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Issue #142
September, 2021

Resources - Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Government of Canada COVID-19 Update for Indigenous Peoples and Communities

https://www.canada.ca/en/indigenous-services-canada/news/2021/03/government-of-canada-covid-19-update-for-indigenous-peoples-and-communities0.html

Source: Indigenous Services Canada

Summary: Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is closely monitoring the number of COVID-19 cases reported in First Nations communities across the country.

First Nations, Inuit, and Métis People have demonstrated strength, resilience and courage throughout this year and that must be celebrated and acknowledged. Health care workers and front line staff have been at the centre of efforts to respond and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus for the past year. The Government of Canada continues to thank everyone for their efforts and dedication to save lives.

Resources - Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Mise à jour du gouvernement du Canada sur la COVID-19 à l’intention des Autochtones et de leurs communautés

https://www.canada.ca/fr/services-autochtones-canada/nouvelles/2021/03/mise-a-jour-du-gouvernement-du-canada-sur-la-covid-19-a-lintention-des-autochtones-et-de-leurs-communautes0.html

Source: Services aux Autochtones Canada

Résumé: Services aux Autochtones Canada (SAC) surveille étroitement le nombre de cas de COVID-19 signalés dans les communautés des Premières Nations à l’échelle du pays.

Les membres des Premières Nations, les Inuits et les Métis ont fait preuve de force, de résilience et de courage tout au long de cette année et cela doit être célébré et souligné. Les travailleurs de la santé et le personnel de première ligne sont au cœur des efforts déployés pour prévenir la propagation du virus de COVID-19 et y répondre depuis la dernière année. Le gouvernement du Canada continue de remercier tout le monde pour leurs efforts et leur dévouement pour sauver des vies.

Classroom Practice: Elementary

Indigenous Land-Based Learning

https://etfofnmi.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Book_Land-Acknowledgement.pdf

Source: Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO)

Focus:  Elementary students

Summary: Indigenous land-based learning: A learning perspective resource was developed to demonstrate the journey of four ETFO writers whose perspectives of Indigenous land-based learning grew through a process of self-reflection, an interview with an Indigenous advisor (knowledge holder) and exploration and summary of relevant resources and tips for educators.

There are variations of what land-based learning means, but the one common element is the Land and the connectivity each has with the Land.

Classroom Practice: Secondary

Rethinking our Food Systems

https://earthtotables.org/

Source: Earth to Table Legacies

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: Rethinking our Food Systems

The Earth to Tables Legacies educational package is a collection of stories growing out of our conversations over five years. We have chosen to bring those stories to life through short videos and photo essays, so you can see the people and their diverse relationships with earth and tables, so you can hear their voices and imagine a dialogue with them. The Earth to Tables Legacies video introduces you to the project, the places, the people and some of the themes that emerged from the five-year exchange.

Climate crises, a global pandemic, food riots, diet-related diseases – all are telling us that the industrial food system threatens our health and the survival of the planet, and deepens systemic inequities, racism, and poverty.

These are the stories of food activists from Turtle Island (North America) – young and old, Indigenous and settler – who share a vision for food justice and food sovereignty, from Earth to Tables.

The Earth to Tables Legacies educational package offers 10 videos and 11 photo essays that use food as an entry to pressing issues, such as Indigenous-settler relations, food justice, food sovereignty, and anti-racism in the food movement.

Professional Development

Books to Build On: Indigenous Literatures for Learning

https://werklund.ucalgary.ca/teaching-learning/indigenous-literatures-learning

Source: University of Calgary

Summary: You have arrived at an interactive web resource that is designed to assist educators with weaving Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing into their teaching and learning, starting with story. Responding to the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and to current provincial professional standards for education, this resource is intended to help teachers build foundational knowledge and competencies in Indigenous education. You will find a searchable database of Indigenous literary texts, as well as some secondary sources, that might be used within education. Our resource has two primary audiences: instructors in the Bachelor of Education program at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, and the K-12 teachers in all stages of their professional journeys, from B.Ed. students up to experienced teachers. However, beyond these audiences, we hope that this interactive resource will be useful to anyone interested in exploring Indigenous texts and expanding their engagements with Indigenous communities.

Related Links

Promoting Indigenous Skilled Trades to Indigenous Youth in Canada

https://caf-fca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Promoting-Careers-in-the-Skilled-Trades-to-Indigenous-Youth-in-Canada.pdf

Source: Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF)

Focus: Senior secondary teachers

Summary: This report describes experiential learning opportunities in high school for students interested in learning about the skilled trades. There are three main ways students obtain hands-on learning experiences: trades exploration, trades and technology courses, and Youth Apprenticeship Programs. Schools, Indigenous education and training organizations, nonprofits, unions, industry associations and colleges offer specific programs for Indigenous youth. Examples of Indigenous-focused initiatives and the impacts on student outcomes are described. The report also summarizes interview and dialogue findings. CAF interviewed high school teachers, school board officials, and representatives from non-profit organizations, unions, industry associations and Indigenous education and training organizations. These individuals administer career exploration programs or teach trades courses and they provided insights about the barriers Indigenous youth experience when trying to pursue hands-on learning at high school or when transitioning to an apprenticeship after high school. They shared what has successfully worked for them when trying to implement experiential learning programs. They made recommendations based upon their experiences working directly with Indigenous youth. Indigenous high school and post-secondary students identified barriers and provided recommendations they felt would help Indigenous youth, like themselves, succeed in apprenticeships and skilled trades careers.

Relevant Research

Improving Transitions for Indigenous Learners through Collaborative Inquiry

https://noiie.ca/transitions.pdf

Source: Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network (AESN)

Summary: The Aboriginal Enhancement Schools Network (AESN) has been a catalyst for change in British Columbia schools since 2009. Based on the initiative of Dr. Trish Rosbourgh, then Director of Aboriginal Education in the Ministry of Education, this network was designed to be a strategy through which school districts could more effectively and productively engage in bringing their Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreements to life (Rosborough, Halbert & Kaser, 2017). The purpose of the AESN is “to create an inquiry community where people learn and work together to ensure that every Indigenous learner crosses the stage with dignity, purpose and options, and together, we eliminate racism in schools”.

The goal of this particular research investigation would be to determine how an inquiry-based focus on student transitions — elementary to secondary, middle school to secondary school, secondary school to post-secondary school, secondary school to employment — would help us to better support Indigenous learners and equip them for purposeful and successful lives, while also demonstrating the catalytic effects of this network as a means of affecting professional change.

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