Education website brings indigeonous knowledge to life
$50 million to improve First Nations learning environments
Lakehead U to offer BHEd in Aboriginal Education
Northern Medical Program succeeds in attracting Aboriginal students
Education website brings indigeonous knowledge to life
FourDirectionsTeachings.com, an interactive website that features teachings from Elders from five diverse First Nations (Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibway, Mi'kmaq and Mohawk) across Canada, is now live. Produced by Toronto-based, Aboriginal owned, Invert Media, the website was developed in response to a lack of available educational materials that deal with Indigenous knowledge and philosophies.
Conceived while company President, and PhD Candidate, Jennifer Wemigwans, was working as a frontline literacy worker in Toronto's Aboriginal community, www.fourdirectionsteachings.com became a reality as result of Wemigwans' belief in the necessity for such a resource. "My experience as an adult literacy instructor in the Toronto Aboriginal community had demonstrated the tremendous impact that Indigenous Knowledge and philosophy have for people, who, like me, were disenfranchised from their cultural knowledge"., said Jennifer Wemigwans.
FourDirectionsTeachings.com includes teacher guides and resources (grades 1 – 12) to go with each teaching and engages students through the use of cutting edge Flash animation and audio narration throughout the website. Created with Content Producer Doug Anderson, who has worked on Aboriginal Educational Initiatives across the country, the website is narrated in both official languages.
Key to the project was the involvement of Aboriginal community leaders and educators including Dr. Marie Battiste, James Youngblood Henderson, Dr. Reg Crowshoe, Diane Hill and Sylvia Maracle. The entire project, from the design, the production to the narration was created by Aboriginal talent from across Canada.
Test launched in the fall of 2006, the initial response to the Four Directions website has been overwhelmingly positive. Teachers across the country are embracing the site. Eileen Elroy, a Science and Technology teacher in the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program at Queen's University has been using the FourDirectionsTeachings.com teaching materials with her Faculty of Education candidates, "I am always looking for ways to bring culture and traditions into the curriculum to embed them in the learning for our children", she said.
This incredible response has encouraged Wemigwans and her company to expand FourDirectionsTeachings.com further to include other nations such as those in northern and western Canada.
"The FourDirectionsTeachings.com model will be expanded in the next phase, bringing important cultural resources to the world, making Canada a leader in the enlightened presentation of Indigenous Knowledge systems."
If Jennifer Wemigwans has her way, Canadians of all ages and all backgrounds will have a greater understanding and appreciation of Canadian Aboriginal culture.
Produced in association with the National Indigenous Literacy Association, FourDirections
Teachings. com was made possible through the Canadian Culture Online Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. Invert Media is an Aboriginal multimedia production company dedicated to exploring Indigenous forms of knowledge and perception through e-learning, new technologies and the arts. The company is committed to community-based approaches, and honours community expertise by working respectfully with talented professionals from diverse Indigenous nations.
With over 40 years of collective experience working with Aboriginal peoples across Canada, and 35 years in the media and arts industries, Invert Media draws on their strong connections and background in these diverse communities to produce groundbreaking projects that are rooted in Indigenous perspectives. Invert Media combines user-centred design with a community-based approach to honour and incorporate the community expertise of diverse Indigenous nations. Visit www.invertmedia.com for company profile.
$50 million to improve First Nations learning environments
The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, have announced an investment of more than $50 million for school infrastructure projects across Canada.
“Canada’s New Government believes that First Nations learners deserve the best possible facilities in which they can learn and thrive,” said Minister Prentice. “We are proud to make this investment to ensure young people across Canada can attend healthy and safe schools that measure up to standards in other parts of the country.”
This $50 million investment will be used to help fund 12 projects across Canada, ranging from the construc-tion of new schools, renovation projects and supporting design and planning phases for education infrastructure.
Projects taking place across the country that highlight some of the key work being done to provide First Nations students with improved learning environments include:
ALBERTA
• SunChild School - $10.75 million over three years, toward the expansion of the current Kindergarten to Grade 12 school at Sunchild First Nation.
• Big Horn Ta Otha School - $12 million over three years, toward the construction of a new school to replace the existing collection of classroom portables at Stoney Tribe First Nation.
• Morley School - $2.48 million over three years, toward the construction of a new gymnasium at Stoney Tribe's Morley elementary school.
SASKATCHEWAN
• Pelican Narrows High School - $220,000 toward the initial design work on a proposed renovation/addition to the school located in Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan.
• James Smith School Renovation - $500,000 toward the major renovation, including a roof repair, located in the community of James Bay in central Saskatchewan.
QUEBEC
• Unamen Shipu - $270,000 toward the construction of a fourplex to accommodate teachers that come from outside the community. The remote community, on the lower north shore, is not accessible by road.
• Opitciwan - $60,000 to fund initial plans and specifications to implement a new ventilation system in the elementary school. The community of Opitciwan is located in Haute-Mauricie.
• Matimekush - $100,000 to accelerate the rehabilitation project of its school, which is currently in the construction phase. The community is located in a remote area bordering Labrador, NL and is only accessible by air or train.
