Statement Connecting Weblog to Research

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As a music teacher, I wanted to try and keep within my subject area for the final project. In my own classes I generally teach the Western Music curriculum based on European music theory with a few examples from various world cultures.  There are a few Canadian indigenous pieces that I will use, but I am quite unfamiliar with the history and theories behind the various styles.

While researching current First Nations performers, I found a group called A Tribe Called Red that uses technology to combine electronic music with traditional pow wow vocals and drumming. The result is an intense and very interesting sound. I can see why they are gaining popularity, particularly among Canadian indigenous youth.

For my project, I plan to research how Western Music is groups like this are having an impact on indigenous culture, particularly as the Library and Archives Canada (2008) suggests that traditionalists believe that recording is a violation to the spiritual integrity of songs and ceremonies. Is this type of new music beneficial to the preservation of indigenous culture, or is it a type of “watering down” of sacred ceremonial culture?

Library and Archives Canada. (2008). The First Nations Traditional Music. Retrieved from http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/aboriginal-music-song/028012-2100-e.html

Statement Connecting Blog to Research

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In my early research for this course, I was very inspired by an Australian blog posting about Victorian Indigenous Communities and Digital Storytelling. Based on my response to this post, as well as the themes of our initial readings, I would like to focus my research on the use of digital storytelling as a strategy for indigenous education. This topic is of particular relevance for me, because in our work with Digital Education Strategies at Ryerson University, my colleagues and I promote digital storytelling as a useful strategy for teaching and learning. As such, I would like to deepen my understanding of this technique and its pedagogical value.

Some of the topics and questions that I would like to explore include:

  • The role of storytelling in Indigenous culture.
  • To what extent can Indigenous storytelling, which is anchored in strong oral tradition, be conveyed through digital tools?
  • The process of creating digital stories and the intrinsic value of this process.

In addition to our course readings and the sites which I have already shared through my Module 1 weblog, here is a preliminary list of references:

Hopkins, C. (2006) Making Things Our Own: The Indigenous Aesthetic in Digital Storytelling. Leonardo , Vol. 39, No. 4, Pacific Rim New Media Summit Companion, pp. 341-344

Wilcox A.C., Harper S.L., Edge V.L. (2013) Storytelling in a digital age: digital storytelling as an emerging narrative method for preserving and promoting indigenous oral wisdom. Qualitative Research, 2013; 13(2):127–147.

Statement Connecting Weblog to Research Interests

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At this point, I want to use the assignment to explore some of the issues in First Nations Education, possibly with some content regarding education and technology. I work for a First Nations organization the supports First Nation schools in Manitoba. There is a movement towards First Nation self-governance and for this to extend to Education. Topics I would like to explore include:

–          What are the desired educational outcomes for First Nations people?
–          What role do governments play in First Nations education?
–          What changes are First Nations people requesting/advocating for themselves regarding education.
–          What makes First Nations education unique? What are the differences between First Nations education, which is federally funded, and Provincial education, which is provincially funded?
–          What effect does the Indian Act have on education?
–          What are the spin-off effects to First Nations people with improved education? How will their lives be enhanced?
–          How does First Nations culture affect the way First Nations people learn?
–          How does spirituality affect First Nations people regarding Education?
–          Why is language important to First Nations people? Why in Education?
–          What has been the history of education of First Nation people in Canada?
–          What are residential schools? Why were they used with First Nation people?
–          What are some of the educational initiatives being taken in First Nation Education today?
(I’m already over 200 words here. Wow, that isn’t a lot of words to work with 😉

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Updated version

How does an increase in technology use support or detract from the ability of Aboriginal youth to develop self- and cultural identity?

Government Interventions with Indigenous Peoples

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At this point in the course, my interest lies in Government ‘interventions’ with Indigenous peoples. Specifically, I am considering residential schools in Canada and Australian intervention with mixed-raced Aboriginal children being removed from their homes and put into state institutions. I am intrigued by the governments’ rationale and thinking behind these policies as well as the length of time that they were enacted.  I am curious as to how policies that today seem to be oppressive and against human rights were enforced by a government under the premise of being in the best interest of its citizens, for over one hundred years. As a historian, I am interested in the historical context and societal beliefs that fostered these policies for so long. Personally I am interested in residential schools as one of the largest/most notorious schools was in my hometown.

