{"id":2141,"date":"2012-11-05T19:52:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-06T02:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/?p=2141"},"modified":"2012-11-05T19:59:13","modified_gmt":"2012-11-06T02:59:13","slug":"reconstruct-reclaim-restore-renew-decolonization-and-the-indigenous-learner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/2012\/11\/05\/reconstruct-reclaim-restore-renew-decolonization-and-the-indigenous-learner\/","title":{"rendered":"Reconstruct, Reclaim, Restore & Renew – Decolonization and the Indigenous Learner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Entry #1<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 As I began to grapple with the notion of decolonization and what that means to me and to my learners, I came across this Powerpoint by Dr. Marie Battiste of the University of Saskatchewan.\u00a0 She outlines a number of recommendations for instructors on how to gain better perspective on decolonization.\u00a0 Specifically, she recommends accepting diversity as the norm; while recognizing the uniqueness of the aboriginal learning process in gaining outcomes from place.\u00a0 She asserts that relational work with Elders and community is of utmost importance.\u00a0 She asks of instructors to approach learners by sharing your own stories, not judging or nullifying another\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

A quote I found of particular interest was from Ningwakwe George, \u201cWe have the emotional drop-out from the institutions before the physical drop-out; we need to dismantle fears if we are to engage spirit; fulfill their needs, not ours, but our learners\u2019 needs.\u201d\u00a0 This is reminiscent of the video we watched of Dr. Lee Brown in Module 1 about teaching for the well-being of the whole learner.\u00a0 It also leads me to critically reflect on my practice \u2013 am I doing enough to engage learner spirit?<\/p>\n

Another striking quote was from R. v. C\u00f4t\u00e9, ([1996] 3 S.C.R. 139), \u201cWhere there is an Aboriginal right, there is a corresponding right to teach that right.\u201d\u00a0 Perhaps the right to teach is more essential to recognize and acknowledge the crimes of trauma and oppression that have occurred.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.usask.ca\/education\/people\/battistem\/presentations\/aboriginal-pedagogy.pptx<\/a><\/p>\n

Entry #2<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 \u00a0My second episode of \u201cgoogling\u201d led me to the article:\u00a0 “Decolonizing Diaspora:\u00a0 Whose Traditional Land are We On?” by Celia Haig-Brown of York University.\u00a0\u00a0 From the article, I gather that she is a University Professor within the Faculty of Education.\u00a0 She poses opportunities for deeper understanding and reflection as she works towards decolonization of our country and our lives.<\/p>\n

She begins by posing the question to her class, \u201cWhose traditional land are you on?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 In this way, she acknowledges the rich history of this land and Aboriginal people.\u00a0 She delves deep into the colonization experience the complex histories with schools.\u00a0 She affirms that these students become better prepared to cope with the complexities of a diverse classroom.<\/p>\n

She speaks of using \u201cdecolonizing autobiographies\u201d in her classroom in which she asks her students to consider their relationship with the land and the original people who lived on it.\u00a0 She tells her own narrative as a \u201cfirst step in the long journey of possibility for decolonizing\u201d (p. 11).\u00a0 I personally feel that I could also share my narrative and connect my history with the land and the original people who lived there.\u00a0 This would begin the dialogue with my learners about their stories and their connections.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/ejournals.library.ualberta.ca\/index.php\/cpi\/article\/viewFile\/7118\/5827<\/a><\/p>\n

Entry #3<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 Further along on my cyber-journey and contending with the issues around decolonization and education, I came across this document about a project in the Toronto District School Board.\u00a0 \u00a0In the Executive Summary (p. v), they succinctly summarize the problem, \u201cinstitutions of formal schooling\u2026are failing to provide Aboriginal students with the educational environment and experiences they require to achieve success.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was most striking to me were the student profiles on pages 31 \u2013 33, in which the learners shared their stories and their experiences with schooling, before and after.\u00a0 Their themes ring true as those presented to us in the class materials:\u00a0\u00a0 learners need to feel a connection with place and identity; they need to be approached holistically, they need to trust their surroundings, and they need to be nurtured to develop confidence in their abilities and sense of worthiness.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.tdsb.on.ca\/wwwdocuments\/programs\/aboriginal_voices\/docs\/Decolonizing%20Our%20Schools%203.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Entry #4<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 \u00a0As I was having a rather animated discussion with a coworker regarding the concept of decolonization and aboriginal rights, I was reminded of that Innu community that had been featured in the news whose young people were addicted to sniffing gas.\u00a0 I decided to revisit the story and found it here:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/background\/aboriginals\/sheshatshiu.html<\/a><\/p>\n

When I first heard this newscast, I didn\u2019t ask the important question, \u201cwhy?\u201d\u00a0 I just focused on the tragedy of the lost souls.\u00a0 If you read further down the page, the Innu speak of being \u201cseverely demoralized\u201d by colonization and now turn to drink and self-destruction.\u00a0 They feel \u201cpowerless\u201d to prevent the destruction of the land and their culture.<\/p>\n

Following this \u201cwalk down memory lane\u201d, I decided to bring this story up to date if I could.\u00a0\u00a0 I found that a money settlement had been reached, but it seems that the money is not reaching those who really need it.\u00a0 The news article tells of a band official that had resigned due to corruption within the band council.\u00a0 It seems, as well, that the chief has been accused of misappropriating funds. No happy ending here, at least not for a while longer.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/news.nationalpost.com\/2012\/07\/24\/sheshatshiu-innu-director-michael-rossignol-resigns-in-disgust-over-questionable-band-funding\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Entry #5<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0 What gives?\u00a0 A coworker sent me this link for a quiz in honour of Remembrance Day and testing our recall of Canadian history.\u00a0 (By the way, take note of the spelling of the word remembrance in the link \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n

http:\/\/v1.theglobeandmail.com\/v5\/content\/features\/quiz\/remeberanceday07\/<\/a><\/p>\n

As I proceeded through the 20 questions, I was shocked to note that there weren\u2019t any referring to indigenous peoples and their role in the history of Canada, not to mention their service to Canada in the military, although a monument has been erected in their honour.\u00a0 The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson was quoted to have said, \u201cThe thousands of miles that aboriginal soldiers travelled over the course of more than two centuries to help defend this country make up a thousand memories, so many of which have been ignored or lost.\u00a0 Yet these are the details of our history which we must remember, which we must commemorate.”<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/background\/aboriginals\/aboriginals-military.html<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Entry #1:\u00a0 As I began to grapple with the notion of decolonization and what that means to me and to my learners, I came across this Powerpoint by Dr. Marie Battiste of the University of Saskatchewan.\u00a0 She outlines a number of recommendations for instructors on how to gain better perspective on decolonization.\u00a0 Specifically, she recommends […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7302,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[164],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-module-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2141"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2148,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141\/revisions\/2148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec521sept12\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}