Author Archives: jenn bos

Module 4 – Post 5 – Towards Cross-cultural Science and Technology Curriculum

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http://www.d.umn.edu/~bmunson/Courses/Educ5560/readings/Aikenhead97-NOS.pdf

Recognizing that Science is a subculture of Western culture, Aikenhead explores the need for First Nations students to cross cultural border in order to participate in scientific learning.  As he puts it in his abstract, the pathway is

  1. Founded on empirical studies in educational anthropology
  2. Directed by the goals of First Nations people themselves.
  3. Illuminated by a reconceptualization of science teaching as cultural transmission
  4. Guided by a cross-cultural STS science and technology curriculum
  5. Grounded in various types of content knowledge 

Module 4 – Post 4 – Three approaches to FN content in the classroom

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This great little page describes/uses examples to show the three difference approaches (Add-on, Integration, and Immersion) to First Nations content in the classroom in an easy to understand way.

The Add-on section is certainly the most thorough as it includes a description, a “best to use when” section, a look at the strengths, and the weakness and then a number of examples.  However the examples for both the Integration and Immersion sections make them quite easy to understand.

http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/fnations1.html

Module 4 – Post 3 – First Nations Education Steering Committee

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http://www.fnesc.ca

The First Nation Steering Committee (FNESC) is a board of 100 First Nations community representatives working to improve education for First Nations students in BC. They are active in communicating the priorities of BC First Nations to the federal and provincial government and have accomplished things such as winning the legal recognition of their authority to be decision-makers in the education of their children, and created innovative curriculum including English First Peoples 10, 11, 12 which is now being used in classrooms across BC.

The site provides resources for all levels of the education system from K-12 to post-secondary.   Some that I could see being very useful are:

BC First People Learning Resources, Books for Use in K-7 classrooms.  For non-indigenous teachers, this reference guide is a great way of ensuring that what they are choosing are authentic First People texts.

I particularly like one of the resources that they provide on their site, which is a poster that can be posted in the classroom of the First Peoples’ Principles of Learning.  It is an excellent reminder that I plan to use in my classroom from here on out.

http://www.fnesc.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/PIPEL-6342c-FNESC-Learning-First-Peoples-poster-11×17.pdf

 

Module 4 – Post 2 – In Our Own Words

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In Our Own Words: Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K-3 classroom  was developed by the First Nations Education Steering Committee with assistance from the BC Ministry of Education. “This resource has been developed in response to desire on the part of teachers for more guidance and information on how to incorporate First Peoples materials into their instruction and assessment practices.”  The resource opens with a number of frequently asked questions including ones such as

  • What is meant by First Peoples?
  • What themes and topics might I encounter in First Peoples resources?
  • How do I find out which resources are appropriate for my local area?

There are then 8 prepared classroom units that have been developed to provide crosscurricular education surrounding a specific topic.  A convenient chart on page 25 of the document breaks down the grade level and subject area that each of the units cover.  For example, Unit 5: The Spirit of Celebration is meant for a grade 2 level and will cover curricular expectations in English, Dance, Health and Career Ed., Music, Social Studies and Visual Arts.  Each unit provides an estimated amount of time to finish, curricular connections, and detailed lesson plans (including material lists) for the entire unit, making it very accessible to teachers of all backgrounds.

http://www.fnesc.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/In-Our-Own-Words-final-Apr-16-web.pdf

Module 3 – Post 5 – Indigenous Ecotourism Toolbox

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Very interesting website assisting Indigenous Peoples in Australia with establishing their ecotourism venture.  One of the things that struck me about this website is that rather than just being text based, much of it has the option of being auditory, both in keeping with the oral traditions of the culture and minimizing the exclusion potential for people who do not have certain levels of reading ability in English.  Visitors  to the site select a region of Australia in which they are interested in establishing an ecotourism venture, and then are guided through a series of steps/case studies that helps them determine what has been successful in the area and possible issues that one might have to deal with.

