Tag Archives: technology

Module 2 – Post 2. “Wanosts’a7 (Lorna) Williams”

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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Dr. Lorna William’s podcast tonight. As I dug a bit deeper, I found that she, along with Dr. Nancy Turner, also works for UVic.

Dr. William’s specialty remains with linguistics and the revitalization of indigenous languages. The last 5 minutes of her podcast really captured how I feel about technology in a nutshell; if I feel it is useful for my students and myself, I will use it.

To quote from her podcast:

“So what about technology during that period? We always tried whatever technology was around. If it worked we kept it and used it. If it didn’t work, we didn’t. So the question always is, “What part of technology do you use?” Because you could spend a lot of time on technologies that just take your energy and your time away from what you are actually supposed to do. The question is, “What do you want to happen and how can technology support the work that you do?

And also, “What are the limitations of the technologies?” So for example, if you look at the writing systems of people around BC, if you look at people’s orthographies, they are combinations of the international phonetics alphabet and the Roman alphabet…modified, but a lot of that came because we were developing these during the times of the IBM Selectric typewriter. We found somebody in Hawaii who could modify the Selectric IBM ball and put characters on that ball that we needed. So, that’s why, that’s how what was available technology-wise resulted in what we have.

IBM Selectric typewriter elements

In retrospect, she makes the observation that through the use of technology, limitations are placed on culture, specifically language, in the conversion of an oral means of communication to a literate means of communication. Technology helps “create the context of the orthography of the language.”

I like how she also recognizes that a lot of time, energy, and money is spent trying to learn new technologies, when we could be actually doing the work we set out to accomplish. In our district, BCESIS is a prime example of software that many teachers were forced to use. This technology (a “gradebook” application) was very difficult for most to learn and couldn’t effectively accomplish that which it was designed to do, but because the decision was made “top down” to roll out its implementation, it cost taxpayers of BC approximately $100 million, only to be dropped 6 years after its adoption. This was, in my view, a colossal waste of time and money.

Mel Burgess.

Module 2 Post 1: First Nations Technology Council

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While searching for information related to technology uniting indigenous communities I stumbled across The First Nations Technology Council, who’s primary goals are to:

1. To support the number of First Nations communities accessing high or higher speed connectivity.

2. To increase the digital literacy of First Nations individuals and communities to ensure they benefit fully from technology.

3. To work with First Nations communities to determine their unique information management needs and to partner with qualified companies or agencies to develop appropriate programs and software to meet these needs.

4. To provide First Nations communities with technology support as close to them as possible and in a format that meets them at their technical literacy level. (source link: http://fnbc.info/about-first-nations-technology-council-0)

The site provides links to many sponsors and partners that support their agenda, which includes: First Nations Health Authority, First Nations Summit, UBC Learning Circle, Indigena Solutions.

FNTC is a non-profit organization that was incorporated in 2009. One of the things they do is facilitate annual technology summits for FN communities.

They have what’s called Project Raven which “provides technical skills development and employment opportunities to Aboriginal people living in various areas of BC. If you are an under-employed (less than 20 hrs per week) or un-employed Aboriginal, Metis or Inuit adult living on or off reserve in BC,  you are eligible for training through this program.

Research Interest: Treaty Essential Learnings SK

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This barcode allows you to follow the Office of Treaty Commissioner with your smartphone. The picture is also linked to the Office of the Treaty Commissioner website. http://www.otc.ca/

The Treaty Essential Learnings is an initiative in Saskatchewan to teach all students, K-12, about treaties 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 which cover our province. It has been in development since 2008 and teachers throughout the province now have resource kits to help teach about treaties. The resources available are well put together however it would be beneficial for teachers and students to have as many resources at their fingertips as possible. At this moment, teachers have been finding their own supplemental resources. I would like to put together a website that would gather as many online resources as possible the support the TELs as well as about First Nations culture in general. I envision it for both teachers and students with short synopsis’s of each one and/or recommendations on how to use the resource.

 

I am interested in this topic because I am a grade four teacher in Saskatchewan with little experience of First Nations culture. I have been teaching the TELs for the past few years with the resources available however I have always felt I could do a better job.

Research Interest: Identity, the Arts, and New Media Technologies

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Through the use of this blog, I would like to gain a greater understanding of contemporary Aboriginal cultural identity, specifically in a Canadian context. I feel that the arts provide a valuable lens from which to explore this topic, as art forms such as music, dance, carving, and textiles have long played a pivotal role in First Nations culture. The arts provided artists and communities with ways of preserving traditions, history and affirming a shared sense of tribal identity, something that was adversely affected by the federal laws that restricted or prohibited traditional practices, and of course the residential school system that separated children from their families over several generations.

