helps to inform the on and off Reserve populations.

This library represents the need and popularity of  library services in light of current access issues for First Nations populations within Canada. Establishing such libraries can only help to strengthen the community ties and involvement to each other and a common place of recreation.

Thanks.

-Regen