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Issue #165
August, 2023

Community Engagement

Engaging Indigenous Families and Community with Ontario’s Schools

https://aes-keb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Engaging-Indigenous-Families-and-Community.pdf

Source: Sandy Yep (sandy.yep@ontario.ca) Indigenous Education and Well Being Division

Summary: A Power Point Presentation which can be used in community engagement showing how Culturally Responsive and Relevant Transitions and Supports into a New Community can be achieved.  

  • What are some effective strategies or programs used by school boards and schools to transition, orient, and integrate Indigenous families into a new school environment?
  • What are some examples of interesting practices that enhance relationships between board/schools and neighboring Indigenous communities?
Classroom Practice: Elementary

Preparing for Difficult Conversations

https://www.canadashistory.ca/education/lesson-plans/preparing-for-difficult-conversations

Source: Canada’s History. Created by Jacqueline Cleave, 2021 recipient of the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching

Focus: Senior elementary students

Summary: In this lesson, students will assess their knowledge of the Residential School system and the ongoing investigations related to students who died while attending Residential Schools.

Enseignement élémentaire

Se préparer aux conversations difficiles

https://www.histoirecanada.ca/education/plans-de-lecons/se-preparer-aux-conversations-difficiles

Source: Histoire Canada. Créé par Jacqueline Cleave lauréate 2021 du Prix d’histoire du Gouverneur général pour l’excellence en enseignement

À l’intention des étudiants au primaire

Résumé: Dans cette leçon, les élèves évalueront leurs connaissances sur le réseau des pensionnats autochtones et sur les enquêtes en cours portant sur les élèves qui sont décédés alors qu’ils fréquentaient ces pensionnats.

Classroom Practice: Secondary

About National Science Laboratory Video Lessons for Indigenous Youth

https://www.indigenousyouthscience.ca/about.html

Source: First Nations University of Toronto

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: This website presents educational materials created within the project National Science Laboratory Video Lessons for Indigenous Youth. The educational materials developed include interviews with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and laboratory manuals and videos for high school Biology, Chemistry, and Physics classes. The experiments were conducted by students of Carlton Comprehensive High School (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan). The materials were stored on USB hardware and distributed among First Nations schools in Canada. The project was supported by the First Nations University of Canada and The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada within the Promo Science program. The Project was conducted in four phases.

Multimedia

First Peoples of Canada: Presenting the history and continuing presence of Aboriginal People in Canada

https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/fp/fpint01e.html

Source: Canadian Museum of History

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: This virtual exhibition looks at some facets of the history of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples, underlining their fight for cultural survival and indicating the wealth of their modern-day contributions. It is based largely on information and artifacts presented in the First Peoples Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Neither pretends to be a comprehensive presentation of the history of all the Native groups in Canada. Rather, aspects of cultural identity are explored through four themes: the diversity of Aboriginal cultural expression; how the Aboriginal presence manifests itself within present-day Canada; the adaptation of traditional lifestyles to different environments across Canada; and the impact of the arrival and settlement of Europeans over the last 500 years.

Multimédias

Les Premiers Peuples du Canada: Racontant l’histoire de peuples et leur présence continue au Canada

https://www.museedelhistoire.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/fp/fpint01f.html

Source: Musée  Canadien de l’Histoire

À l’intention des étudiants  au secondaire

Résumé: Cette exposition virtuelle jette un regard sur certains aspects de l’histoire des peuples autochtones du Canada. Elle souligne la lutte que mènent ces derniers pour préserver leur culture et montre la richesse de leurs contributions à l’époque contemporaine. L’exposition est basée notamment sur l’information et les artefacts qui sont présentés dans la salle des Premiers Peuples du Musée canadien des civilisations. Ni l’une ni l’autre de ces expositions ne prétend présenter de façon exhaustive l’histoire de tous les groupes autochtones du pays. Elles explorent plutôt des aspects de l’identité culturelle sous quatre thèmes : la diversité de l’expression culturelle autochtone; la façon dont la présence autochtone se manifeste au Canada aujourd’hui; l’adaptation de modes de vie traditionnels à différents environnements à travers le pays; et l’impact de l’arrivée et de l’établissement d’Européens au cours des cinq derniers siècles.

Professional Development

Covid-19 and In(di)genuity: Lessons from Indigenous resilience, adaptation, and innovation in times of crisis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8080477/

Source: National Library of Medicine

Summary: In the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, educators are invited to pause and reconsider the legacies this crisis will leave for future generations. What lessons do we take forward in a post-Covid-19 curriculum? This article contemplates the value of Indigenous resilience, innovation, and adaptation in times of crisis—“In(di)genuity”, if you will—and considers its implications on Indigenous knowledge and the curricular discourse more broadly. Despite encouraging developments in Indigenous education since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a settler historical consciousness continues to pervade the modern discourse of Indigenous education, insofar as Indigenous knowledge is often perceived as outdated, irrelevant, or inferior to Western knowledge systems. This problematic misconception ignores the resilience, innovation, and adaptation that Indigenous peoples have demonstrated in the face of historical crises. This article offers an Indigenous perspective on crisis, grief, and renewal in the context of Covid-19 and advocates for the renewal of the Canadian curricular landscape.

Relevant Research

Indigenous Post-Secondary Learners and the COVID-19 Pandemic

https://indspire.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/COVID-19-Ind-Student-Report-Final-EN-WEB.pdf

Source: Indspire

Focus: Post-secondary researchers

Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic hit post-secondary learners hard in the Spring of 2020. In the final weeks of their term, faculty members were suddenly required to pivot to online learning. Students who relied on on-campus supports and IT facilities were scrambling as services were shut down. In the Fall of 2020, Indspire continued to hear from Indigenous learners that the pandemic was affecting them in unique and acute ways. Facing extra costs, delays in administrative processes, and shifts in access to supports, Indigenous post-secondary learners were navigating a new system in an already complex experience of pursuing post-secondary education.

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