https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/toolbox/Indigenous/ecotourismToolbox/#

Module 3 – Post 4 – Aboriginal Ecotourism

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This great little website provides an interactive map with all 183 case studies on Aboriginal Ecotourism that were originally published in the book “Le Guide des Destinations Indigènes”.  Click on any of the markers on the map and you are taken to a page with a description of that particular Ecotourism opportunity.  For example, you can zoom into Nunavut and click on Bathurst Inlet Lodge where you find out that it is Canada’s oldest naturalist lodge, it’s history, a description of the rooms, contact information and a whole lot more. While I choose to look at an example of a ecolodge in Nunavut because it is in an area we have been studying more closely the last couple of weeks, you can choose to “visit” places all over the globe!

http://www.aboriginal-ecotourism.org/?lang=en

Module 3 – Post 3 – Review of Is the Sacred for Sale

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Grimwood provides a concise overview of the book Is the Sacred for Sale?  the premise of which is that “ecotourism is the greatest single threat to Indigenous Peoples.  Shielded by the doctrines of biodiversity conservation, the ecotourism industry creeps into the deepest recesses of culture and community life” and violates the full spectrum of Indigenous rights, culture and spirituality.”  Because government and industry continue to have control/interest in the development of these tourism initiatives, many are viewed as a way of alienating Indigenous peoples from their land.  Johnston proposes that this can be mitigated by the incorporation of  elders into the areas of governance and sustaining the integrity of sacred knowledge and grounded rituals.

Bryan Grimwood (2009) Is the sacred for sale? Tourism and Indigenous Peoples,  Journal of Ecotourism, 8:2, 217-220, DOI: 10.1080/14724040902786625

Module 3 – Post 2 – Journal of Sustainable tourism

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Ecotourism and the Myth of Indigenous Stewardship was published in 2008 in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism and caused a flurry of articles to published in response.  I think that this article will provide some interesting counter balances to what I will be investigating in my final project.  The authors question the claim that indigenous people are indeed more ecologically minded than non-indigenous people by following four main perspectives:

  1. survey of the ecotourism literature to gauge the sentiment behind indigenous peoples as wise stewards
  2. literature review in other fields (eg. Anthropology and conservation science) to provide a more complete understanding of the role that aboriginal people play as ecological stewards
  3. brief overview of the literature on social evolution from the biological standpoint
  4. discussion of the foregoing in the context of ecotourism.

David A. Fennell (2008) Ecotourism and the Myth of Indigenous Stewardship,  Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16:2, 129-149, DOI: 10.2167/jost736.0

Module 3 – Post 1 – Transformative role of Indigenous Ecotourism

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In searching for academic articles for my final project, I came across an articled entitled Indigenous Ecotourism’s Role in Transforming Ecological consciousness, and it is available via the UBC library in the Journal of Ecotourism. With numerous indigenous communities around the world using ecotourism to educate non-indigenous people about indigenous values and ways of life, the article “offers a critical perspective on the capacity of indigenous ecotourism to foster more sustainable lifeways by transforming the ecological consciousness of participants and stakeholders in ecotourism.”

Freya Higgins-Desbiolles (2009) Indigenous ecotourism’s role in transforming ecological consciousness, Journal of Ecotourism, 8:2, 144-160, DOI: 10.1080/14724040802696031

Module 2 – Post 5 – Local Language Radio in Tofino

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Combining two of the themes from my previous post (language and ecotourism in Tofino) is the Long Beach Radio Web Log, Tofino and Ucluelet’s Local Radio.   I found it incredibly interesting that this radio station has a link on it’s website called “Local Language”.  While this section is relatively new and doesn’t contain a ton of information, their note promises that the page will continue to grow as the program develops.  They do have various links and sample audio so that you can become familiar with the Nuu Chah Nulth language.

http://www.longbeachradio.ca/p/local-language.html