Storytelling is important in Metis culture as a means to pass information from the Elders to the youth of society.  This Virtual Museum provides archived collections of Metis history, interviews, conferences, transcripts, learning resources, artistic expressions, and multimedia files honouring Metis music, dance, and storytelling.

This Aboriginal Storytelling site provides detail about the importance of storytelling – as something more than entertainment.  Storytelling is a means to communicate culture, ceremonies, and spirituality.  Storytelling acts as a bridge to teach an audience a way of life – the history and culture of indigenous peoples.  Specifically, this site focuses on the Aboriginal people of Saskatchewan and provides useful information and links to other relevant sites.

When I first began contemplating a final topic, I was torn between pursuing my interests in the environmental and indigenous issues surfacing in Alberta and the way in which we are finding balance between the Language Arts curriculum and meeting the cultural needs of indigenous peoples.  I have been equally balancing my pursuit of resources up to this point.  I am officially making the choice today to take a look at the relationship and interaction between indigenous storytelling and the Language Arts curriculum.  Oral storytelling plays a fundamental role in culture, and I want to look into how we can address that within the confines of the Language Arts curriculum and how technology can help us tell stories.

Here is a Learn Alberta resource, Walking Together – First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Perspectives in Curriculum.

http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/index.html#/oral_tradition

Of particular importance to my topic is the information presented on oral traditions – the background information behind oral storytelling, and a few case studies as to how teachers can incorporate technology in the classroom to facilitate storytelling tradition.

Aboriginal Education: A Research Brief for Practitioners is a short booklet created by the University of Alberta to help guide educators in designing lessons and programs for Indigenous students.  Although it is a little simplistic, there are a number of good suggestions and there is a valuable list of resources at the end of the booklet.  Although it is not as informative as some of the other sites, articles or papers that I have found, I include this booklet because of its very practical nature.    It provides specific approaches that may be of use in helping Indigenous students to be comfortable and engage in classroom activities.

Indigenous Knowledge and Pedagogy in First Nations Education: A Literature Review with Recommendations is a paper written by Dr. Marie Battiste for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).  I started reading the article with a little bit of skepticism given its intended audience.  However, early on Dr. Battiste comments that:

“In the context of Indigenous knowledge, therefore, a literature review is an oxymoron because Indigenous knowledge is typically embedded in the cumulative experiences and teachings of Indigenous peoples rather than in a library.  The second point is that conducting a literature review on Indigenous knowledge implies that Eurocentric research can reveal an understanding of Indigenous knowledge.”  (Battiste, 2002; p. 1)

I have not read the entire paper yet, but the sections that I have read are interesting and explain the differences between Indigenous knowledge and western knowledge clearly and comprehensively.

Culturally Relational Education in and With an Indigenous Community is an article that appears in ‘in education‘ and open source, peer reviewed journal created by the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina.  The article details research into improving mathematics learning in Indigenous communities.  The authors used a “culturally relational” approach which involved listening to and interacting with the members of the community.  The article details different approaches to improving mathematics learning and related research approaches.

Remembering that this web journey was intended to investigate Aboriginal involvement with medical education, and remembering that my roots lie in the veterinary field, a last effort will be made to find reference to Aboriginal participation in veterinary medicine, so far, pretty rare.  Solitary veterinary references make a thin gruel compared to the chunky stew of public health and medical career support. 

1) http://vet.ucalgary.ca/node/884

The University of Calgary Veterinary College participated in a recent workshop outlining principles for conducting research in First Nations communities.  In terms reminiscent of Linda Smith (1999), the workshop reviewed principles based on ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) for research involving First Nations. Interestingly, these OCAP principles had already been discussed with and adopted by Aboriginal leaders in Canada in 1997.  Every funding application for research in First Nations communities needed approval according to the following stipulations: that Aboriginal communities “control what research data is collected in their communities, how the data is collected, how the information is used, and who has access to it.” Unfortunately, the graduate veterinary students already conducting caribou disease research confessed that they had not applied OCAP principles in their projects and were, in fact, unsure how to proceed given their circumstances with hunters in far flung Inuit communities. However, the workshop introduced the veterinary graduate students to the pre-existing protocols at least and hopefully their results will reflect the changes.

