Recognizing the Wealth of Knowledge in Inuit, First Nations, and Métis Communities

The focus of this thesis/project is to reinforce the cultural identity of First Nations communities by incorporating local materials, vernacular strategies, and a collaborative effort into the design and build process. The Maliseet First Nations at Tobique, N.B., which will be used as a case study for this thesis/project, has experienced a deterioration of culture and community throughout the years. As oral tradition is fundamental to Maliseet culture, speaking the language, practicing techniques, and engaging with the community is vital in order to uphold the Maliseet people's cultural identity. However, these practices and values are fading in Aboriginal communities throughout the country. Isolated reserves such as Tobique also suffer from a lack of economic development and employment opportunities, causing residents to feel that they must fend for themselves rather than work collaboratively. Currently, almost all residential construction is contracted to outside developers, which use little to no band labour or resources. With limited government funding, houses constructed over the past few decades have generally been low in quality and constantly require repair, with many instances of severe mould damage. Learning from and incorporating vernacular strategies, techniques, and material use would offer appropriate responses to site and climate while reinforcing the Maliseet people's connection with their land and heritage. Engaging the entire community in the design and built process would pass on knowledge, techniques, and cultural values to the younger generation while strengthening the sense of community and cultural identity. An architectural approach which strives to enable a group of people through use of these strategies will promote self-sufficiency, engage the people in their culture and community, and open a cultural dialogue on the possibilities of design and its contribution to an evolving cultural identity.

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First Nations Culture: Who Knows What?

Canadian Journal of Communication ◽

10.22230/cjc.1998v23n1a1021 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Charlotte Townsend-Gault

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Visual Culture ◽

First Nations ◽

Culturally Specific ◽

Specific Knowledge

Abstract: Located in the context of discussion in urban British Columbia as to whether contemporary First Nations art should properly be referred to as ``art'' in the Western sense or whether it is, rather, the repository and communicator of culturally specific knowledge, this paper considers the ways in which both Native and non-Native observers are negotiating their various rights to this very public visual culture. Résumé: Cet article se situe dans le contexte de discussions dans la Colombie-Britannique urbaine sur l'art contemporain autochtone : devrait-on qualifier celui-ci d'"art" au sens occidental du terme, ou est-il le recueil et le communicateur de connaissances culturelles spécifiques? Cet article considère les manières dont les observateurs tant autochtones que non-autochtones sont en train de négocier leurs droits divers à cette culture visuelle très publique.

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Indigenous Specializations: Dreams, Developments, Delivery and Vision

The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education ◽

10.1017/jie.2012.16 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 173-180

Author(s):

Kinewesquao/Cathy Richardson ◽

Qwul'sih'yah'maht/Robina Thomas ◽

Kundoque/Jacquie Green ◽

Naadli/Todd Ormiston

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

First Nations ◽

Culturally Specific ◽

Indigenous Students ◽

Specific Program ◽

School Of Social Work ◽

The University

This article documents the establishment of the Indigenous Specializations program in the School of Social Work at the University of Victoria. In the absence of funding for Indigenous programs, First Nations professors Robina Thomas and Jacquie Green developed the Indigenous Specializations program ‘off the side of their desk’. This article describes the process of creating a culturally specific program for Indigenous students in a mainstream university. Many of the challenges depicted in the article are ongoing, alongside various successes and victories for Indigenous graduates.

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Creating a cultural dialogue : reinforcing cultural identity on First Nations communities through the use of local materials and vernacular strategies

10.32920/ryerson.14662434 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ksenia Eic

Keyword(s):

Cultural Identity ◽

First Nations ◽

Cultural Values ◽

Oral Tradition ◽

Limited Government ◽

The People ◽

Self Sufficiency ◽

Cultural Dialogue ◽

Almost All ◽

Local Materials

The focus of this thesis/project is to reinforce the cultural identity of First Nations communities by incorporating local materials, vernacular strategies, and a collaborative effort into the design and build process. The Maliseet First Nations at Tobique, N.B., which will be used as a case study for this thesis/project, has experienced a deterioration of culture and community throughout the years. As oral tradition is fundamental to Maliseet culture, speaking the language, practicing techniques, and engaging with the community is vital in order to uphold the Maliseet people's cultural identity. However, these practices and values are fading in Aboriginal communities throughout the country. Isolated reserves such as Tobique also suffer from a lack of economic development and employment opportunities, causing residents to feel that they must fend for themselves rather than work collaboratively. Currently, almost all residential construction is contracted to outside developers, which use little to no band labour or resources. With limited government funding, houses constructed over the past few decades have generally been low in quality and constantly require repair, with many instances of severe mould damage. Learning from and incorporating vernacular strategies, techniques, and material use would offer appropriate responses to site and climate while reinforcing the Maliseet people's connection with their land and heritage. Engaging the entire community in the design and built process would pass on knowledge, techniques, and cultural values to the younger generation while strengthening the sense of community and cultural identity. An architectural approach which strives to enable a group of people through use of these strategies will promote self-sufficiency, engage the people in their culture and community, and open a cultural dialogue on the possibilities of design and its contribution to an evolving cultural identity.

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Of Boundaries and Borders: First Nations' History in Museums

Canadian Journal of Communication ◽

10.22230/cjc.1993v18n3a761 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Moira McLoughlin

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Time And Space ◽

Culturally Specific ◽

History Museums

Abstract: This paper suggests that traditional history museums can be approached as maps that to orient their users to linear, culturally specific narratives of time and space. As an alternative, the paper proposes that we consider museum as borderlands: spaces of coexistence, negotiation, and transformation which do not assume given centres of power. Résumé: Les musées d'histoire traditionnels sont présentés comme des cartes routières qui orientent les visiteurs à travers des constructions qui sont non seulement linéaires mais aussi culturellement déterminées dans le temps et l'espace. Cet article propose une vision alternative des musées en tant que terrains neutres de rencontre, c'est-à- dire comme des lieux de coexistence, de négociation et de transformation qui ne supposent pas de centres de pouvoirs pré-établis.

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Making the Invisible Visible: Applying Digital Storytelling for Immersive, Transformative and Anti-Colonial Learning

The British Journal of Social Work ◽

10.1093/bjsw/bcz161 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 483-505 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Naomi Sunderland ◽

Glenn Woods ◽

Pat Dorsett

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Transformative Learning ◽

First Nations ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Digital Storytelling ◽

Research Evaluation ◽

Local Area ◽

Social Work Educators ◽

Local Environments ◽

Human Services Students

Abstract This article examines the potential for digital storytelling in students’ local environments to produce transformative, anti-colonial learning. Using a process of mindful, embodied and emplaced observation, social work and human services students at one Australian university were asked to create a digital story about the visibility and valuing of First Nations’ peoples, culture and country in their local area. This article reports on a mixed-methods research evaluation of transformative learning outcomes from that assessment. It details the Indigenist and intercultural conceptual framework that underpinned the assessment and research evaluation. This article provides resources, findings and insights that can assist social work educators and professionals to adapt the digital storytelling process for their own contexts.

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