The University of Calgary has webpages that give basic information about First Nations history. This one has maps of Canada with different ways of dividing regions. It is interesting to see how the linguistic, regional, and First Nations maps differ and compare to one another.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/firstnations/civilisations.html
This website is an interactive journey that gives information about five First Nations across Canada. The website says, “Four Directions Teachings celebrates Indigenous oral traditions by honoring the process of listening with intent as each elder or traditional teacher shares a teaching from their perspective on the richness and value of cultural traditions from their nation.” (http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/transcripts.html) The site is student friendly and engaging. It could easily be used in the classroom to share information about First Nations peoples.
On November 16, CTV News reported in “Staff at Saskatchewan university calls for end of First Nations logos, mascots” that the department of educational foundations of the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Education had issued a statement calling for the use of Indigenous peoples as mascots, logos, and slogans to cease.
The resolution, which was posted to a Facebook page, stated that the Department of Educational Foundations does not support the use of Indigenous peoples depicted as school mascots, in logos, slogans, or team names and the idea that such logos and mascots are positive representations of Indigenous peoples is false and constitutes century-old racism.
This type of controversy comes up in the media from time to time. In the article “Native names, logos have long tradition in sports” CTV News also presented the potential racist inferences of logos and mascots used by companies or sports teams. Honestly speaking, I am not sure if using these logos can always be designated racist and offensive to Indigenous peoples. That is something they should weigh in on. Sometimes such issues must be discussed among activists and the people concerned, who are sometimes left out of the loop on the discussion.
The First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) is a university in Saskatchewan. FNUniv, formerly Saskatchewan Indian Federated College until 2003, is open to students of all cultures and nationalities—not only restricted to First Nations descendants. According to the figures on their website, they have 750 registered FNUniv students and 4,000 students from other schools taking their courses in fall 2013. I was very interested in seeing the quota of Indigenous to non-Indigenous students at FNUniv but I could not find it.
The school’s vision is “to enhance the quality of life, and to preserve, protect and interpret the history, language, culture and artistic heritage of First Nations people.” They designed special programs in partnership with Aboriginal communities in order to meet the human resource needs of Aboriginal communities in areas such as health, education, and the environment.
FNUniv offers academic programming through the Department of Professional Programs (Indigenous Education, Indian Social Work, Business and Public Administration, Health Sciences and Nursing) and the Department of Interdisciplinary Programs as well (Indigenous Studies, Indian Fine Arts, Indian Communication Arts, Indigenous Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, etc.).
They also provide a unique opportunity to study in an environment that supports First Nations cultures, languages, and values. The students can participate in and learn through ceremonies with elders as well as through classroom-based experience. I think that FNUniv is a unique institution not only because they specialize in Indigenous knowledge but because they also know how to take advantage of the elders by letting them play a crucial role in propagating their culture.
Interactive media is pushing the boundaries of contemporary film.
A few weeks ago, we were encouraged to visit several websites promoting indigenous culture. When visiting the “Unikkausivut – Sharing our Stories” webpage of the National Film Board of Canada, I noticed an “Interactive” link at the top and found myself engaging in an experience known as “Bla Bla”.
I dare you to try it. It is so strangely compelling. I couldn’t help being drawn into the animation and had to explore by clicking just to see what would happen next.
This is game theory in its purest form. No instructions. Just subtle clues and the knowledge that the user will become impatient and will try “something”. And when you do try something, you can’t help trying something again.
When art or knowledge is presented in such a way, the audience is compelled to continue to “play” and engage in “experiential learning” which I believe is one of the central tenets to First Nations culture – the belief that that which is worth learning can be accomplished through situational experience.
Mel Burgess
“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
After viewing the numerous short films and documentaries offered in Module 3, and in my continuing research to understand the role of digital media in Indigenous culture and education, I have been seeking out resources having to do film making and new media creation. One such source of these resources that I have recently discovered is the National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition (NIMAC). NIMAC is the Indigenous branch of the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA).
NIMAC promotes and advocates for the work of Indigenous media artists and arts organizations. The coalition has a variety of initiatives including advocacy, the commissioning of works, artistic residencies and the maintenance of resources for Indigenous media artists on the NIMAC website. Two very helpful sections of the NIMAC website are the Training and Education page and the Tool Kits. These two areas of the site provide a very thorough idea of the organizations and programs across the country that support the development of new media materials by and for Indigenous people.
The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA) was founded in 1983 and states, as part of its mission that it is “…dedicated to providing objective, mature and balanced coverage of news, information and entertainment relevant to Aboriginal issues and peoples while maintaining profound respect for the values, principles and traditions of Aboriginal people. “(History and Mission page, retrieved 03/11/13).
By 1993 society’s work has resulted in the creation of Windspeaker magazine, Canada’s sole national aboriginal news publication. The site offers links to information regarding AMMSA’s regional publications for at least four provinces and one territory – BC/Yukon, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan. In addition to the news publications, the site also provides links to CFWE, an Alberta based fm radio broadcaster.
Finally, the site includes a Daily blog and Community Access Links along with numerous “in depth” resources on current issues of particular relevance such as IdleNoMore, Missing and Murdered Women, and Pipelines and Tankers. These areas of the site are rich sources of information and perspectives on the lives of Aboriginal people in Canada, their contributions to their communities and the challenges that they continue to face with respect to self-governance, their cultures, their lands and their resources. While these materials are not stories in the traditional sense of narrative, they nonetheless help to fill in important gaps in the story of our country that many Canadians have been told over the years.
People gathered from far and wide at Saskatoon City Hall on October 25th to witness the historic occasion of the raising of two new flags. Two new Flags representing Treaty Six and the Metis were raised as a gesture of openness and good faith, and to recognize and honour the First Nations Peoples. The ceremony included presentations from many different First Nations groups: singing, dancing, fiddle music and drumming. Speeches from local representatives, First Nations elders and Lieutenant-Governor Vaughn Solomon were included as well.
You can read the full article here
You can see pictures from the ceremony here
Education for Indigenous peoples is one of the most urgent issues. When compared with non-Indigenous peoples, Indigenous peoples tend to have a lower education level and hence a lower standard of living. In Canada, the Government is pursuing the important goal of providing Indigenous students with quality education because it will bring them broader choices and opportunities with which to follow their dreams.
There are some educational institutes with the same goal. The Indspire Institute is an online community where K-12 students, educators and parents can network, find resources, and participate in webinars. The institute offers online programs and resources for classroom use in order to raise high school completion rates among Indigenous youth. They choose to function as an online tool because the Internet has the most widespread accessibility for the greatest number of people in Canada. For many communities with no high-speed connection, Indspire sends out material in DVD format or uses audio-only delivery where bandwidth is a challenge. Indspire is the largest supporter of Indigenous education outside the federal government.
The Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative (MAEI) is a charitable organization supporting education for Indigenous students across Canada. Their mission is to improve elementary and secondary school education outcomes for Indigenous Canadians through the implementation of specific programs and the application of appropriate research. MAEI offers various programs to provide Indigenous youth with opportunities to learn in areas such as business, entrepreneurship, and accounting, and to encourage them to complete their high school education and continue on to post-secondary studies.
Education is critical to enhancing the social and economic strength of Indigenous people to a level enjoyed by other Canadians. These institutes aim to increase high school graduation rates, encourage completion of university, and support Indigenous students as they consider a variety of professional and business career options.