I recall my experience living on the Reserve. The cell tower was near the central area and near the school and so we had Internet access and cell service. At their homes many of the students did not have cell service. When they are in town they would go and sit in the Tim Hortons and download movies to their cell phones that they would watch at home. How do you use and teach technology in such a situation? On the other hand, in the community that I lived in BC, there is reasonably good access to the Internet if you can afford to pay for it. I am not sure how many families have computers at home but in general, if the students need access to a computer they would be able to access a computer through school or the village government.
How might Indigenous education and use of technology have different goals than “modernist” educational goals and purposes?
One side is best summarized by the excerpt from Howe (1998) writing about the elders of the Six Nations in 1744.
“You who are wise must know that different nations have different conceptions of things; and you will therefore not take it amiss, if our ideas of this kind of Education happen not to be the same with yours. We have had some Experience of it; Several of our young people were formerly brought up at the Colleges of the Northern Provinces; they were instructed in all your Sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad Runners, ignorant of every means of living in the Woods, unable to bear either Cold or Hunger, knew neither how to build a Cabin, take a Deer, or kill an Enemy, spoke our Language imperfectly, were therefore neither fit for Hunters, Warriors, nor Counsellors; they were totally good for nothing.”
Therefore, on this side of the question, the goals of Indigenous education and technology are opposite to students whose goal is to live and work in modern urban centers and Western culture. Modernist educational goals and purposes are to educate and prepare students to succeed in the Canadian society whereas the needs of Aboriginal communities are different. This preparation would encourage the young generation to leave their communities and seek success outside of their communities. The goals of Indigenous education and use of technology should be what is needed in Indigenous communities and what would be useful in Indigenous communities.
We see this recognized in the many land-based and experiential approaches to Indigenous education. We also see this recognized in the New BC Curriculum as “Incorporate First Peoples worldviews, perspectives, knowledge, and practices”.
On the other hand, modernist education in the Sciences and Engineering and the use of technology can play a dynamic role and even a revitalizing role for Indigenous people, for cultural preservation and political mobilization. Indigenous people have recognized that the young people will “walk in two worlds” (Hare, 2011). In my own experience, we see many First Nations communities and Reserve with no economy of their own. It is my belief that education goals and technology of future generations of Indigenous children should be focused on what their communities need to develop their families, community and the economy of their community.
References
Hare, J. (2011). Learning from Indigenous knowledge in education. In D. Long and O. P. Dickenson (Eds.) Visions of the Heart, 3rd Edition (pp. 91-112). Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.
Howe, C. (1998). Cyberspace is No Place for Tribalism. Technology and Native American Culture, 13(2), 19-28
This is such a valuable post. Cultural differences, like religion can be such a barrier to collaboration, understanding and growth. Our country (the world) is special because of our differences and what each culture can learn from each other. I cannot imagine a world like StarTrek’s Borg where everyone must be assimilated. I am Canadian, but what does that mean? Genetically I am a mongrel with many different nationalities mixed together. I grew up in rural Southwestern Ontario on a farm where my exposure to other cultures and nationalities was limited until my teens. One can continue to live in that small world, or through the help of education (in-class or mobile) we can learn together and become more understanding of each others differences. Education is not just the history, but sharing and understanding the reasons behind cultural differences to ensure we do not become the Borg. I am thankful my son is growing up in a way where he does not see the colour of a person’s skin. My hope is that his generation will be able to embrace differences and work together so that we can be understanding rather than fearful of those differences. The ability to educate using learning or mobile technologies is limitless, I hope some in our class will show us the way to do it!