As First Nations communities attempt to heal the scars of these traumatic experiences, I’m curious to know what role the arts are playing in revitalizing Aboriginal cultural traditions and strengthening a sense of purpose and identity in the twenty-first century. In addition to revitalizing traditional art forms, new technologies such as video, audio recording and digital art software provide First Nations artists with an opportunity to create new works of art that merge tradition with modernity. The integration of new technologies, re-interpretations of traditional art forms and the influence of media produced by non-aboriginal artists, however, presents new challenges and questions about the meaning, purpose and sanctity of Aboriginal art that I feel is worth exploring.

 

Technology and loss of identity

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The benefits of technology are easily noticed.  The Web and other technological devices do allow indigenious people an opportunity to explore and investigate their culture.  People can often find traditional skills that may have otherwise been lost. However there has been a much research done on the overuse of technology.

Therefore, I wish to explore the drawbacks or negative side-effects of this over technological use on indigenious people.  This topic may seem broad in scope. How do we judge what is overuse of technology?  Which negative aspects of techuse do I wish to explore:  the medical, the environmental, or the social?  I will focus my research on the personal impact of technological use as it affects or alters one’s life.  I wish to explore if technology is taking away the self-identity, or cultural identity of indigenious people, – an identity that, without technology, would remain.

I will explore articles and sites on technology versus self-identity and cultural identity.  I will also examine data on technological use for indigenious and non-indigenious groups.

Below is a list of some sites, articles, and research that may be used along with the information from my modules.

Preservation of Culture in an Economy of Extraction – my statement to connect weblogs.

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Nilesh Patel, a friend of mine from High School, filmed and directed a movie in 2006 called “Brocket 99: Rocking the Country”. The film was created to spark authentic dialogue between First Nations and non-aboriginal peoples in the hopes of tackling stereotypes and promoting increased tolerance. I recently had a chance to talk with Nilesh, who described some of his experiences of the past 10 years, making documentary movies with First Nations groups across BC and Alberta. We discussed how attitudes towards First Nations groups varies greatly depending on the region and how some First Nation groups are making strides to regain sovereignty, while others fall behind and still face oppressive resistance and hostility. Reflecting on our discussion, I think of how government in Western Canada is eagerly pursuing an “economy first, use it or lose it” agenda. I question, “Where does culture of indigenous peoples fit within an ideology of resource extraction and economic growth?” I believe economic development has put indigenous peoples at a crossroads today. The race is on to preserve traditional ways, especially language, in the face of massive global economic pressure and corporate interests.

Tar sands extraction in northern Alberta

To start my inquiry, I will look at three distinctly different regions of Western Canada and the groups of indigenous peoples that live within these regions: Duncan, BC (Cowichan Tribes); Fort McKay, Alberta (Cree, Dene, and Metis); and Inuvik, Northwest Territory (Inuvialuit, Gwich’in, and Metis). I will examine the industry that exists within these areas and how economics has affected and continues to affect these First Nations peoples. I will then study how these indigenous groups are using technology to help retain and pass on what is vital to their way of life. Lastly, I will look at how these First Nations groups are utilizing the internet as a space to promote culture and identity.

Mel Burgess.

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

Module 1 – Post 5 – Eco Literate Law

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EcoLiterate Law is a website by Robert Hershey, a professor at the University of Arizona teaching in Law and American Indian Studies Faculties and Director of Clinical Education for the Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program. This website is created as a course based on an article he wrote titled Globalization and the Transformation of Cultures and Humanity: A Curriculum and Toolkit for the Efflorescence of Ecological Literacy in Legal and Business School Education. This paper includes a section called The Impact of Digital Technology on Indigenous Peoples which I thought would be very relevant to this course.

Module 1 – Post 3 – Google Earth and Indigenous Communities

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In our Hare reading, emphasis is placed on the ‘local’ in Indigenous knowledge. However for many of us, who are not of this background, it may be difficult to understand the importance of what “place” actually represents. This prevents us from a more complete understanding of the Indigenous perspective.  In aid of this and by utilizing online technology available, a group from Georgia(USA) is using Google Earth and multimedia to demonstrate the geography of the Cherokee. You can view the project here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6IJrxz–AA&list=PLWw80tqUZ5J8tXKFdM6vvTYMK9ibmCQ9Y

This project focuses on revealing the very importance of the landscape itself as central to the Cherokee culture. What’s interesting about this is how useful a publicly available tool such as Google Earth is in providing content to what the relationship that and Indigenous community would have to the land and actual locations. Using a tool such as this, one can show, for example, sacred places, deposits of medicinal herbs, as well as animal migration routes. For those among us who live in larger cities, such a guide is invaluable in providing context.

(note: I am not a fan on the banjo music they play in the clip and have tried hard to not listen to it while appreciating the rest of their work.)