How is it measuring up?

Recently a job posting here in Ontario caught my eye....  it was for an Indigenous Graduation Coach.  I thought to myself, how would the school board be setting up this candidate for success when it would be an uphill battle for them to help the students to reach graduation when there is such a disconnect from the curriculum and their cultural beliefs!  When parents may not be interested in forming relationships with school staff because of past trauma from residential schools!  When the content taught daily is from a Euro-centric lens!  When not enough is being done to embed indigenous knowledge and Elders into our school system!  When their language is still deteriorating! And lastly when our own government is spouting out speeches about Truth and Reconciliation and don't have the actions to back up these promises!

When the educational practices of a school board or country for that matter are not meeting the needs of the Aboriginal students in a holistic manner, then change is essential and necessary. Senge (1990) describes the successful process of change in education. "At the heart of a learning organization is the shift of mind - from seeing ourselves as separate from the world to connected to the world .... a leaming organization is a place where people are continually discovering how they create their reality. And how they can change it" (p. 12-13). Connections are important in any process of educational change but even more so in Aboriginal education.  The cultural teachings are the foundation of the Aboriginal peoples' identity" (Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1996, p. 116-117)

Shouldn't all educators from K-12 be Indigenous Graduation Coaches?  As you can see from the statistics linked here the rate for graduation in 2011 for indigenous students (those that self identified as FNMI) is well below the rest of the student population.  Are we asking these students why?  Are we listening to them and making the necessary changes to ensure their success? 
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/indigenous/ontario-student-achievement-en.pdf




Goulet. L, McLeod, Y. Vol 37, No 003 (2002). CONNECTIONS AND RECONNECTIONS: AFFIRMING CULTURAL IDENTITY IN ABORIGINAL TEACHER EDUCATION. Available Online at http://joj.library.mcgill.ca/index.php/MJE/article/view/5950

Self Reflection

As the course comes to a close I am reviewing all my personal connections in my journal entries and reassessing my learning goals set at the beginning of the course.  I feel truly fulfilled from my last PME course but to me its just the start of a new learning journey.  I will take what I have learned throughout this course and the others to reevaluate and modify my teaching practices.  Self-reflection in education is recognized as a valuable method for developing and improving teachers’ professional practice (Farrell, 2012; Mason, 2007; Milner, 2003; Ottesen, 2007; Rodgers, 2002; Schön, 1983).  So where has and where will my self-reflection take me?  

Within self reflection teachers are often asked to become cognizant of their biases and reactions to students and curriculum (Delpit, 2006; Grant & Sleeter, 2007; Nuri-Robins, Lindsey, Lindsey, & Terrell, 2012).  I for one was often a little hesitant about embedding indigenous knowledge in the classroom, about having those tough conversations with colleagues and calling out others on their racism and privilege.  As I am reinventing myself as a educator and as I dig deeper into making a connection to my Metis roots I am still learning and unlearning about my biases, preconceived ideas, and past stereotypes that were passed down.  As I uncover these I am realizing that they have essentially shaped and influenced my pedagogical practices. 

 I am open to new ways of teaching, I am keen to implement culturally relevant curriculum, I am aware of the benefits of indigenous knowledge for all students, I am collecting resources and attending workshops, I am a settler ally and I will make an impact and  difference in Indigenous Education.  

 Oskineegish, M. (2019). The Role of Self-Reflection in an Indigenous Education Course for Teacher Candidates. Available online at https://ineducation.ca/ineducation/article/view/390/980

There's more to it than the pipeline...

Protesters and land defenders are occupying rail lines and intersections across Canada to draw attention not only to the pipeline, but also to Indigenous land rights on the whole.  



