Joey’s ETEC 521 Blog

The film is reminiscent of Nanook in that it presents a similar but very current image of the collision of ancient indigenous, and modern westernized cultures. In this film the impact is felt by three Australian Aboriginal teens.  The boys are caught between their ancient culture and traditions, and the imposed cultural realities of their modern day-to-day lives. The boys search for their identities through the commodified world of peer pressure, football, and rap music.  And, through the Australian outback where they need to rely on their traditional knowledge of the bush.

The film website includes links to:

• a film trailer
• a synopsis of the story
• a history of the Yolngu peoples
• educational resources and a study guide

It is a striking reminder that things may not have changed much since the time of Nanook of the North. From the trailers one wonders if the movie reflects somewhat of a modernized version of the “Noble Savage”.  For those analytic research is in this area, finding a copy of this film could provide a modern perspective as counterpoint to the Nanook clip.

This site was started by a group of natives who were concerned about misrepresentation of natives by non-natives.  It has evolved to become a place to debate over where to draw the “Line in the Sand” on the issues of Native American cultural property, sovereignty, identity, ethnic stereotypes, the commodification of Native American culture.

Line in the Sand provides first-hand insights into issues discussed in some of course readings for this module, including Chapter 4 in Indigenous Cultures – Cyberspace Smoke Signals (Zimmerman, Zimmerman & Bruguier, 2000).

The site includes discussion pages on stereotypes.  This area of the site includes discussion of stereotypes in sports team mascots, products, and the notion of looking “Indian enough” for Hollywood.  There is also a link for teachers which reviews what the site suggests as books to avoid (such as “Indian in the Cupboard”), as well as papers and discussion about the persistence and effects of damaging stereotypes.

Cultural property is approached from a number of perspectives including:

• Intellectual property
• Real property
• Anthropology and archaeology
• Ethics

The site also includes a page linking to responses from Native Peoples in the form of papers, speeches, essays, books, poetry, and awards.

The site may provide interesting insights from a range of sources for analytic papers in any of these areas.

This site was launched in 2005 by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.  The focus of this site is the connection of indigenous people to their land as inherent to culture, identity, and spirituality.  There are some very detailed transcriptions of the Agency Testimonies from the BC Royal Commission on Indian Affairs from 1913-1916. While the focus isn’t on educational technology, the site uses technology to support both education and research.  The site is relevant to the issues of identity and culture we are addressing in this module and in the course.

The site has a page for researchers that gives some information about First Nations lands, research tools and resources to help researchers begin their search.

There is a teacher page with a very interesting Lesson Plan (Grade 11, 2007 ) entitled Continuity and Change. The primary objectives are for students to review the historical data from the perspectives of both aboriginal and non-aboriginals, and to evaluate what has and hasn’t changed.  The lesson activities include reading about history of Reservations, land settlement issues, and role playing.  There are a variety of resources and link to timelines, terminology, and other resources including a background on Reserves in BC, and a podcast on Aboriginal rights, all in support of the lesson plan.

This website is devoted to the Edward Curtis film In the Land of the Head Hunters made in Fort Rupert, BC in about 1914.  The site includes a synopsis of the film, a discussion on the making of the film and its significance from a history of film perspective.  It also includes pages with some un-restored clips from the original film and audio clips of songs sung by dancers in the movie.  The site is fascinating and I am still traveling through it.  For me, the site is of particular interest since my analytic paper involves an examination of film about and by indigenous cultures.  The information here allows for some great historical comparisons.

This morning I stumbled across an article about Haida artist, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (including a link to his website).  The article describes the artist as the creator of the Haida Manga genre.  Yahgulanaas translates the Japanese word managa as meaning images without a limitation, or without borders.  Navigating this site provides glimpses of amazing art work, and some interesting perspectives around global and local indigenous knowledge, and influences of new media and technology.

Scroll to the bottom of the main page web gallery.  Here you will find a link to Yahgulanaas other works, the Haida Manga page and the Rocking Raven cartoon page.  The Haida Manga page,  includes links to several indigenous stories such as Tree Spirit that would also certainly have a great appeal for school children learning about the Haida culture.  The Rocking Raven page includes links to cartoons, like the Red Stump link that have a definite flavour of cultural/political commentary.  I think this artist/site does a great job of providing some good insights into Northwest Coast indigenous traditional culture and the issues faced by advancing globalization and technology.

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.

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

• Government of Canada,
• Assembly of First Nations
• Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
• Métis National Council
• Native Women’s Association of Canada
• Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers

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”.

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.

The Gáldu Resource Centre website is a very comprehensive resource for the rights of Indigenous peoples.  It includes links and information about the Sami people of Northern Scandinavia and Finland, as well as other indigenous groups on a global scale.  Click the Sitemap link on the left navigation area to see all the site has to offer and to get a great clickable TOC for navigating the site.

Further down the left navigation area are links to Permanent forums on the net.  These give great perspectives on the issues facing indigenous peoples on a global scale.

Further down are links to articles ranging from issues for the Maasai people of Kenya, to reindeer husbandry issues in Norway.

The site doesn’t explicitly address technology related issues, but it does use web/internet technology extremely effectively to communicate and educate about cultural issues on a global scale.

The Isuma website is aimed at Indigenous filmmakers, and at highlighting independent Inuit film.  Isuma’s mission is to produce independent community-based films, television, and Internet media that promote preservation and enhancement of the Inuit language and culture.

The photographs on the home page (and throughout the website) are stunning.  The site provides a portal for Indigenous filmmakers, and provides viewers with synopses and samples of what these filmmakers are making, as well as “live on the set” that give great insights to the culture.

Isuma has been involved in a number of award winning films. The Isuma website includes an extensive set of links to their other films and documentaries.    Perhaps most famously, Isuma was responsible for the film Atanarjuat The Fast Runner.  Atanarjuat was based on a traditional Igloolik legend, and was filmed in Inuktitut and sub-titled.  The Isuma site includes a link to the Atanarjuat website.  Another interesting link is to the website for 2007 Isuma film Before Tomorrow.  This site includes discussion and photos about the Inuit cast and crew, the remote Nunavit sets, and a synopsis of the film about Inuit life in the 1840’s, and focusing on the life and reflections of an aging woman.

The Isuma website includes a For Teachers page.   This page showcases special DVD packages (and books and audio CDs) of the Isuma films and documentaries and is aimed at bringing Inuit culture into schools.