Our Common Bowl | Saytk'ilhl Wo'osim'

Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Review by Tony Lee

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Stories, Film, Inuit, Place based, Secondary

The resource I have chosen to include in our Common Bowl is a film called Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. It is a Canadian film that was directed in 2001 by the Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk. Kunuk was born in Kapuivik on Baffin Island and attended school in Igloolik. Produced by Kunuk’s production company Isuma Igloolik Productions, Atanarjuat is Canada’s first feature-length fiction film entirely written, produced, directed, and acted by Inuit in Inuktitut. Set in Igloolik in the Eastern Arctic at the dawn of the first millennium, the film retells…read more

Oct.03

The Elders Are Watching- Summary by Aaron Singh

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Stories, Critical Resource Assessment, Elders

Bouchard, D., & Vickers, R. (1993). The Elders Are Watching. Tofino, BC: Eagle Dancer Enterprises LTD. “The Elders are Watching” is a beautifully crafted book with amazing artistry and very captivating messages about taking care of the land on which we reside. Unfortunately our group did not have enough time in our presentation to use this resource, however we found it to be very enlightening and thought provoking in regards to Indigenous knowledges and how they are passed down from generation to generation. This book is a collaboration between writer…read more

Oct.03

“Whistle” novel- Summary by Micheal Rossi

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Stories, Aboriginal Youth, Novel, Secondary, Teen Fiction

Description of Resource “Whistle” by Richard Van Camp is a short story or a mini-novel that inspires readers. It highlights mature subjects such as mental health and offers powerful lifelong lessons to its readers. “Whistle” is the type of story that makes the reader think about Aboriginal communities and the value systems that many of them have in place. It also teaches restorative justice and poses the questions, what does someone have to do to prove that he/she is rehabilitated from the bad deeds that he/she has done? And, has…read more

Oct.03

Strong Readers Guided Reading Series- Summary by Jessica Welder

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Stories, Curriculum, Elementary, Lesson Plan, Place based

Description and Rationale The resource I selected to share in our classes Saytk’ih Woo’osim is the Strong Readers Guided Reading Series. The series of guided reading books includes a set consisting of 40 titles in levels 1-10, a set of 40 books leveled 11-20, and has just recently added two new series, a northern series and a Métis series, consisting of 8 books each. These readers are targeted to support the literacy development of all children. The series developer, content editor, and author of many titles, Terri Mack of the…read more

Oct.03

The Story of Black Coyote Video Clip by Christine Ehrlich-Brady

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Stories, Colonialism and Assimiliation, Elders

Description of the Resource The resource I chose is a two minute videoclip about Black Coyote. This video clip depicts the story of Black Coyote, told in American Sign Language by Ethan Bolton, a Deaf student at the British Columbia School for the Deaf. Ethan is a member of the Gitxaala clan, Tsmshian Nation in northwestern, B.C. He used this story for a public speaking contest hosted by a school in Massachusetts in which he came in first place. I chose this video because I wanted to share an historical…read more

Oct.03

Critical Assessment of “Nokum is my Teacher”- Summary by Rakshin Saroha

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Stories, Appropriation, Critical Resource Assessment, Elders, Elementary

Description and Rationale: Bouchard, David (2007) Nokum is my Teacher. Markham: Red Deer Press This resource is a storybook format conversation between a young boy and hisgrandmother accompanied with beautiful paintings by Allen Sapp. This bilingual story is written in English and Cree side by side on the same page. The book addresses issues of identity, relevance of institutional education to Aboriginal children, and intergenerational learning through poetic dialogue between a boy and his Nokum. The book also contains an audio CD with reading in English and Cree. The CD…read more

Oct.03

Aboriginal Elders: A Grade 12 Unit Lesson Plan-Reviewed by Patti Alison

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Pedagogies, Curriculum, Elders, Lesson Plan

My resource for our Common Bowl, that links to our topic of Elders and Intergenerational Learning, is “Aboriginal Elders: A Grade 12 Unit Lesson Plan” authored by Shelley Janvier and Erica Mohan (Janvier & Mohan). The Unit Plan was designed in 2003 by an EDST 565 class at the University of British Columbia. This resource focuses on the inclusion of Elders into the Grade 12 curriculum because as the authors state students will learn about the roles of Elders in Aboriginal communities and “learn that Elders are sources of knowledge…read more

Oct.03

The Aboriginal learning curriculum toolbox…Summary by Lael Sleep

Posted by amy parent in Curriculum, Elementary, Secondary

Brandt, J., (2006): The Aboriginal learning curriculum toolbox: cultural philosophy, curriculum design, and strategies for self-directed learning. Owen Sound, ON. Ningwakwe Learning Press. By Lael Sleep The Aboriginal Learning Curriculum Toolbox draws on the author’s experience as a researcher, teacher, and scholar in Aboriginal literacy and Indigenous learning circles. The manuscript is intended to offer insight and strategies to literacy teachers in the delivery and design of curriculum to adult Aboriginal learners. However, the author’s culturally based approach to philosophy, student engagement, communication and relationship building is beneficial and relevant…read more