Wet’suwet’en land is unceded, meaning it was never signed over on paper to Canada through a treaty. This is important, because the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs assert a legal right to the land and a right to decide who uses it for what. Of course, it’s important to note than even if a treaty was signed between Canada and existing Indigenous peoples, that doesn’t mean the land was “given up” or given away. There’s a lot of complexity behind the legacy of the treaty system. (Woods, 2020)

Land has religious, historical, and spiritual significance to indigenous and First Nations people, and the government's attempts to build on contested territory tap into a deep-seated tension in Canada. And even though British Columbia introduced a bill to uphold UNDRIP during its 2019 legislative session, few believe that policymakers will actually consider the resolution given that it was Prime Minister Trudeaus administration that approved pipeline expansion in the first place, hoping to work with oil and gas export businesses. 

Many activists supporting indigenous sovereignty have said that the Canadian government's efforts to support pipeline construction are part of a broader scheme to further diminish the social and political power of tribal nations. For example, activists say an interim land negotiation policy called Comprehensive Land Claims is explicitly built to “extinguish” the rights of indigenous people if they are not able to prove, by way of certificate or deed, their ownership and stewardship of the land.

Woods, M. (2020). Wet’suwet’en Coastal GasLink Pipeline Dispute: Every Word You Need To Know
 https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/wetsuweten-coastal-gaslink-protest-injunction-definition_ca_5e4423edc5b61f8ad4e283c3?ncid=fcbklnkcahpmg00000001&fbclid=IwAR0ihYCoPxS9W6WDhaN6FPAJ7elRrzFu9oHbs-Jn6VK25Pc-c27Xj6Yrgj8

Resources

Keeping with this mindset and learning resources I decided to spend some time finding authentic resources that could be included into classroom programming that would support indigenous students.  I find there is alot of content in the area of Arts and Language but I personally don't have anything in terms of Math resources that can be embedded into the curriculum content.  

I wanted to find something that would bring in their perspectives and better appreciate that all students are seen and motivated to use and learn numeracy concepts.  

There were alot of great ideas that could easily be modified for your grade level for indigenous math word problems.  You can find more here http://ankn.uaf.edu/Curriculum/Units/StoryProblems/index.html

Amazing math games can be found here http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/RR/database/RR.09.00/treptau1/mathcontent.html

I was specifially looking for resources for my Grade 1/2 class but cant help but share this resource for those of you teaching the 8/9grades. http://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PUB-LFP-Math-First-Peoples-8-9-for-Web.pdf 

Some movies and stories to engage your learners can be found here http://www.sfu.ca/mathcatcher/StoriesMovies/TheOldTotemPole.html. To promote mathematics among Aboriginal learners, they have created a series of stories with mathematical themes. These stories are based on the storytelling tradition of Aboriginal peoples. The fact that all of our stories have been translated into several Aboriginal languages is probably the biggest recognition that an author could hope for.  Take a moment to scroll down through this page and click on each of the stories….you will see and hear many different translations of each story

If you are looking to build your resource library with some purchased books my cart is pretty full https://www.strongnations.com/store/item_list.php?it=&cat=2884

I also found this program that would support Kanu's instructutional methods and strategies. The Math Catcher Outreach program aims to promote mathematics and scholarship in general by encouraging elementary and high school students to recognize how math is used in everyday life and how it forms the basis for many of our daily decisions and life-long choices. The storytelling, pictures, models, problem solving, and hands-on activities encourage young people to enjoy math and help dispel myths that math is boring and abstract. 

http://www.sfu.ca/mathcatcher.html

Aboriginal Perspectives in Inuit Education

In Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives Into the School Curriculum, Kanu (2011) identifies five essential classroom practices for successfully integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into curriculum; (1) lesson planning
(2) learning resources and learning content
(3) instructional methods and strategies
(4) assessment methods and 
(5) using aboriginal perspectives as a “philosophical underpinning” of the curriculum (p.95). 

How are these evident in everyday practices in an early years program? 

When I think back to when I visited the Ottawa Inuit Children's Centre.. 

The lesson plans were posted
The learning resources and learning content were relevant and authentic.  
The instructional methods and strategies were embedded in their daily interactions with the children 
The aboriginal perspectives within the curriculum were visible 

 


Kanu, