Tag Archives: culture

Entry 11 : Remembering an Aboriginal war hero

I felt it was an appropriate time, during Remembrance, to show how technology, and the media, can be used to honour Aboriginal accomplishment. Too often, great people are forgotten or not recognized, due to the colour of their skin or their ethnical background. (I am not saying this is the case with Tommy Prince). But I’m certain there are many other native heros that have not be recognized.

I have shown the Canadian Military Heritage minutes previously to my students, with discussions on where soldiers originate. Here is the vignette on Tommy Prince. I have just found a second Youtube video, Tommy Prince: Canadian Hero at War, which offers more infrmation on Tommy Prince’s exploits. Together they make a great discussion and informational piece.

Module 3 Weblog – Post #5 – Promoting Indigenous Media Arts

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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.

Module 3 Weblog – Post #3 – Digital Expressions of Identity

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In one our earliest readings for the course, we learned from Faye Ginsburg of the events leading to the founding of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). One of the web sites affiliated with APTN, is Digital Drum. This site calls itself “…..an online gathering place for the young Aboriginal person” (About page, retrieved 03/11/13).

On the site, contributors can post and share digital media as a means of inspiration and expressing identity. The categories on which contributors can post are numerous and include everything from #IdleNoMore to the arts, food and travel, culture, politics and science and technology. What is interesting about the posts on the site is the mix of links that relate directly to traditional aboriginal culture and those that address a wide range of contemporary issues. Some, but not all posts on the site include commentary. Selfishly, I wish that more of the posts did include commentary in order to provide some insight into what it was about each piece of media that resonated most with the contributor and how the media relates to their personal identity.

Module 3 – Post 5 – âpihtawikosisân

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âpihtawikosisân is the website of Chelsea Vowel, “a Métis from the Plains Cree speaking community of Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta. Chelsea currently lives in Montreal, Quebec. Her passions are: education, Aboriginal law, the Cree language, and roller derby. She holds a BEd, an LLB and teaches indigenous youth.”

The website features blog posts, links to interviews that Chelsea has conducted, and informational links to a wide range of Indigenous topics including: Indigenous Identity and Culture, Aboriginal Law and treaties, Historic and Continuing Injustice, Specific Myths and Misunderstandings, Indigenous Health and Safety, Organisations, and Attawapiskat. I was originally attracted to her website to view an article entitled, “You’re Metis? So which of your parents is an Indian?” which attempts to dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings around Metis identity. Chelsea’s website is well written, easy to navigate, and includes a coverage of a wide variety of timely, topical information.

I would recommend this resources for anyone wanting to know more about how Indigenous peoples are (mis)represented in the media.

You can view the website here: http://apihtawikosisan.com/

Module #3-5: Indigenous LGBT

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This week there was an article in the New York Times about two gay men of Native American descent in Oklahoma who are planning to take advantage of tribal law to marry although gay marriage is illegal in the state. Also on Advocate.com, I found another article about Indigenous LGBTs titled “Eight LGBT Native Americans You Should Know”.

If Indigenous peoples are a minority in our society, then Indigenous LGBTs are a minority within a minority. Just like other LGBT people, Indigenous LGBTs face various issues related to health care, discrimination, and identity but their situation may be made more difficult due to their remote location, lack of education, and so forth.

NativeOUT is one of the few organizations working on behalf of Indigenous LGBTs and “Two Spirit” people—those manifesting both masculine and feminine traits and who could be considered as transgender, found traditionally among many Native Americans and Canadian First Nations communities. NativeOUT was originally founded as a local social group and then evolved into a national nonprofit volunteer education, multimedia, and news organization actively involved in the Indigenous LGBT community of North America. Their main mission is to work for social justice in rural and urban communities that benefit Indigenous LGBT and Two Spirit people.

As for the Two Spirit, this website has some explanations and information about articles, books, movies, etc.

Module #3-2: Indigenous Wisdom

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Indigenous wisdom is developed by trying out what works and what doesn’t, i.e., trial and error. It is passed down from generation to generation rather than being inscribed in a book. Then the descendants value these wise ideas, paying their respects up to today, because they benefit their everyday lives.

For the Next 7 Generations is a 2009 documentary. It is the story of thirteen wise Indigenous women who came together at a historic gathering, the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, to represent a global alliance of prayer, education, and healing for the earth and indigenous ways of life. Their concern about this world and planet in crisis spur them to share their visions and wisdoms of healing and to call for change that protects their lands, medicines, language, ceremonial ways of prayers, and the education of their children, before it is too late.

The Pachamama Alliance, the organization which empowers indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest to preserve their lands and culture, wrote a blog titled “Reconnecting with Indigenous Wisdom” and introduced their posts exploring the profound value of indigenous wisdom. These posts explain why reconnecting with indigenous wisdom is essential to creating a thriving and sustainable world.