Oct.03

The Blanket Exercise (3rd Edition) Summary by Barbara Ng

Posted by amy parent in Colonialism and Assimiliation, Elementary, History and Policy, Secondary, Uncategorized

The Blanket Exercise (3rd Edition)by Barbara Ng The resource I picked for our presentation was the Blanket Exercise (3rd edition). It is an interactive activity where, with the exception of the narrator and two Europeans, all participants represent Indigenous peoples of Canada. The participants move across blankets on the floor. The blankets on the floor represent Canada before the arrival of European explorers and settlers. A narrator reads a script tracing the history between Indigenous nations and European explorers and settlers. The script ends with very few participants remaining on…read more

Oct.03

People of the Land: Legends of the Four Host First Nation-Summary by Isabella Lam

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Stories, Elementary, Literacy, Secondary, Uncategorized

Resource Information Title: People of the Land: Legends of the Four Host First Nations (Lil’wat | Musqueam | Squamish | Tsleil-Waututh) by Aaron Nelson-Moody (Artist), Glenn George (Artist), Tewanee Joseph (Introduction) Citation: Nelson-Moody, A., George, G., & Joseph, T. (2009). People of the Land: Legends of the Four Host First Nations. USA: Theytus Books. Accessibility of Resource: May be ordered online (Amazon), or speak to your school librarian. Acknowledgements Before going further, I wish to acknowledge the ancestral, traditional and unceded Aboriginal territories of the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh…read more

Oct.03

Our words, our ways: teaching First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners. Summary by Judy Payne

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Pedagogies, Curriculum, Elementary, Secondary

Alberta Education. (2005). Our words, our ways: teaching First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners. Alberta Education. Aboriginal Services Branch and Learning and Teaching Resources Branch. Retrieved from: https://education.alberta.ca/media/307169/o11.pdf. May 9, 2015 Our words, our ways: teaching First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners (Alberta Education, 2005) is a resource guide for those involved in the education of Aboriginal students developed through Alberta Education and the Edmonton Catholic Schools’ Aboriginal Learning Centre. Battiste states that there “continues to be a lack of materials and resources, and lots of tension and sometimes apathy,…read more

Oct.03

Place-Based Knowing & Working with the Urban Aboriginal Community -By Fiona LaPorte

Posted by amy parent in Cedar Weaving, Elementary, Experiential, Place based, Wholistic

When brainstorming ideas with my group around activities for this topic I immediately thought of weaving cedar with words, pictures or phrases that spark conversation around Indigenous epistemology. To prepare for this activity, pre-select ideas that are central to the teaching you are engaging with and write them on strips of cedar (ie: wholism, interconnection, balance, Elders ect). Have the participants write words, phrases or pictures from their own worldview or experience that resonates with the pre-marked strips and overarching themes of the teaching. Have the students weave the strips…read more

Oct.03

In the Dog House by Wanda John Kehewin (Review by Trevor Spilchen)

Posted by amy parent in Literacy, Secondary, Uncategorized

In the Dog House is a book of poetry written by Kehewin Cree First Nation poet Wanda John-Kehewin. This book is published by Talon books, a Vancouver publisher that can be found at www.talonbooks.com. The book was first printed in 2013 with the ISBN 978-0-88922-749-1. In the Dog House contains very personal stories which in the authors words, “touches on everything in my being as a First Nations woman searching for the truth and for a way to be set free from the past” (p ix). This book provides a…read more

Oct.03

Pacific Northwest Plant Knowledge Cards reviewed by Dianne Biin

Posted by amy parent in Elementary, Higher Education, Medicines, Place based, Secondary, Uncategorized

This set of 65 cards is a portable resource, packaged and laminated for use while out on the urban and disrupted landscape. “The cards include beautiful photographs and descriptions to help identify plants, names of the plants in three different Indigenous languages, including SENCOTEN, Hul’q’umi’num, and Dididaht.” The plants are common food and technology plants and include some introduced species. The package is published as a creative commons resource through the Vancouver Island & Coastal Communities Indigenous Foods Network (the Network) and are $35 each (proceeds go towards sustaining community…read more

Jul.02

Teaching for Indigenous Education Website- Summary by Mickey Borason

Posted by amy parent in Aboriginal Pedagogies, Aboriginal Stories, Curriculum, Higher Education, Lesson Plan, Website

The resource I chose for our common bowl was the Teaching for Indigenous Education Website located at http://www.indigenouseducation.educ.ubc.ca/. It is a digital online resource that promotes the implementation and importance of Indigenous knowledge and pedagogies in our current school curriculum and encourages educators to enhance the classroom learning experience for not just our Aboriginal students, but for all learners. The creation and development of this website is a collaborative effort of both scholars and graduate students from the Faculty of Education at UBC, as well as support from the Teaching…read more

Jul.02