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Issue #36
November, 2012

Professional Development

Monograph #11 – Integrating Aboriginal Teaching and Values into the Classroom

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Toulouse.pdf

Source: Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat – Ontario Ministry of Education, Pamela Rose Toulouse, Ph. D, Laurentian University
Focus: Teachers and researchers

Summary: A new body of research is beginning to demonstrate that Aboriginal students’ self-esteem is a key factor in their school success. An educational environment that honours the culture, language and world view of the Aboriginal student is critical. Schools need to meaningfully represent and include Aboriginal peoples’ contributions, innovations and inventions. Aboriginal students require a learning environment that honours who they are and where they have come from. These strategies nurture the self-esteem – the positive interconnection between the physical, emotional-mental, intellectual and spiritual realms – of Aboriginal students.

Valuing the Aboriginal Learner: Seven Living Principles

This monograph explores the relationship between Aboriginal students’ self-esteem and educational attainment. The key questions that guide this discussion are:

  1. What strategies currently work for Aboriginal students, and why are they so important for creating meaningful change?
  2. What are the day-to-day implications for educators endeavouring to ensure Aboriginal student needs are met?
Multimedia

Nunavik Art Alive

http://inuitart.org/exhibitions/nunavikartalive/home

Source: The Inuit Art Foundation

Focus: Students, researchers, educators, collectors, curators, art dealers and everyone with an interest in Inuit art

Summary: While strides have been made in recent years to record the history of Inuit art in Canada and to tell the stories of Inuit artists, gaps in that history remain. The Inuit Art Foundation (IAF) is filling one such gap with Nunavik Art Alive, an online exhibition of Inuit art from Nunavik, launched in March 2011.

Nunavik, which constitutes a third of the province of Quebec and is located above the 55th parallel, was the first area visited by James Houston, the man responsible for introducing Inuit art to southern audiences, in the late 1940s. It quickly became an important centre of carving production for export.

Although the now classic Inuit art aesthetic was established by artists on the east coast of Hudson’s Bay, in the years following Houston’s visit Nunavik artmaking took a separate path from other arctic regions. Its art has been less well-known and its history relatively undocumented.

Nunavik Art Alive is the third in a series of online art histories produced by IAF. It features articles about Nunavik artmaking, profiles of Nunavamiut artists and portfolios of their work, as well as providing access to catalogues of Nunavik print collections and a recent exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Research for the site’s content was undertaken by IAF staff, drawing from its archive of approximately 800 images of work from Nunavik and the holdings of major public collections, northern cooperatives and marketing agents.

The site follows on the heels of a detailed online art history of Inukjuak, a Nunavik community located on the east coast of Hudson’s Bay, presented in collaboration with the Virtual Museum of Canada, and Inuit Art Alive, a multimedia celebration of 50 years of contemporary Inuit artmaking launched in 2009.

The websites are an invaluable resource that aim to make the history of artmaking in the North widely available to students, researchers, educators, collectors, curators, art dealers and everyone with an interest in Inuit art, as well as to the artists themselves, who have historically lacked access to their work. The foundation’s goal is to present important artwork and information in a dynamic, accessible, user-friendly format.

Classroom Practice: Secondary

Viat Iglu Web Site

http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/ic/can_digital_collections/arviat/enghome.html

Source: Arviat District Education Authority, Nunavut
Focus: Secondary students

Summary: This web site from Arviat in Nunavut, northern Canada, details different aspects of traditional shelters such as the iglu. The project involved local Elders and youth working together using both traditional knowledge and modern technology.

This is the second of the Arviat District Education Authority’s projects designed to promote Inuktitut literacy and the use of syllabics. Many of those involved in the first project, Inuit Uqausingita Taiguusingit(www.arctic.ca/pictionary) and some new individuals and organizations have worked together to make this second web site a great success.

Some of the selections have text only in Inuktitut, but all sections have photographs which can be enjoyed by all. The sections with English text are the Elders and the Levi Angmak Elementary School’s Traditional Iglu Summer Camp – see below. If you wish to view the Inuktitut text, you will need to download the Nunacom Font.

The site has five different sections:

  1. The Elders section includes nine interviews with Arviat elders. The interviews were conducted by two Qitiqliq High School students with questions from a young person’s perspective on what life was like before Inuit started living in modern style housing. There are photographs, short biographies, and recordings of stories, ayaya songs and other shared experiences.
  2. The Levi Angmak Ilinniarvialaaq Iglu building project is a series of photo albums with accompanying text. The Iglu building project has been running for the past eight years. Students work with staff and Sivullinuut Elder’s Society learning traditional skills like iglu building and preparation of skins.
  3. The Shelter section is on the different types of traditional shelters used in the region. Illustrations and text describe how each structure is situated, constructed and designed to meet the conditions of the changing seasons. There are video clips depicting the steps involved for the building of the winter iglu and the spring qarmaq iglu.
  4. The Places section uses maps, photos, and text to detail the region’s traditional camping sites and transportation routes. The information gathered was done so through the knowledge and efforts of Arviat Elders and the Arviat Historical Society. Details on The Maguse River Place Names Project is presented in this section.

The Past and Present section contains informative material on Inuit heritage and tradition. The categories developed include Traditional Medicine, Land Skills, Inuit Games, and Stories/Legends.

Relevant Research

Closing the completion gap for Indigenous students

http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/key-resources/promotion-resources?lid=21061

Source: Sue Helme and Stephen Lamb, January 2011, Closing the Gap Clearinghouse – Australian Government

Summary: Research in Australia and overseas points to three broad strategies that have shown to be effective for increasing engagement, achievement and school completion among Indigenous students: building a school culture and leadership that acknowledges and supports Indigenous students and families; school-wide strategies that work to maintain student engagement and improve learning outcomes; student-focused strategies that directly meet the needs of students at risk of low achievement or early leaving.

School completion rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are well below the rates for non-Indigenous students. The target of halving the gap by 2020 in Year 12 (or equivalent) attainment rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students is a major national challenge.

The main factors that influence completion rates for Indigenous students are access, attendance and achievement.

The barriers to their access to school are:

  • physical (for example, due to geographic isolation)
  • cultural (for example, due to discrimination)
  • economic (for example, due to the costs associated with attending school)
  • informational (for example, due to the lower levels of literacy in Indigenous communities).

Absenteeism among Indigenous students is markedly higher than among non-Indigenous students. Poorer access and absenteeism contribute to lower academic achievement, making it more difficult for many Indigenous students to successfully complete school. Closing the school completion gap is a major national challenge and will require effort in a range of related areas, not just in schools. Gains in education may be limited unless other aspects of socioeconomic disadvantage are improved, such as health, nutrition, housing and employment.

Related Links

Teaching Indigenous Children: Listening To and Learning From Indigenous Teachers

http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1556&context=ajte

Source: Ninetta Santoro, Jo-Anne Reid, Laurie Crawford – Charles Sturt University Lee Simpson, Greater Southern Area Health
Focus: Teachers and Administrators

Summary: This article is based on the findings of a qualitative case study that examined the professional experiences and career pathways of fifty current and former Australian Indigenous teachers.

Here, the writers draw on data obtained from semi-structured interviews with the teachers to highlight their knowledge in three key areas: ‘Indigenous ways of knowing’, ‘Indigenous learners’ lives beyond the classroom’ and ‘Building relationships with Indigenous students and communities’.

They suggest that Indigenous teachers can potentially play important roles as teacher educators and as mentors to non- Indigenous teachers and pre-service teachers. They argue that it is important for schooling systems and teacher education to create and formalise opportunities for non-Indigenous teachers and pre-service teachers to listen to, and learn from their Indigenous colleagues.

Early Childhood

The Early Learning Experiences of Inuit, Métis and Off-reserve First Nations Children Canada

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-644-x/89-644-x2010001-eng.htm

Source: Statistics Canada, Anne Guèvremont

Summary: The early learning experiences of off-reserve First Nations children in Canada

This fact sheet provides an early learning profile of off-reserve First Nations children under the age of six in Canada. The 2006 Aboriginal Children’s Survey is used to provide broad indicators of young off-reserve First Nations children’s experiences with learning. Data include how they learn about words and traditional activities and who helps them learn. Family characteristics associated with participation in early learning activities are also presented.

The early learning experiences of Métis children in Canada

This fact sheet provides an early learning profile of Métis children under the age of six in Canada. The 2006 Aboriginal Children’s Survey is used to provide broad indicators of young Métis children’s experiences with learning. Data include how they learn about words and traditional activities and who helps them learn. Family characteristics associated with participation in early learning activities are also presented.

The early learning experiences of Inuit children in Canada

This fact sheet provides an early learning profile of Inuit children under the age of six in Canada. The 2006 Aboriginal Children’s Survey is used to provide broad indicators of young Inuit children’s experiences with learning. Data include how they learn about words and traditional activities and who helps them learn. Family characteristics associated with participation in early learning activities are also presented.

Classroom Practice: Elementary

Stories the Totems Tell: Bringing Aboriginal Poles to Life

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1303140794170/1303141158001

Source: Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
Focus: Grades 6-8

Summary: Many people think of the totem pole as belonging to Aboriginal cultures all across Canada. But guess what? Only six West Coast First Nations are responsible for all that publicity!

Totem poles are a traditional way of telling the stories of Aboriginal families and clans, and of keeping records of important historical events. The six West Coast First Nations that carved totem poles before the arrival of the European explorers were the Haida (“hydah”), the Nuxalt (“nu-halk”), the Kwakwaka’wakw (“kwak-wak-ya-wak”), the Tlingit (“kling-kit”), the Tsimshian (“sim-she-an”) and the Coast Salish (“say-lish”) people. When you see a plastic totem in a Canadian souvenir shop or you watch a chainsaw artist thousands of miles from our Pacific Coast “carving” a totem, you’re witnessing a non-Aboriginal copying of a vital First Nations tradition that dates back thousands of years.

Design a “celebration pole” that shows the world who you are.

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