Month: November 2008

Categories
Module 4- Ecological Issues in Indigenous Education and Technology

Indigenous Peoples Restoration Network

Website:  http://www.ser.org/iprn/tek.asp

This is a wonderful website pertaining to traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).

The site looks at the reasons behind the new attention being paid to traditional knowledge, and western cultures hopes to utilize this knowledge as a way to repair the damage we have done to our environment.

There are links to information about TEKs relationship to restoration, climate change, western science, and even a link to TEK radio.

The site contains links to conferences pertaining to TEK, organizations involved in TEK, references about TEK, education and outreach, funding sources and upcoming events.

This is a great site to peruse as an introduction to this topic, and as a source for further information.

Categories
Module 4- Ecological Issues in Indigenous Education and Technology

Forests for the Future: Local Ecological Knowledge

Website:  http://www.ecoknow.ca/index.html

This is the website for a research group, based out of UBC, that focuses on ecological knowledge research done in collaboration with Indigenous communities along the north coast of BC.

Participants in the research group include students and professors from the Anthropology department at UBC and members of the Gitxaala Nation.

This group has had seven papers based on their research published in the Canadian Journal of Native Education so far.

Information contained on the website includes: an introductory page, background, communities, research, seminars and education materials.

A great site showing the possibilities when western science works in collaboration with indigenous knowledge.

Categories
Module 4- Ecological Issues in Indigenous Education and Technology

Welcome to Forest Home – News, Tools and Information on Aboriginal Rights and Participation in the Forest Sector

Website:  http://www.nafaforestry.org/forest_home/knowledge.html

This is a very interesting website, designed to help increase Aboriginal consultation and understanding within the Forestry sector.

The site covers a large range of information including: the national forest strategy, aboriginal law, capacity building, institutions traditional knowledge, business, youth, metis forestry, trapping and hunting, etc.

For me, the most interesting (and pertinent to this course) section of the website was the page dedicated to traditional knowledge. The page contains information on international and Canadian policies on traditional knowledge in the forestry sector, along with projects and initiatives, community-based research protocols and links to further websites pertaining to this subject.

Categories
Module 4- Ecological Issues in Indigenous Education and Technology

Indigenous Science Network Bulletin

Website: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mmichie/april06.htm

This is a website dedicated to distributing information about events pertaining to Indigenous science and it’s integration into Western education.

This particular link will take you to the April, 2006 edition of the bulletin, where a research proposal by two students of the University of Victoria, BC is highlighted.

This proposal, entitled “The Aboriginal Knowledge and Science Education Research Project” aims to investigate the reasons behind low Aboriginal representation in senior science courses leading to University eligibility, such as Biology 12, Chemistry 12 and Physics 12.

The authors discuss the need for Aboriginal students to gain science or mathematics related degrees, and hopes to correlate a lack of indigenous knowledge in the senior science courses curricula, with the low participation levels of Aboriginal students.

Research plans include interviewing students and teachers in the BC school system, conferring with Aboriginal communities to identify examples of indigenous knowledge to incorporate into science classrooms, and working towards the development of an indigenous science course.

Categories
Module 4- Ecological Issues in Indigenous Education and Technology

Raising Awareness of Indigenous Knowledge in Science and Technology Education

Website:

http://www.scidev.net/en/policy-briefs/raising-awareness-of-indigenous-knowledge-in-scien.html

This web page contains a paper regarding possible ways to implement Indigenous knowledge in Western science and technology classes.

Written in 2002, it is interesting to note the suggestions given by the author that have not yet been adequately addressed, six years later.

This paper stresses the need for a formal agreement between Aboriginal and Western parties on their respective rights and responsibilities in terms of science and technology education.

It is an interesting and informative read, presenting shrewd possibilities for a better science and technology education for all students.

Categories
Module 3- Decolonization and Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights

Can copyright be reconciled with First Nations’ interests in visual arts?

http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/files/PDF/shand.pdf

This is a link to a pdf file of a paper written by Peter Shand, a non-aboriginal New Zealander, and presented at the University of British Columbia in February 2000 at an event organized by the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.

This paper, written in an easily accessible, entertaining style, looks at the effect that modern art forms (such as fashion) have had on tribal art forms.

Tribal art motifs have been used (with and without permission from the tribes in question) in many avenues outside of their original purpose, and it is hard to protect them via copyright as their origin cannot be traced to any one particular artist.

In this paper, Peter Shand looks at the various ways tribal art is being used today and whether or not it could be possible for copyright laws to accommodate this artform.

An interesting read, written carefully and respectfully from an outsiders viewpoint, this is an excellent resource to include in research on Aboriginal intellectual property rights.

Categories
Module 3- Decolonization and Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights

British Columbia Teachers Federation – Aboriginal Education

Website: http://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/About_Us/ServicesHandbook/1AbEdProgram.pdf

There is a section of the BCTF website that describes the Federations policy/beliefs concerning Aboriginal education in British Columbia and the Federations commitment to upholding/improving upon these policies.

The link provided connects to a paper concerning the Aboriginal Education Program in BC. It discusses what is being done, and what the federation would like to see done to improve the graduation statistics for Aboriginal students in BC as well as to help them get more out of their educational experience and feel more included/involved when attending school.

Written from the viewpoint of an Aboriginal teacher, this is an informative paper.

Categories
Module 3- Decolonization and Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights

AERC: Aboriginal Education Research Centre

Website: http://aerc.usask.ca/index.html

This is the website for the Aboriginal Education Research Centre, based out of the University of Saskatchewan.

The centre focuses on research relating to Aboriginal Education within Canada, but the site also includes some international content.

This site is very easy to navigate, with informative links clearly shown on the left hand side of the screen.

When navigating through the research areas of the centre, a unique and very useful strategy has been utilized to introduce each subject. A brief but informative overview of the subject is given, followed by a bibliography with links to further, more in-depth readings on the topic.

The centre’s current research emphasis is on Educational Decolonization, but tonnes of information is given on many topics relating to Aboriginal Education.

Categories
Module 3- Decolonization and Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights

Aboriginal Planet – Resource Centre – Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights

Website: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/aboriginalplanet/750/resource/global/rewipo-en.asp

This website, although no longer maintained, is a part of the “Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada electronic archives”.

It contains information regarding the status of Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights in Canada, the direction the government is hoping to head in terms of the expansion of the information these rights could cover, and the different organizations/forums relating to this topic.

The site gives brief but very informative descriptions of the different divisions, committees, and organizations concerned with this topic, and helps the uninformed newbie researcher gain some understanding of the depth of this issue.

The site also contains links to related Government of Canada sites pertaining to this subject.

Last updated in 2003, the site is not up-to-date with the current status of this issue in Canada but is a great resource for background information.

Categories
Module 3- Decolonization and Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights

Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights

Website: http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0338-e.htm

This website is actually a paper, prepared by Tonina Simeone, and hosted on the Library of Parliament website. The different sections of the paper are linked to on the site, making the important information this paper contains easily accessible.

Topics covered by this paper include: “How Does Indigenous Traditional Knowledge Differ from Western Science?”, How to and Why to protect Traditional Knowledge, Limits of current IPRs in protecting Traditional Knowledge and some information on International Initiatives to Protect Traditional Knowledge.

Written in 2004, this paper is a little bit out of date, however it contains a large amount of pertinent information on the subject of Traditional Knowledge and IPRs and is an excellent resource on the subject.

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