ONTARIO
• Whitefish River First Nation - $2.3 million toward the design and construction of a new school, in the Objibway community located about 70 kilometres southwest of Sudbury.
ATLANTIC
• Shubenacadie and Waycobah Schools - $7.5 million toward the construction of two new schools over two years. The new on-reserve schools will be constructed to accommodate Kindergarten to Grade 12 programs. Shubenacadie Band is located 28 kilometres southwest of Truro, Nova Scotia and Waycobah First Nation is located 70 kilometres west of Sydney, Nova Scotia.
• Sheshatshiu Innu School - $14.6 million over three years, toward the construction of a new school. Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation is located 40 kilometres southwest of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador.
Lakehead U to offer BHEd in Aboriginal Education
Lakehead University's Faculty of Education has established a four-year Honours Bachelor of Education in Aboriginal Education to start in January 2008.
The HBEd (Aboriginal Education) will be the first four-year honours degree program offered by an Ontario university and the first to focus on critical foundations in Aboriginal education and Aboriginal pedagogy. The program prepares people of Aboriginal ancestry to become teachers with particular expertise to meet the needs of Aboriginal learners.
“This is a giant step forward for teacher education, especially Aboriginal teacher education in Ontario,” says Dr. Julia O’Sullivan, Dean, Lakehead University Faculty of Education. “Graduates of this program will be highly qualified to teach primary and junior children using culturally relevant approaches and resources, and will have special expertise in early literacy and early numeracy education.”
“For the past two years, we have worked in consultation with Aboriginal communities to design a program which will reflect the needs of these communities,” says Dr. Ethel Gardner, Chair of Aboriginal Education at Lakehead University.” Aboriginal communities want their children to find academic success in education that is culturally relevant to them and responds to their learning needs. Several new courses have been created for the HBEd (Aboriginal Education) which address the issues brought up through our consultation process.”
Students who graduate from this program will have an understanding of culturally appropriate education grounded in Aboriginal philosophies. The graduates will have a thorough understanding of the needs of Aboriginal learners at the primary/junior level, and will utilize knowledge of Native language and culture in lessons and unit-planning.
For more information visit www.lakeheadu.ca.
Northern Medical Program succeeds in attracting Aboriginal students
The Northern Medical Program is succeeding in attracting Aboriginal students to medicine, a vital element in ensuring that the NMP is relevant to rural and northern communities. In the NMP’s first three years, it has attracted six Aboriginal students, representing 8% of the total number of students in the Northern Medical Program.
In Canada, Aboriginal people make up less than 5% of the student population in medical schools.
“Just as NMP students who come from rural communities contribute a distinctive perspective to their studies, our Aboriginal students offer their unique perspectives and experiences,” says David Snadden, Vice Provost Medicine at UNBC and Associate Dean for the Northern Medical Program at UBC. “We are proud of their commitment to their studies and to their communities.”
The Aboriginal NMP students are listed here:
Jennifer Douse, a Metis student from Fort Nelson, BC
"Being a physician has been a lifelong dream for me. Medicine is exciting and challenging and I really enjoy the aspect of caregiving for others. The NMP is a great experience – I love the North and I'm glad that I get to train to be a doctor here."
Sharona Supernault, a Cree-Metis student from Dawson Creek, BC
"Aboriginal people are greatly under-represented in the medical field. I am proud to be the first person in my family to pursue a medical degree. I completed my First Nations Studies degree at UNBC, therefore being back in Prince George feels like home. I love the small class size and the support we have received being in the Northern Medical Program. Being in a smaller hospital with enthusiastic preceptors, we are given wonderful teaching opportunities that other students may not receive until later in their training."
Ben Matthew, a member of the Simpcw First Nation from a small reserve north of Barriere called Chu Chua
Peter Eppinga, a Haida student from Masset on the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii)
"I have wanted to be a phsyician since I was five years old. I love to help people. I am concerned about their life and the quality of it. Being a physician makes a big difference in peoples lives. Finally I love the human body and the science of it! I am on the board of directors for the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, and wish to influence Aboriginal health on a national level. Being in the north in the Northern medical program helps me to better understand Aboriginal health issues in the north and it will prepare me when I practice in my home town Masset."
Taylor Riutta, of Abenaki ancestry from Odanak, Quebec, most recently living in Sudbury
"I applied to the NMP for the smaller class sizes and the opportunities to study in rural areas. My experiences here have been phenomenal and I would choose the NMP again in a heartbeat."
Lorraine MacDonald, an Anishinabek (Ojibway) student from the Sheshegwaning First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Ontario
Based at UNBC’s Prince George campus, the Northern Medical Program is part of the expanded UBC Faculty of Medicine, which also includes sites in Vancouver and Victoria. The Northern Medical Program accepted its first students in 2004. Admission to the Northern Medical Program is through the UBC Faculty of Medicine, which offers assistance to Aboriginal applicants. After they are admitted to the Faculty, students select the site they prefer to attend.
Throughout all of its programming, UNBC has a particular focus on Aboriginal issues and making courses accessible to Aboriginal people. About 10% of the University’s student body is Aboriginal; the average among BC universities is 2.1%.