I am not quite sure just yet how I will narrow the topic, but am hopeful this will naturally become apparent in the early stages of my research.

Some resources I think will be useful are:

– Cassidy, J. (2006). The stolen generations – Canada and Australia: The legacy of assimilation. Deakin Law Review, 11,1, 131-177.

– Indigenous Foundations – Comprehensive website from UBC that considers varied Indigenous topics (government policy, culture, community and politics, global indigenous issues)

– Jacobs, M.D. (2005). Maternal colonialsim: White women and Indigenous child removal in the American west and Australia, 1880 – 1940. The Western Historical Quarterly, 36, 4, 453-476.

– Miller, J. R. Shingwauk’s Vision. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996.

– Milloy, John S. A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System, 1879 to 1986.Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

– Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, Indian Residential Schools: The Nuu-Chah-Nulth Experience. Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, 1996.

– Report of the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples – Report created by the department of Indian and Northern Affairs

– Where Are the Children – An interactive website that looks at the residential school experience, by Library and Archives Canada.

Statement Connecting Blog to Research Project

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     Language Revitalization Using Technology

        The final weblog I posted last week was about the first graduates from Nawahi, the Hawaiian Immersion University.   I was inspired by the news article as many of the first graduates continued finding careers using their own Native language after University.

Language preservation is a vital component to keeping Indigenous cultures alive as language itself holds different meanings, metaphors and values that cannot be expressed once it’s gone.  According to Cultural Survival “More than 70 could fall silent in the next 5 years unless immediate action is taken to teach them to younger generations of tribal citizens.” I would like to focus on how technology can improve and empower Indigenous cultures through language revitalization.

Language revitalization seemed to be a resonating theme in many weblogs I posted. Native American Public Telecommunications is a site that provides media, film, podcasts, music and radio created by a board of Native Americans about Native North Americans. Cultural Survival is a website for all Indigenous cultures around the world to connect. To help protect indigenous languages from disappearing, there is a radio broadcasting section to share radio spoken in different Indigenous languages around the world.  Since most people have access to radio, new generations can enjoy listening to their own language.

The digital divide creates boundaries for Indigenous people who are unable to connect and use technology as an educational tool.  According to Cultural Survival “Indigenous Peoples constitute about 5% of the world’s population, yet account for about 15% of the world’s poor.”  I would also like to explore the theme “Is technology culturally neutral?” as I carry out my research.

References

Eisenlohr, P. (2004). Revitalization and new technologies: cultures of electronic mediation and the refiguring of communitiees. Annual Review of Anthropology, 33 (21), p. 21- 45.

Hermes, M. (2012).  Designing indigenous language revitalization. Harvard Educational Review, 82 (3), p. 381- 402.

Hermes, M. (2013). Ojibwe language revitalization, multimedia technology, and family language learning. Language Learning and Technology, 17 (1), p. 125 – 144.

Hinton, L. (2003). Language revitalization. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 23, p. 44- 57.  Doi: 10.1017/S0267190503000187

Warschauer, M. (1998).  Technology and indigenous language revitalization: analyzing the experience of hawai’i. Canadian Modern Language Review, 55 (1), p. 139 – 159.

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/

http://www.fpcc.ca/language/toolkit/Language_Revitalization_Strategies.aspx

http://www.nativetelecom.org/

http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/langhotspots/revitalization.html

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices/revitalization/

Module 2, Post #1: Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy

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Looking to extend what we learned from this week’s readings, I stumbled upon the website for Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy. I was surprised, but encouraged to see that the Centre provides a wealth of insight about the following topics:

  • The common portrayals of indigenous people in media
  • Indigenous people in the news
  • The development of indigenous broadcasting in Canada
  • The impact of stereotyping on young people
  • Indigenous expression in the art and media
  • The importance of media education

The website walks its readers through a historical development of the indigenous identity, as portrayed through mainstream media and examines the impact of media’s portrayal. It also offers teaching resources for parents and teachers, including detailed lesson plans on topics such as “Bias in the News” or “Who’s Telling My Story.” I found this to be a very useful resource that will support my research paper, aimed at teaching teachers how to effectively educate their students about indigenous cultures in the world.