2) http://caid.ca/DogCon010708.pdf2)

R.G. Herbert, D.V.M. (2005) respectfully submitted a First Nation veterinary infrastructure program for the Anishinaabe Nation November 23, 2005 as part of an ongoing effort to control dog populations on reserves. He suggested permanent solutions will only come from within reserve community settings with guidance from First Nations Elders.  He stated that non-native dog management infrastructure can only go so far without addressing traditional law, issues, and choices.  Herbert provided historical context for the cultural difference in dealing with this issue. Elder teachings that “successfully guide communities with wildlife issues”, he wrote, are generally ineffective with “European-descended dogs literally man-made for very specific European roles” which is why, for many First Nations, dog overpopulation remains a “man-made (settler) problem.”

Veterinary services are considered a fundamental community infrastructure in the developed world but not to Northern Ontario’s First Nations communities, according to Herbert. He created his program for the Christian Aboriginal Infrastructure Developments (CAID), a not-for-profit Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in Whitehorse, Yukon (http://caid.ca/). The CAID wants to reconcile Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal rights and rebuild what was destroyed through a process of meaningful consultation. Healthier communities are one of their goals.

3) http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/pet-posse-huge-success-1.832648

     One First Nation community accessing help with pet overpopulation is highlighted in this CTV news report.  When invited, the Alberta Task Force will work in remote First Nation communities.  The village of Sitsitka had more than 400 animals attended by both veterinarians and veterinary technicians over one weekend.  Admittedly, this CTV report is a light story but it does highlight the logistics necessary to organize such an event. The work is fast paced under less than ideal conditions, both mentally and physically challenging but also important to tackle because larger, free roaming dogs living in First Nations communities can pose a risk to community members or livestock.

     Veterinary technicians are also known as Animal Health Technologists (AHTs), the equivalent of nurses. Details for AHTs wishing to volunteer for such weekends can be found at the Alberta Task force web page – http://alt.abtaskforce.org/ForAHTs.aspx. AHTs are encouraged to engage with community members by answering their questions, inviting their participation, and explaining what an AHTs role is. AHTs are also advised to respect the community by driving safely through the reserve because the community had invited them “to assist them with their animals.” By being present, AHTs can learn more about Aboriginal philosophies, too.

4)https://www.vetswithoutborders.ca

     Personally knowing several of the veterinarians involved with Vets Without Borders, the international association of veterinarians founded in 2005, gives me the assurance that the organization is genuinely working towards improving communities.  Since most of work is done in areas of deep poverty, it unfortunately means most of their work is done in Aboriginal neighbourhoods too, in similar conditions worldwide. An article from the Provincial newspaper explains the connection between healthier animals and healthier communities in this way: ” One of the tenets of Veterinarians Without Borders is that humanitarian work doesn’t always have to focus exclusively on humans. In fact,  in  many developing countries the welfare of animals and people are so interdependent that improving the health of their livestock or companion aninmals can have a dramatic effect on entire communities. http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/05/15/vets-without-borders-provides-animal-care-to-improve-human-welfare/

     In Canada, there are two projects that seem less about community health and more about dog sled teams – the Sahtu settlement in the NWT on the south shores of the Great Slave Lake and Kuujjuak, Nunavit, on shores of Koksoak River which feeds into Ungava Bay, west of northern Labrador.  Veterinarians fly in to provide veterinary services for two weeks out of every year. 

5) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNFZmpb_ERs

     The veterinarian featured in this Chilean YouTube story is a good friend, as dynamic as she appears. I find the cultural differences between Canada and Chile very interesting. Blogs associated with her program show a reciprocal exchange of science. Veterinarians from South America come to the Atlantic Veterinary College in PEI, Canada, to conduct their research while third year Canadian veterinary students volunteer in her research project to satisfy the aboriginal component of their program; their stories are a nice touch.

In my journey as a cyber-traveller, I have been searching for research on learning style preferences (if any) for Indigenous students.  I have heard, or perhaps read, that many BC Indigenous students prefer group work, collaboration and to be allowed time to reflect before responding rather than rapid fire questions.  I wanted to know if there was any research to back this up, and if so, what approaches or strategies could I use in my classroom to make the Indigenous students feel more comfortable and willing to share.  The search for answers to those questions lead me to this article.

Learning Patterns and Education of Aboriginal Children: A Review of the Literature is an article written by Carmen Rasmussen, Lola Baydala and Jody Sherman.  The visual qualities of the article and the fairly old reference list left me surprised that the publish date was 2004.  However, looking past the poor quality of the pdf, the contents of the article were intriguing.  The authors discuss trends in learning styles for Indigenous people, tying in cultural practices and how they might affect learning styles.  They offer a number of suggestions for classroom practice.  The article is respectful and repeatedly states that we need to be aware of and respectful of Indigenous cultures if we want to do our best for Indigenous students.

