Tag Archives: Indigenous Peoples

Module #3-5: Indigenous LGBT

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 #3-4: Mental Health Issues

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After I saw Kind Hearted Woman which I mentioned in module 2, I started wondering about Indigenous peoples’ mental health issues. The woman in the documentary faced so many struggles in her life: poverty, career, relationship, drug and alcohol abuse, her own identity, and so forth. Indigenous peoples have to deal with different struggles, more than we do, due to the unique circumstances of their lives.

According to HeretoHelp, in some Indigenous groups in Canada, a survey shows the number of people seeking help was as high as 17%, compared to the Canadian average of 8%.

Health Canada, the Federal department, has some information about First Nations & Inuit health on their website. Also the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) states how to cooperate with Indigenous communities across Canada to help them overcome barriers and support their vision for improved mental health. MHCC also mentions what they have learned from Indigenous peoples in Canada through their work: acknowledging realities facing Indigenous peoples; developing close partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis (FNIM) communities; and appreciating culture roles in supporting well-being and recovery in FNIM communities.

In Australia, Indigenous Psychological Services (IPS) was founded in 1998 to contribute to the Aboriginal mental health field. They have three main areas of service delivery, including Aboriginal mental health training, cultural competency intervention programs, and Aboriginal mental health and suicide intervention programs. What they state in the website is similar to MHCC; it is crucial for service providers to recognize the uniqueness and diversity of Aboriginal culture. The “one size fits all” approach would never work.

Module #3-3: Education for Indigenous Peoples

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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.

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 – Post 1 Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change

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Reading this weeks readings reminded me of a documentary I had seen a few years back. It is entitled “Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change”. The documentary was written, produced, and directed by Zacharias Kunuk, is presented almost entirely in Inuktitut, and features interviews with Mary Simon as well as many Inuit elders. In the documentary the Inuit present their observations that prove that climate change is happening. The Inuit elders have hundreds if not thousands of years of traditional oral history that they rely on in order to provide food for their families through hunting and fishing. Unfortunately, the climate is changing, and hunting and fishing are becoming harder to do.

The Inuit present evidence for the following:

later freeze up
earlier break up and melt
decreased thickness of shelf ice
change to weather patterns and prevailing winds
change in behaviour of seals and polar bears
change in the earth’s tilt, changing star navigation and position of sun on horizon
increase in pollution in the north

Also presented are alternate reasons for the decline of the polar bear population (although the Inuit assert that the bears are not in decline) and the seal population. The Inuit elders feel that the wildlife biologists are to blame for the decline in the animal populations, and that the methods of tracking with helicopters and tagging is causing more harm. In a few well presented and passionate speeches, the elders present their love for and kinship with the animals and assert that the Inuit are not and could not ever bring harm to the animals.

The Inuit know that climate change is happening, but fell powerless to do anything about it. Their hope is that by presenting this information that more people will sit up and take notice. The video is approximately 54 minutes long and is well worth a view.

View the video for yourself here.

Module 2: Post 5 – Apology by Prime Minster Stephen Harper to the Residential School Survivors

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In June 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologized to the Indigenous peoples of Canada for removing children from their homes and forcing them to attend residential schools in an effort to assimilate Indigenous children into the dominant culture.

In his apology Harper acknowledges that the residential school system was created on the assumption that Indigenous languages and culture were inferior to the dominant culture. He noted that this assumption/belief was wrong and had caused harm to Indigenous communities.

Harper also includes in his apology statistics regarding the number of schools, locations of schools as well as the involvement of various Christian churches in the running of the school.

What is curious to me is Harper’s statement that ‘some’ of these children died whilst attending residential schools. In many reports the death rate at residential schools was of serious concern. It has been noted that due to poor sanitation, hygiene, and access to medical care, death rates at residential schools was on average around 25 – 30%. Often times, the practice was to send children who were critically ill home. In some schools the death rate of students who returned home was as high as 74%.

Harper goes on to recognize the damaging effects of the residential school system on individuals, families and Indigenous communities. He then apologizes for ‘Canada’s role in the Indian Residential Schools System.’

Harper ends his speech with a discussion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its role in educating all Canadians on residential schools and forming a new relationship between Canada’s Indigenous peoples and Canadians.

Module 2 – Post #1 – Right in Front of Me

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It is true that when searching for ideas and resources, it is sometimes easy to overlook the things that are right in front of you. The Ryerson Image Centre is directly beside my office, and every day I walk past a large, glass enclosed area of the building that houses a rotating display of images from current exhibits. I realized recently that, as I rushed to grab coffee each day, some of the images that were catching my eye brought to mind many of the themes of ETEC521. Sure enough, I soon discovered that one of the exhibits that is currently running at the Centre is Ghost Dance, a show which includes 99 journalistic photographs, capturing elements of aboriginal life and activism in North America.

