Category — Overview

As I reflect on my web log entries, I see how much I wanted to try to find the key to connect Outdoor Education and Native Education of our youth. I had a personal experience when I was 16 year old in Outward Bound that shaped me for my whole life. I personally learned the impact of spending time in the wilderness. In my 20’s, I discovered a program called Rediscovery that combined the benefits of Outward Bound and Native Culture. I wanted to see how to utilize some of these ideals and implement them into the classroom; and help teachers see the value of this approach. I discovered the connection between place based learning and Traditional Aboriginal knowledge that was the thread that ran through much of my research. In order to narrow my topic and make it feasible for my own practice, I chose to take the approach of place based learning into the classroom. Though the impact of learning in the out-of-doors would not be as great on single day journeys (field trips) as it would be on multi day immersion in the outdoors, I found that starting with this approach was a positive step.

When I started out this research project, I searched long and hard for academic articles relating traditional ecological knowledge to the science curriculum. What I ended up finding was actually more hands-on materials to use in the classroom instead of only theoretical articles. I found full units online that can be used to integrate TEK into the science curriculum and that there are other nations who have been working on adding an indigenous perspective to the science curriculum already which could serve as good models to follow. Also, there are many articles out there about teaching strategies for teaching science to Indigenous students and being culturally sensitive to the fact that the Western scientific perspective is only one way of looking at science. My research focus shifted from finding a theoretical knowledge base of ideas to work with in implementing TEK into the curriculum to finding more of a “teaching tool kit” of materials, activities, units and strategies that can be used in the classroom.

This weblog is the most aligned with my topic, and I was particluarly excited to begin reading through information on it. I wanted to start by looking at sacred sites within First Nation’s territory, as I thought this would be applicable.

Site 1: First Nations Sacred Sites in Canada’s Courts: Book Review

In this review a distinction is made between two different kinds of protection one “strategy relies on obtaining current recognition and protection for what an indigenous people once unequivocally held and the latter strategy relies on the idea of protecting what an indigenous people once unequivocally were”. This is an interesting point to add to my reflection on the direction of my paper. Is the viewpoint of whether land is a “holding” needing to be protected, or is integral to the identity of a culture important, if the outcome is the same (land getting protected)? There is a distinction between two different types of strategies based on historical legal proceedings, the first being related to the “Meare’s Island Case,” and the second to the “Taku River and Haida Case”.

http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/ross0106.htm

From here I was, naturally, interested in finding out more about the cases. I found a website that clarified the decisions in the Taku River and Haida cases.

Site 2: The Haida Nation and Taku River Tlingit Decisions: Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities for Aboriginal Consultation and Accommodation

This case sets a precedent for consultation of Aboriginal groups. Basically, legally recognized claims are not required to “trigger” the consultation process. Impact upon asserted rights of groups is enough of a reason to enforce consultation. This decision is important as it values the rights of First Nations outside of the span of “legally recognized rights”.

http://www.lawsonlundell.com/media/news/236_Negotiatorarticle.pdf

This site got me thinking about whether there are similar stories of successful environmental management decisions or activism, so I began researching this.

Site 3: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada: Environment and Natural Resources: Success Stories

This website offers links to specific projects that have been completed both through government agency help and media attention. One thing that I keep thinking as I look through the site though, is that all of these experiences are mediated through the government agencies of the “colonizers”. This may be the quickest and most effective way to create change in a community, but is it the best way? Are FN rights and values respected in this process or must they conform to particular enforced criteria that may undermine their own values?

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307103658811/1307103823931

Site 4: IEN: Canadian Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign

I had looked at this site before, but in a different format and scope. Now I found something incredibly applicable to where my assignment is going. This particular portion of the Indigenous Environmental Network is focussed on the tar sands in Northern Canada and their impact on Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups and the environment. There is a variety of information in various media formats, presented by elders, youth and all other community members. Various bands are connected together on this issue and multiple viewpoints are represented through this website. Additonally, the focus on the tar sands as an issue is addressed, as 10 0r so years ago very few people knew of the environmental toll being taken in these areas. Media has brought light to these concerns.

http://www.ienearth.org/tarsands.html

Site 5: Native Web Resources: Environment

This site is a collaborative effort whose goal is to “provide a cyberspace for Earth’s indigenous peoples”. They aim to do this through sharing informational resources between regional, national and international individuals and groups and by “foster[ing] communication.” Different groups may upload their websites on a specific issue and may then coordinate their efforts or find support. The site is run by both “Native and non-Native” individuals, and hosts content from all over the world (although the majority of information and sites are from the US or Canada). Some great links are provided for environmental initiatives, concerns and success stories. Additionally under different headings (there are 35 different categories), there are resources specific to each topic, including many resources for Indigenous chat rooms or networking sites.

http://www.nativeweb.org/resources/environment/

Conclusion:

So ends my cyber-travel for the purposes of this assignment. I have acquired resources on a breadth of topics and have honed my research down to what is most critical for me to address in depth in my final project.

These weblogs provide information on the collective research conducted by the students in the MET’s ETEC 521 Indigeneity, Technology, and Education. These annotated weblogs describe resources available, links to other sites, and usefulness for research on Indigenous knowledge, media, and community reality.

Only students in the MET course ETEC521 can author postings on this weblog. Please refer to the instructions in the ETEC521 course site for instructions on how to add yourself to this weblog.

You can also look at the archives to find the research journals of students from previous years, going back to 2005. Not all of the postings are still available in these archives, but there is a wealth of information pertaining to potential research resources to be found in the archives.

For each posting you make to the Research Weblog, please assign an appropriate category (e.g., Connection to Research Topic, Module 1, Module 2, Module 3, or Module 4). You are expected to make 5 entries per Module in addition to a description of how your weblog postings will connect to your research topic. By adding the categories, it will be easy for you (and for others in the class), to quickly see any postings relating to the Modules. Also, if you add tags (keywords) to your postings, we will also be able to generate a “tag-cloud” of thematic terms that provide an additional way for people to find resources that might be of interest to them. This tag-cloud will grow as the number of postings made to the weblog grows and will, in time, become an interesting way to explore the material we are creating together.

Please feel free to comment on one another’s postings!