Day: September 15, 2008

Anash Interactive

Anash Interactive is aimed at teaching children about the Tlingit peoples.  The website is based on an APTN television series called Anash and the Legacy of the Sun-Rock, and has links to the series and episode synopses.  They have won awards in the US, Germany, and Canada.

The site also enables creation and sharing of stories.  The site includes an interactive comic/story creator, as well as resources and information for parents and teachers (grades 4-6) such as crossword and word search puzzles, a teaching and home education guide, and a PDF outlining specific learning outcomes and curricular connections for Western Canada.

Aboriginal Canada Portal

The Aboriginal Canada Portal website is collaboration between a number of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal organizations including the:

The portal has a huge potential for a wide range of starting points for research topics and information for this course.

Of particular interest to me was the Language, Heritage and Culture link.  This page provides an overview and serves as a launch pad for a number of related links including: “Artists” which links to an alphabetized list of websites of Aboriginal performing and visual artists in Canada;  “Languages” links to a list of links to pages discussing language related issues including online lessons.  One of the Languages links to online lessons.  One lesson in Inuktitut includes a rather strange exercise with a song written in Inuktitut (Aqqutialuk surappuq) and intended to be sung to the music of “London Bridge is Falling Down”.  The audio was not working at the time of this post.  Perhaps this lesson has been abandoned.

Another link from the Language, Heritage and Culture page is to Media and multimedia page.   There are a huge range of links that could provide research topic insights into Indigenous knowledge, and the impact of globalization.  The page links to the APTN television network website, and to Digital Drum which hosts a number of Internet videos, links to blogs, and audio content about current issues close to Indigenous cultures.  For example, one video talks about being an “Eagle woman”.

Native Education Centre (NEC)

The mission of the Native Education Centre (NEC) is to provide a culturally appropriate and supportive environment for Aboriginal learners.  The site makes an interesting point of defining Aboriginal learners as both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.  The college (centre) is located in Vancouver, BC.  NEC programs include Wholistic Healing, Technology (including both Digital Media , and Business), Social and Economic (including Tourism and Land Stewardship) Development, and Educational Outreach programs working with First Nations and Aboriginal communities.

The website includes a Success Stories link.  It is interesting to read the stories of graduates and hear about their aspirations and their work.   Many, if not most of the graduates seem to be First Nations.  Their stories reflect strong commitments to giving back to their communities.
Browsing some of the program offerings, such as the FirstHost tourism seminar, also seems to give a feel of a community atmosphere both in the college and its curriculum.  For more depth into the college community, download the NEC calendar to read the story of the totem pole that stands outside the NEC, and to learn about the annual student welcoming ceremony and the protocols of the Longhouse that the ceremony follows. One begins to imagine ways that our current standardized curriculum could learn from this community approach.

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