I would recommend that everyone view this site. It was both informative and practical: http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/aboriginal-people/common-portrayals-aboriginal-people

The inevitable Hardship of Integrity: Merits and Consequences

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When the First Nations people started to be aware of the fact that the new settlers were to share with them the lands and everything on it, the aboriginal people were defensive at first  but  this stance changed as it was time to give space for wisdom. What helped also in hastening this process is the geopolitical upheaval in the number if settlers and their determination to exploit the land and make it livable and beneficial for many people. I am not saying that the aboriginal people were not productive. On the contrary they were more productive within their limited community. All these factors, along with the social, economic, political changes, led to the final integration of the aboriginal people in the new or modern community. The integration didn’t happen completely and it didn’t happen overnight. There are a lot of aspects in the society that will be affected or dealt with to achieve an effective integration. One of these aspects is the educational sector and how it needs to cater for the needs of those who are new to it.

The educational sector was and still is one of the fields that has to witness a lot of changes and modifications to pave the way towards a complete and integral system that deals learners whoever they are. This is not an easy task in the realm of education. There are a lot inconsistencies, rejections, and alienation in the process.

The project will also tackle the merits behind the attempts which help the aboriginal conceive the different and new educational sphere around them.

The resources I am planning tentatively to deal rely on are ( there will be some changes in the list):

Hussain

 

Who are the Métis peoples?

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One of the central questions in ETEC 521 is: “How do communities balance educating non-Indigenous people, while preserving their culture?”  However, in order to answer this question as it pertains to the Métis peoples, one first needs to have an understanding of who the Métis peoples are.  However, the answer to the question of Métis identity seems to depend on who you ask. “Métis peoples insist that they are part of a distinctive cultural group.  However, Métis identity is frequently misinterpreted by non-Métis to refer simply to Aboriginal-European ancestry” (Ouellet and Hanson, 2008).

The question of Métis identity is an important one for me personally because my family has Métis ancestry.  In terms of my profession, I am interested in both the traditional and contemporary representations of the Métis presented in K-12 education.

My research project will investigate how the Métis are working to preserve and celebrate their culture while at the same time educate non-Indigenous people as to what it means to be Métis.

I will explore the following themes in my project:

Identity: Who are the Métis Peoples?  How do they define themselves?  How are they defined by others? How have these definitions changed over time?  Why does it matter?

Technology: How are the Métis using technology for historical research, cultural expression, cultural preservation, and education?

Possible sources of information include:

Module 1.5. Scholarly Journals and Publications

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I would like to share two web-pages embodying multidisciplinary information that spans a great variety of indigenous cultural themes.

The International Journal of Indigenous People (http://www.alternative.ac.nz/) is a scholarly journal that presents views from ethnic minorities around the world. The themes tackled by the journal cover issues of origins, communities, culture, history and heritage, colonialism and power, intervention, development and self-determination.The journal was established in 2005; it publishes articles in English with one article in each volume published in its original language.

The Center for World Indigenous Studies, (http://cwis.org/), is an independent American organization whose mission “is to advance traditional knowledge in the fields of traditional healing arts and sciences, fourth world geopolitics, and human rights through public policy analysis, clinical services, research and education.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Module 1.4. A book: Guns, Germs and Steel

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Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 
By Jared Diamond
 
In his book, Guns, Germs, and Steal, Jared Diamond gives a thorough and convincing explanation as to why the world’s great surviving civilisations have managed to do so, and how they’ve come to conquer others. Diamond stands against the idea that such civilisational success is the result of any kind of intellectual, moral or genetic superiority.
Diamond notes that many indigenous people around the world (e.g., Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, Sub-Saharan Africans, and New Guineans) have to a great extent been colonised, displaced from their places of habitation, and (at least in some cases) even exterminated and killed. Primarily, Diamond explains, this happened because of certain societies’s combative and political power, which is a consequence of the emergence of agriculture thousands of years ago. Agriculture, howerver, only emerged in geographic locations where there was one or a few species of plants and animals, which were suitable for domestication and herding. This, Diamond asserts, is a relative rarity in the world of flora and fauna, and was naturally limited to a very few geographic locations in the world (the Middle East, Ganges River Valley, China, and Central America). And consequently, everything else emerged from the advantage of the early rise of agriculture.
Therefore, the variance in wealth, power and technology in various human societies, Diamond writes, is the result of environmental differences. In other words, any advantage a human society has managed to achieve over others is due to the influence of geography on cultures and societies, and was never inherent in anybody’s genome.
Web links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel
http://www.mcgoodwin.net/pages/gungermsteel.html