While the images themselves are beautiful and intriguing, something that I found equally interesting about this exhibit is the blog associated with it. The blog is designed to serve as a forum for visitors to share any memories or associations they might have with the people, events or locations captured in the photos. Unfortunately, so far, no comments have been posted to the blog to provide deeper insights into these images.

I hope to return to the exhibit and to the blog again over the next few weeks. While the curator of the exhibit has chosen an engaging selection of images, how much more engaging and informative might the show be if the true stories behind the images, or even parts of these stories, were to be shared by those involved?

Module #2-5: Stereotypes of Indigenous Peoples

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Since the discussion topic was about stereotypes, I researched Indigenous peoples and stereotypes a little further. I found some amusing stereotypes, but many negative one too that were not funny at all. I assume (or hope) that non-Indigenous people would not entirely believe them, but the negative stereotypes are deep-rooted and may affect how Indigenous people are viewed in some respects.

Native Appropriations is a forum that discusses representations of Native peoples, including stereotypes and cultural appropriation. In a recent post they discussed racist Halloween costumes. I totally understand that wearing Indian costumes can be perceived as racist but racism may not be always the reason for choosing Indian costumes; sometimes people dress for something they love and respect, so one cannot over generalize. If children want to choose a costume simply because s/he likes it, how should adults react?

Creative Spirits, the website that introduces contemporary Aboriginal culture in Australia, discusses many stereotypes and prejudices about ‘Aboriginal Australia’. At the same time, they introduce ‘good’ stereotypes as well as typical ones; for example, the Tourism Australia website uses the common stereotype of ‘Australia = friendly Aboriginal people’ to promote the tourism in Australia. It is important for students to learn about the negative aspects of Aboriginal history, but at the same time, teachers should focus on Indigenous peoples’ strength and beliefs to reveal their positive aspects. It may not be the best solution for rooting out negative stereotypes, but perhaps positive stereotypes can help overcome negative ones.

Module #2-4: Network in Indigenous Communities

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One of the difficulties that Indigenous peoples may face is networking. Even though the Internet is developed and people can easily connect with one other, it does not mean all people know how to network with other communities. Actually it can be quite hard to connect with people; I knew there should be a Japanese community in Quebec City when I first moved here, but it took me several months to meet the first Japanese person!

The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada is an open network to promote giving, sharing, and philanthropy in Indigenous communities across Canada. They connect with and support the empowerment of Indigenous communities and individuals in building a stronger, healthier future. They strive to strengthen the Indigenous right to self-determination as one of their goals through workshops, meetings, newsletters, and so on.

In 2006, an Indigenous entrepreneur started NationTalk as a newswire and listing service that aggregated information relevant to the Indigenous communities in Canada. Their services rapidly grew across Canada and now it is the great way to reach out to the Indigenous communities, with more than 15,000 daily newsletter subscribers and over 2 million page impressions a year through its website. NationTalk allows the creation of websites with local information on jobs, with advertisements, and news for communities as small as a village.

Networking can help Indigenous people strengthen their relationships with others, with numerous benefits for all concerned. It can also be a good source of new perspectives and ideas, expand opportunities for business or valuable knowledge, open doors to the exchange of valuable suggestions, and provide guidance.

Module #2-3: Films and Documentaries

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Recently I have seen a few documentaries about Indigenous peoples both on TV and in the theater. One is called Kind Hearted Woman, about a native woman in North Dakota who struggles with poverty, career, drug and alcohol abuse, and her own identity. It was very powerful and I had so many questions such as “what prevents her from leaving the community?” or “why is it so hard for her to overcome her problems?” because of my ignorance about Indigenous peoples and, probably, my stereotypes about them. Then I watched Nanook of the North last week and now I curiously started searching for more Indigenous films.

First Nations Films was created in 1998 and distributes award-winning educational documentary films for, by and about Indigenous peoples in Canada. Many movies are listed in their catalogue with trailers. Movies feature various topics, such as native women, suicide in the community, Indigenous peoples’ historical relationship with the Provincial and Canadian governments in settling the land question in Canada, etc. National Film Board of Canada features many Indigenous documentaries and animations on its website as well. The best feature of this website is that we can watch many full-length feature films about Aboriginal Peoples.

Coincidentally, imagineNATIVE, Toronto’s 14th annual showcase of the latest work by indigenous filmmakers and artists, will be held October 16th through 20th. Every fall imagineNATIVE presents a selection of distinctive Indigenous works from around the world in conjunction with a variety of cultural & social events. Because we are apt to have incorrect impressions or stereotypes about Indigenous peoples, it is helpful for us to see films and documentaries on them to dispel stereotypical notions about them. Through diverse media presentations we can arrive at a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures.