Reading about the aboriginal culture is interesting as it yields a lot of novel ideas in understanding the culture and its people. The topic discussed in the third module focuses on the researching and researchers who belong to the aboriginal community. The way the aboriginal community looks at researching is instrumental in forming their opinion about the person who is doing it. One of the interesting sources of information that I found useful is the:

http://aerc.usask.ca/education/researchmethods-links.html

The site is the official platform of Aboriginal Education Research Centre. It doesn’t offer articles or readings about the research theme but it does offer a rich bibliography that can be important in pursuing the theme of research and aboriginal people.

This excellent listing of literature can be very helpful in building a constructive understanding of the issue of research in the aboriginal community

Hussain

We always try to ascribe the changes that happen to people’s cultures to surrounding factors like the country’s politics or economy or the majority’s way of thinking. We forgot about the wider range of influence that can affect everybody which is the global concept of almost everything people deal with. The Indigenous people and their culture are affected by many factors other than the ones which are within the borders of Canada or the States. I think this is an important point of research that should be highlighted as an influential aspect that has really an indirect impact on the indigenous people. We never think about these external impacts that can really be instrumental in determining the changes facing the indigenous people. Here is a nice research done by one MET student in WIKI:

http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Indigenous_Cultures_and_Globalization

I was looking through some listings of books and journal in the virtual UBC library trying to find some material that can help me narrow and build a solid discussion in my topic about the aboriginal progress or regress in the field of using technology.  This might seem too wide. However, the material I found in the following huge journal can be of great use in tackling most of the themes and topics discussed in the first and second  module. The journal can be found in the following  link:

http://www2.brandonu.ca/library/CJNS/

One of the articles that attracted my attention is about the the use of technology by the Aboriginal people in enhancing the cultural uniqueness of their tribal thinking. The article can be found in the following link:

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/230304083/fulltextPDF?accountid=1  4656

The name of the journal is the Canadian Journal of Native Studies . There is a great variety of topics discussed in many articles. Most of them focus on the well-being of the Aboriginal society and how the society has witnessed a lot of changes whether these changes were imposed or just adopted.  Accessing this journal is through the “online issues” section.

One of the most reliable sources of information in our present is the researches and studies sponsored the Canadian government. This is true not because we live in Canada but because the government is trying to correct any unfair decisions that were taken in the past. The researches objectively focus on the history and traditions of the aboriginal people. Besides, politics is always tackled in such researches because it is behind a lot of decisions. Here is one interesting government site that I will use in my research in this course:

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100016900/1100100016908

The topic discussed here is  Canada’s  relationship with the Inuits. I recommend this great source as an indispensable comprehensive account of history of the Inuit society.

The other day I was trying to read about Mary Simon as I became very interested in who this woman is.  Her story as a successful Nanook member to break into the field of the media and how she has been trying to raise a lot of issues and concerns regarding the Nanook tribe as an entity that needs more attention than what is given now. I also was interest in her book   book Inuit: One Future One Arctic which was devoted to the cause of her tribe and their self-governing perspective. It is a great example of a reformist committed writer. It contains a good section of black and white pictures. Despite the fact that the book has no bibliography, it is still considered a great of source of information about the Inuit.

Simon,Mary , Inuit: One Future One Arctic .Peterborough, Ont. : Cider Press, 1996.

Nanook of the North is a great source of information about a controversial period of time in the history of the North America. Whether we look at the movie as an inaccurate or a perfect reflection of the involved tribes in it, I believe that it still contains the characteristics of a fully-fledged documentary. I mean it is unfair to compare a documentary done at CNN or BBC with this one and the reason is clear for everybody. I look at this documenrtyy, with all the criticism it received,  as a good account of the story of some tribes residing in the North. Here is a good source of information about the movie and its maker:
http://www.oneworldmagazine.org/seek/nanook/main.htm

Hussain

One of the sources that I tackled in one of my previous courses was a book written by David Greenall. The  book was published by the government of Canada. It contains very neutral account of the attempts of keeping aboriginal people connected and updated technologically.  Greenall didn’t talk about the achievements in this field only. He also tackled the challenging factors that were hurdles in front of the aboriginal learners and western designers .  Greenall warned of the possibility of undermining a lot of patriarchal layers in the First Nations society. These layers constitute the core of the aboriginal community. I personally use David Greeall’s book as a great supplementary source to the very informative Canadian government .  Since it is a government publication, it is accessible by anyone. I recommend reading this book(report).

Aboriginal Digital Opportunities : Addressing Aboriginal Learning Needs Through the Use of Learning Technologies  by David Greenall -2001

Another neutral  and informative source is a state site:

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1307460872523

A great source about the history of the aboriginal people and how things have changed in their life.

Raven that is,
Raven that was,
Raven that always will be.
Make prayers to the Raven.
Raven, bring us luck.
from the Koyukon

A great source of ideas about the First Nations literature and its impact on their of life is the interpretations of their local stories and fables. The fact that there could be different interpretations to their stories can  be a factor in creating different tribes with different cultural commitments. Stories about animals are very common in the First Nation . However there is more focus on the raven , the bird. I read about it a lot because I want to know more about the indigenous culture. A good source to look at this one:

http://www.indigenouspeople.net/raven.htm

One of the topics that I really was interested in is the Greek mythology. I like the way they were depicted and the way they were interpreted.  When I read any literature work about the First Nations I feel that I am reading something similar to the Greek Myth. Nobody knew who wrote the Greek myths and it is still one of the debatable things about them. But looking deeply at the First Nations Myths, so to speak, will probably solve the riddles behind the Greek Myths.  I am sure the above-mentioned source will trigger a lot of ideas and valuable thoughts in the readers especially if they are well-acquainted with the Greek Mythology.

The quotation I write at the beginning of this posting is taken from website.

I mentioned earlier in the introduction part that I have two boys ( 5 and 3). They have a special interest in the aboriginal literature (pictures , icons and their specific animal pictures). I usually take them to our local library. After taking some books we usually have a look at the DVD section. One of the DVDs they chose was Raven Stories series. I remember that was a year ago. I watched it with tem and I really was thankful to them for choosing it. They opened my eyes to something I was not aware of before. Now we borrow this DVD series almost every week.  Everybody is hooked to it.

If we look at the content of the series we realize that most of the ideas discussed are based on fables or animal-based ideas. The treatment of depicting the main ideas of the series is a special one because its target audience is children. This makes it hard to make as there are very complex values that need special treatment in order to cater for the young watchers. After I watched some of the series I felt the themes depicted in these series reflect a treasure of heavy ideas that can help in understanding the how First Nations people perceive life around them.

Here is the main link to the series:

http://www.raventales.com/

It is available in libraries in Canada. Some of the series are available online ( youtube)

Hussain