scholarly journals Celestial calendar-paintings and culture-based digital storytelling: cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, STEM/STEAM resources for authentic astronomy education engagement

2019 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 01002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette S. Lee ◽  
William Wilson ◽  
Jeff Tibbetts ◽  
Cark Gawboy ◽  
Anne Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Astronomy Education ◽  
Sustainable Engineering ◽  
Science Culture ◽  
Important Relationship ◽  
Cultural Teaching ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Astronomical Calendar ◽  
Stem Engagement

In D(L)akota star knowledge, the Sun is known as Wi and the Moon is Han-Wi. They have an important relationship, husband and wife. The pattern of their ever-changing relationship is mirrored in the motions of Sun and Moon as seen from our backyards, also called the lunar phases. The framework of the cultural teaching is storytelling and relationships. Cultural perspectives in astronomy such as this remind us of how indigenous ways of knowing are rooted in inclusion, engagement, and relevancy. Designed by A. Lee in 2007, the Native Skywatchers initiative seeks to remember and revitalize indigenous star and earth knowledge, promoting the native voice as the lead voice. The overarching goal of Native Skywatchers is to communicate the knowledge that indigenous people traditionally practiced a sustainable way of living and sustainable engineering through a living and participatory relationship with the above and below, sky and earth. In 2012 two indigenous star maps were created: the Ojibwe Giizhig Anung Masinaaigan-Ojibwe Sky Star Map (A. Lee, W. Wilson, C. Gawboy), and the D(L)akota star map, Makoce Wicanhpi Wowapi (A. Lee, J. Rock). In 2016, a collaboration with W. Buck of the Manitoba First Nations Resource Centre (MFNRC), produced a third star map: Ininew Achakos Masinikan- Cree Star Map Book. We aim to improve current inequities in education for native young people especially through STEM engagement, to inspire increased cultural pride, and promote community wellness. Presented here will be recently created resources such as: astronomical calendar-paintings and short videos that exist at the intersection of art-science-culture. As we look for sustainable ways to widen participation in STEM, particularly in astronomy education, part of the conversation needs to consider the place for art and culture in STEM.

Indigenous Studies in the United States and Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aubrey Jean Hanson ◽  
Sam McKegney
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native American ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Indigenous Voices

Indigenous literary studies, as a field, is as diverse as Indigenous Peoples. Comprising study of texts by Indigenous authors, as well as literary study using Indigenous interpretive methods, Indigenous literary studies is centered on the significance of stories within Indigenous communities. Embodying continuity with traditional oral stories, expanding rapidly with growth in publishing, and traversing a wild range of generic innovation, Indigenous voices ring out powerfully across the literary landscape. Having always had a central place within Indigenous communities, where they are interwoven with the significance of people’s lives, Indigenous stories also gained more attention among non-Indigenous readers in the United States and Canada as the 20th century rolled into the 21st. As relationships between Indigenous Peoples (Native American, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) and non-Indigenous people continue to be a social, political, and cultural focus in these two nation-states, and as Indigenous Peoples continue to work for self-determination amid colonial systems and structures, literary art plays an important role in representing Indigenous realities and inspiring continuity and change. An educational dimension also exists for Indigenous literatures, in that they offer opportunities for non-Indigenous readerships—and, indeed, for readers from within Indigenous nations—to learn about Indigenous people and perspectives. Texts are crucially tied to contexts; therefore, engaging with Indigenous literatures requires readers to pursue and step into that beauty and complexity. Indigenous literatures are also impressive in their artistry; in conveying the brilliance of Indigenous Peoples; in expressing Indigenous voices and stories; in connecting pasts, presents, and futures; and in imagining better ways to enact relationality with other people and with other-than-human relatives. Indigenous literatures span diverse nations across vast territories and materialize in every genre. While critics new to the field may find it an adjustment to step into the responsibility—for instance, to land, community, and Peoplehood—that these literatures call for, the returns are great, as engaging with Indigenous literatures opens up space for relationship, self-reflexivity, and appreciation for exceptional literary artistry. Indigenous literatures invite readers and critics to center in Indigeneity, to build good relations, to engage beyond the text, and to attend to Indigenous storyways—ways of knowing, being, and doing through story.

scholarly journals ‘The Truth About Stories’

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Lisa Dickson ◽  
Tracy Summerville
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
First Year ◽  
Personal Lives ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Unique Material ◽  
The Right

This essay describes the development of a compassionate pedagogy by way of three experiences the authors had as co-teachers in an experimental, first-year, integrated, cohort-based program in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. In attempting to build a curriculum to tackle the “fragmented and incoherent educational experience” (Marra & Palmer, 2008, p. 113) that privileges answer-mining over the understanding of scholarship as a conversation among “essentially contested ideas” (Gallie, 1955), we found that our program reproduced the very restrictive, top-down, positivistic paradigms we sought to overcome. In reimagining the program and our role as teachers, we took our cue from the story of Charm, or Sky Woman, as told in Thomas King’s Massey Lecture, The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative, in which Western hierarchical paradigms of creation are challenged by a First Nations story of collaboration and co-creation. Compassionate pedagogy, we learned from our experiences as co-teachers, cannot be developed in the abstract; rather, it must be grounded in the unique material circumstances of a classroom. Compassionate pedagogy arises from the contestation of and collaboration between ways of knowing that, if embraced, can be deeply unsettling and transformative. The experiences described here both incited change in our understanding of our vocation and provided us with a model of negotiation, accommodation and resistance that we have carried beyond the program into other areas of our professional and personal lives. Our encounter with First Nations ways of knowing, both in the King lectures and in a traditional Dakelh pit house, challenged our unexamined assumptions about education and pushed us toward a pedagogy that is flexible, that legitimizes the needs of the whole learner, and that resists an entrenched institutional paradigm of suffering by advocating for an alternative one: the right to be well.

scholarly journals "The Legacy Will Be the Change": Reconciling How We Live with and Relate to Water

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Lindsay Day ◽  
Ashlee Cunsolo ◽  
Heather Castleden ◽  
Alex Sawatzky ◽  
Debbie Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Indigenous Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Be The Change ◽  
Canada Data

Current challenges relating to water governance in Canada are motivating calls for approaches that implement Indigenous and Western knowledge systems together, as well as calls to form equitable partnerships with Indigenous Peoples grounded in respectful Nation-to-Nation relationships. By foregrounding the perspectives of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, this study explores the nature and dimensions of Indigenous ways of knowing around water and examines what the inclusion of Indigenous voices, lived experience, and knowledge mean for water policy and research. Data were collected during a National Water Gathering that brought together 32 Indigenous and non-Indigenous water experts, researchers, and knowledge holders from across Canada. Data were analyzed thematically through a collaborative podcasting methodology, which also contributed to an audio-documentary podcast (www.WaterDialogues.ca).

scholarly journals Thunderbird Women

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Fayant
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Indigenous Research ◽  
Medicine Wheel ◽  
Indigenous Feminism ◽  
Indian Act ◽  
Governmental Institutions

Indigenous gender roles have been distorted by colonialism, both through imposed systems of patriarchy and redefining gender roles within Indigenous communities. In Canada, the Indian Act of 1857 initiated a system of patriarchy which resulted in the loss of matrilineal family lines and Indigenous women’s rights to represent their community in leadership roles. This system still exists today, and despite numerous attempts to modify the law, the Indian Act still exerts patrilineal bias on Indigenous communities. In spite of this, there exists a large volume of research and literature by Indigenous women which investigates Indigenous feminism and the agency of Indigenous women in their communities. Examples include the writings of Sherry Farrell-Racette (Farrell-Racette 2010), Lee Maracle (Maracle 1996), Beverly Singer (Singer 2001) and Carol Rose Daniels (Daniels 2018) as well as online campaigns such as Rematriate (Rematriate 2018). Moreover, many Indigenous women in Canada are now stepping forward to address patriarchal systems in Indigenous institutions, such as the Assembly of First Nations, and outdated laws favouring male representation over female in meeting with governmental institutions. My research considers decolonization methods in relation to Indigenous feminist perspectives in research practice. Through an Indigenous research paradigm based on the teachings of the Indigenous Cree medicine wheel, this paper aims to decolonize homogenous forms of research by promoting Indigenous women’s knowledge. The medicine wheel in Indigenous teachings is a philosophy and a practical method of interpreting the physical, mental and transcendental domains. For research purposes, the medicine wheel offers a unique representation of Indigenous epistemology, ontology, axiology and methodology for use in research. Furthermore, following decolonial theory and Indigenous methodologies this research investigates the intersections of Indigenous feminism in decolonizing knowledge production and dismantling paternalistic affects in educational institutions. Including Indigenous approaches to listening, participation and storytelling as opposed to standardized interviews, as well as observation and document analysis, this thesis opens space for generating community-based definitions of Indigenous feminism. Focusing on the Canadian context, Indigenous women in Saskatchewan possess a vast amount of traditional knowledge and ways of knowing which have been devalued since the enforcement of the Indian Act. One vital way of Indigenizing cultural revitalization is by reclaiming Indigenous women’s epistemologies as a means of decolonizing gender roles and negating the impacts of the Indian Act.

scholarly journals First Nations Children Count: Enveloping Quantitative Research in an Indigenous Envelope

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Blackstock
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
Indigenous Research ◽  
Rich Diversity

Indigenous peoples repeatedly call for disaggregated data describing their experience to inform socio-economic and political policy and practice change (United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 2003; UNICEF, 2003; Rae & the Sub Group on Indigenous Children and Youth, 2006). Although there has been significant discourse on the destructive historical role of western research with Indigenous communities (RCAP, 1996; Smith, 1999; Schnarch, 2004) and more recently on cultural adaptation of qualitative research methods (Smith, 1999; Bennet, 2004; Kovach, 2007), there has been very little discussion on how to envelope western quantitative social science research within Indigenous ways of knowing and being. This paper begins by outlining the broad goals of Indigenous research before focusing on how quantitative research is used, and represented, in the translation of Indigenous realities in child health and child welfare. Given the rich diversity of Indigenous peoples and their knowledges, this paper is only capable of what respected Indigenous academic Margo Greenwood (2007) would term “touching the mountaintops’ of complex and sacred ideas.

scholarly journals Rethinking Social Work Education for Indigenous Students: Creating Space for Multiple Ways of Knowing and Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
Nicole G. Ives ◽  
Oonagh Aitken ◽  
Michael Loft ◽  
Morgan Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Social Work Education ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mcgill University ◽  
School Of Social Work ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Cultural Reality

McGill University School of Social Work initiated a research project in October 2005 to examine the social work education and ongoing professional needs of the First Nations communities of Kahnawake and Kanehsatake. These communities had previously been served by a 30-credit certificate program. Using qualitative methodology, the project sought to gather data which would eventually assist in the development of a curriculum and pedagogical approach that would reflect the social and cultural reality of these communities as part of the regular BSW program. This paper describes the process, key findings, and potential next steps for the School.

scholarly journals Places & Spaces: A Critical Analysis of Cancer Disparities and Access to Cancer Care Among First Nations Peoples in Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-123
Author(s):  
Tara Horrill ◽  
Josee Lavoie ◽  
Donna Martin ◽  
Annette Schultz
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Cancer Disparities ◽  
Cancer Services ◽  
Poor Access ◽  
Increases In Risk ◽  
Experience Difficulty

Despite advancements in research and medicine, health inequities and disparities among First Nations peoples (FN) in Canada are well documented and continue to grow. Once virtually unheard of, cancer now is a leading cause of death among FN. Many factors contribute to cancer disparities, but FN face unique challenges in accessing healthcare. In this critical review and analysis, we explore potential links between cancer disparities and poor access to cancer care among FN. Research suggests FN experience difficulty accessing cancer services in several ‘places’ of care, including screening, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and palliative care. Furthermore, there are notable ‘spaces’ or gaps both within and between these ‘places’ of care likely contributing to cancer disparities among First Nations. Gaps in care result from jurisdictional ambiguities, geographical location, unsafe social spaces, and marginalization of FN ways of knowing, and can be linked to colonial and neocolonial policies and ideologies. By drawing attention to these broader structural influences on health, we aim to challenge discourses that attribute growing cancer disparities among FN in Canada solely to increases in ‘risk factors’.

scholarly journals Emily Carr: Border-crossing Canadian artist and writer

Nordlit ◽  
2014 ◽  
pp. 171
Author(s):  
Gerd Bjørhovde
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Critical Reception ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Early Twentieth Century ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Emily Carr

Emily Carr<strong> </strong>(1871–1945) is today generally considered one of Canada’s greatest and most unique artists. However, her recognition was a long time coming, and it was only towards the end of her life that fame came her way. The article discusses the critical reception of Carr’s work both as a painter and writer, paying particular attention to her border-crossing strategies in her use of indigenous/First Nations art and culture in her own work. Furthermore, it looks at the development of Carr’s art and its connection to the construction of a Canadian national identity, or Canadian-ness, in the early twentieth century.

scholarly journals Canadian and Australian First Nations: Decolonising knowledge

2018 ◽  
pp. 3-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josie Arnold
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Standpoint Theory ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Slow Process ◽  
Nations People ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Practitioner Knowledge ◽  
First Nations People

This article explores Indigenous standpoint theory in Australia in the context of postcolonialism and some of its aspects influencing Canadian First Nations scholarship. I look at how cultural metanarratives are ideologically informed and act to lock out of scholarship other ways of knowing, being and doing. I argue that they influence knowledge and education so as to ratify Eurowestern dominant knowledge constructs. I develop insights into redressing this imbalance through advocating two-way learning processes for border crossing between Indigenous axiologies, ontologies and epistemologies, and dominant Western ones. In doing so, I note that decolonisation of knowledge sits alongside decolonisation itself but has been a very slow process in the academy. I also note that this does not mean that decolonisation of knowledge is always necessarily an oppositional process in scholarship, proposing that practice-led research (PLR) provides one model for credentialling Indigenous practitioner-knowledge within scholarship. The article reiterates the position of alienation in their own lands that such colonisation implements again and in an influential and ongoing way. The article further proposes that a PhD by artefact and exegesis based on PLR is potentially an inclusive model for First Nations People to enter into non-traditional research within the academy.

scholarly journals Let’s Do it First and Talk About it Later: Rethinking Post-Secondary Science Teaching for Aboriginal Learners

in education ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Hogue
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Western Theory ◽  
Autumn And Winter

As an oral culture, Aboriginal ways of knowing and learning come through practice and practical application first, rather than through theory or text. For Aboriginal students, the Western methodological approach to learning theory first, poses a counterintuitive near insurmountable roadblock, particularly in science. This paper presents the results of two successful pilot course offerings of an introductory chemistry course in a First Nations’ Transition Program; a course that engaged Aboriginal students in a creative, hands-on, practical way. The medicine wheel, in the context of the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter), is used as the frame to teach chemistry concepts from an Aboriginal cultural lens and beginning with hands-on methodology to establish context and develop experience before bridging to Western theory. Keywords: Aboriginal students; learning theory; curriculum; teaching practices

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