This article begins with a story told by an elder that creates a vivid image of the Alaskan’s connection to the land and history.  Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Alaska Native Ways of Knowing then goes on to discuss exactly what it says – Indigenous knowledge systems.  The article discusses “Indigenous worldviews, Native ways of knowing, cultural and intellectual property rights, and traditional ecological knowledge” and compares them to a Western scientific perspective.  I found the diagram on page 16 particularly enlightening.  It is a Venn diagram showing the approaches that Indigenous ways of learning use in one circle and the approaches that Western science uses in another, with the area of overlap called “Common Ground”.

The intent of the article is help “move the role of Indigenous knowledge and learning from the margins to the center of educational research, thereby confronting some of the most intractable and salient educational issues of our times.”

Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Alaska Native Ways of Knowing – Ray Barnhardt and Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley, University of Alaska Fairbanks (2005)  (Published in Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Vol. 36, Issue 1, pp. 8–23)

Module 3 Entry #1- Recommended Reading: Education Indigenous to Place: Western Science Meets Native Reality: by Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley and Ray Barnhardt

http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/Articles/BarnhardtKawagley/EIP.html

This article looks at Indigenous Knowledge Systems, heralds the increasing recognition their validity in a broader context of western education and policy development, and compares and contrasts Indigenous Worldviews with those of Western Worldviews.

The article provides an interesting anecdote in which a 90-year-old elder chides a group of biologists about their record of statistics on fish habitat that is 30 years old, when his people have been monitoring the fish for 300 years.

A worthwhile read, and very much in line with my research interests.

Module 3 Entry #2- Recommended Reading: Indigenous Knowledge Systems/Alaska Native Ways of Knowing by Ray Barnhardt Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley

http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/Articles/BarnhardtKawagley/Indigenous_Knowledge.html

This article looks at approaches to integrate the role of indigenous knowledge in mainstream education to enrich learning for all. It is recognized that indigenous students have long been disenchanted with westernized society’s approach to education, but we are now coming to the realization that a mono-cultural approach to education is bound to fail. There is an increasing willingness to look at other approaches to learning that diverge from the conventional form of education that has prevailed.

Module 3 Entry #3- What is Traditional Knowledge- Alaska Native Science Commission

http://www.nativescience.org/html/traditional_knowledge.html

I was led to this site that explains the definition of Traditional Knowledge and contrasts it from non-indigenous knowledge, discusses structure and discusses maintaining ownership and control.

As defined by The Director General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Mayor, 1994) defines traditional knowledge:

The indigenous people of the world possess an immense knowledge of their environments, based on centuries of living close to nature.  Living in and from the richness and variety of complex ecosystems, they have an understanding of the properties of plants and animals, the functioning of ecosystems and the techniques for using and managing them that is particular and often detailed.  In rural communities in developing countries, locally occurring species are relied on for many – sometimes all – foods, medicines, fuel, building materials and other products.  Equally, people’s knowledge and perceptions of the environment, and their relationships with it, are often important elements of cultural identity. 

Module 3 Entry #4- Handbook for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum by Sidney Stephens

http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/publications/handbook/

This handbook serves as a practical guide and is geared towards teachers in an effort to integrate traditional native knowledge and western science perspectives. It originates from the Alaska Native Knowledge Network.

Sidney Stephens has attempted to “distill and synthesize the critical ingredients for making the teaching of science relevant and meaningful in culturally adaptable ways.”

The aim of the handbook is to “provide teachers invaluable assistance with the task of developing and teaching culturally responsive science curriculum.”

Module 3 Entry #5- Inuit Qaujisarvingat: Inuit Knowledge Centre

A short video interview with Martin Lougheed, from the Inuit Knowledge Centre, where he makes the case for “a synthesis of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (Inuit traditional knowledge) and western science to help better understand, and find solutions to, the significant climatic changes affecting Inuit Nunangat.”

Goals for the Inuit Knowledge Centre include:

• Promote information
• Make connections between researchers and Inuit Knowledge
• Ensure that proper, effective and ethical way
• Promote traditional knowledge in policy and decision making

http://www.inuitknowledge.ca/

https://www.itk.ca/front-page-story/inuit-qaujimajatuqangit -video interview