Category Archives: Module 4

Module 4 – Post 1 – Canadian History a Distinct Viewpoint

“Canadian History a Distinct Viewpoint” is the website of Dick Garneau. Dick is a researcher of both written and oral history of the Metis peoples, with emphasis on the genealogical roots of the Metis Garneau clan. Dick has been researching his family history and the history of the Metis peoples for the past 60 years. The bulk of this historical research appears on his website. While the material was originally intended as a book, Dick decided instead to make the information available on the internet for free with the goal of supporting the education of young people to a different view of history,

The website includes written histories of many of the peoples of Canada including the Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Asians. Histories are provided for many regions of Canada including New France, Central Canada, Alberta, and British Columbia. Information is also provided on the genealogies of many Metis families. While the provided information is quite text heavy, it is easy to read and navigate. This resource is recommended for anyone who wishes to explore the history of Canada from a Metis perspective.

The website can be found here: http://www.metis-history.info/index.shtml

Module #4 – Post #3: Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival

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The Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival (VIMAF) recently wrapped up its third annual event last week. This year’s festival ran from the 6 – 11 of November and hosted a number of events across downtown Vancouver, with venues ranging from the Central Library to SFU Woodwards to the NFB. The festival is an opportunity for indigenous artists working in the field to showcase their works, and perhaps even more importantly, for the public to engage with these artists in the issues surrounding indigeneity in a contemporary context.

While the works featured and the topics discussed at VIMAF may diverge from traditional indigenous artistic expression, the organizers of the festival stress the underlying element that ties together the variety of works showcased over the course of the week: storytelling. In this sense, new media technologies have provided indigenous artists with a new venue, a new voice in which to relate their histories, traditions, and contemporary issues with not just their own communities, but with the wider public.

The festival’s programming includes screenings, panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities that help indigenous artists in the field to build personal and industry connections. Full details from this year’s festival can be found here.

Module 4- post 1 -Cross-cultural differences

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We are heading towards the end of our modules. In Module 4 the focus is on the significance of knowing one’s culture before approaching other cultures as this process is necessary in building an objective picture of the other cultures. One of the sources that I would love to share with you here is a measuring tool of cultural differences among countries. The site is based on researches done by Geert Hofstede, a famous professor in social psychology. I find his tool is interesting in understanding a lot of cultural subtle differences. He hasn’t talked about the aboriginal people as such but he has talked about people in general. I am sure some of his ideas can be analyzed to serve our purpose in some corners in our course.

After opening the site, read the instructions and then choose any country.

http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html

Hussain

Module #4 – Post #2: Beat Nation

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Beat Nation is a website that serves as a hub for several young, indigenous artists from across North America. The work of the artists featured on the site is extremely diverse – from music to graffiti, to video and photography to graphic design, poetry and multimedia. What unifies these artists’ works, if that can be said, is hip hop culture. The site’s producers, and many of the artists themselves, express a deep connection to hip hop culture, especially in terms of its origins within an oral, disenfranchised segment of the population, and the themes of resistance, survival and hope that are common in hip hop related works.

The works featured on the site certainly deviate from purely traditional forms of aboriginal art, primarily in their appropriation of materials, images, style – and most of all technology – that have non-Native origins. However, as Glenn Alteen, the produce of Beat Nation argues, “these artists are not turning away from the traditions as much as searching for new ways into them.” Indeed, as you peruse the various artists (categorized into music, visual/multimedia, prose/poetry), a strong sense of pride in Indigenous culture and tradition is quite evident, as is the struggle to establish a sense of contemporary Indigenous voice and identity.

As with the First Peoples’ Arts Map, Beat Nation provides a unique opportunity for Aboriginal artists from across the country and continent to connect with others with common artistic goals and to showcase their work to a large audience. The popularity of hip hop outside of Indigenous circles makes this particular movement and body of work even more appealing to those who might not otherwise take an interest in Indigenous issues.

Module #4 – Post #1: First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation

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The ‘About’ page on the First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation website provides a succinct description of their organization and mandate:

The First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable public organization that generates support and funding for Aboriginal and First Nations artists, First Nations communities, First Nations cultural organizations, and First Nations educational organizations. We support grassroots efforts to revitalize the Indigenous arts, languages and cultures unique to British Columbia, Canada.

In turn, the foundation has funded millions of dollars into BC First Nations arts and culture, providing the much needed resources to help revitalize and sustain indigenous culture in the province. This includes funding for projects in language revitalization and multi-generational cultural initiatives, in addition to funding grants for individual artists and organizations.

One of the site’s features that I found useful was the First Peoples Art Map, an interactive map that pinpoints the locations of contemporary First Nations artists, organizations and events across the province. Each pin provides a hyperlink to a biography and website for each artist or organization, as well as images and other related information. I feel that this particular tool allows indigenous artists in particular an opportunity to effectively network and showcase their work in a way that connects the artist to the wider arts community.