Indigenous wisdoms traditionally represent the hope that connects the old generation to the new one. And, at the same time, resistance to the encroachment of non-Indigenous values and morals is a means by which they strive to preserve their identity.

Module #3-1: Aboriginal People in Canada

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This post returns to the basics. According to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC), the Canadian constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal people: Indians (commonly referred to as First Nations), Métis, and Inuit. More than one million people in Canada identify themselves as an Aboriginal person. These three distinct peoples have unique histories, languages, cultural practices, and spiritual beliefs. Their cultures are displayed online by numerous organizations and museums.

The First Peoples’ Cultural Council supports the revitalization of Aboriginal language, arts, and culture in British Columbia. They monitor the status of B.C. Aboriginal languages, cultures, and arts, and facilitate and develop strategies which help Aboriginal communities recover and sustain their heritage. They also provide program coordination and funding for Aboriginal language and cultural preservation and enhancement.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) is the national Inuit organization in Canada. They represent and promote the interests of the Inuit on a wide variety of environmental, social, cultural, and political issues and challenges facing Inuits on the national level. ITK does not deliver or fund programs and is instead a national advocacy organization.

The Metis Culture and Heritage Resource Centre Inc. (MCHRC) is a Métis managed and non-profit membership-based charitable organization in Winnipeg. They publish a quarterly newsletter, hold cross-cultural workshops, and offer various community outreach programs, etc. As for Métis culture, the Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture is a good resource. They chronicle traditional Métis history and culture and contain a wealth of primary documents such as oral history interviews, photographs and various archival documents in visual, audio and video files.

Mod 2:5 Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre

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The Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre is committed to helping maintain the languages and cultures of First Nations people. Their website has information on the various First Nations in Saskatchewan as well as a section on how to respect Elders. The website has information that could easily be used with students.

http://www.sicc.sk.ca/elders_faq.html

Entry 10: Fight to Save Endangered Languages

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This article, Native Americans Fight to Save Endangered Languages. was found in LiveScience , February 2012. The author, Clara Moskowitz, discusses the possible disappearnace of many Native languages, and the methods used to try to revive the languages before they become extinct. Moskowitz introduces Alfred Lane, the sole fluent speaker of the Native American language Siletz Dee-ni. In response to the decline of this language, a group started teaching it in school twice a week. It may yet survive, but the future is uncertain.

Molowitz also talks of a online talking dictionary sponsored by National Geographic’s Enduring Voices project and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, This dictionary is a collection of the many endangered languages.

“As native peoples assimilate more and more into the dominant cultures around them, and as younger generations grow up speaking dominant languages like English in school and with their peers, fewer and fewer people are becoming fluent in native tongues.” With the loss of the native language, follows a loss of culture and a knowledge base of animals and plants.

Margaret Noori, a professor at the University of Michigan offers a suggestion to keep a language alive. She says that we must create in it . She teaches Ashininaabemowin language through the use of technology. She has websites about the language, and she uses social media, like Facebook, and Twitter, to spread the word. The survival of the language is dependent on the younger generation taking up the cause, following the language and the culture.

Entry 9: Ancient tongues fade away

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Marie Smith knows that her language – the Alaskan tongue of Eyak – will die with her. And she mourns its passing.

On June 13, 2004 Dennis O’Brien , for the Baltimore Sun, wrote Ancient tongues fade away: Languages: As roads, technology and the global economy reach once-isolated areas, old ways of communicating are dying off. This article explores the disappearance of languages and possible reasons. “Krauss and other linguists blame the losses on economic and social trends, politics, improved transportation and the global reach of telecommunications.” Global economics pull people from the smaller isolated areas. And for those who don’t leave, the internet and WWW reach into their homes. O’Brien relates that over half the world’s population communicate using only 15 languages. Thus many other languages are only spoken by handfuls (or less) of people.

“Krauss says that about half of the 200 languages native to North America will probably die out over the next century because so few children are picking up them up” As the language dies , so too does part of the culture. “The fight to save other dying languages is more of an uphill battle. Critics argue that it’s a waste of time and money if cultural trends dictate their eventual demise.” Yet some languages are being saved. With great, effort people are recording and transcribing. While others are passing along the sounds and nuances to younger generations.

“Linguists say that a society’s culture and history die out when its language expires” After all, language is connected to culture.

Speaking of saving languages, here is a new article dated Sept, 2013. It tells of “Dr. Marguerite MacKenzie and her team are finalists for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Award in recognition of their groundbreaking work on the preservation of the Innu language.” The group created an online dictionary to translate from English to the Innu language. All is not lost.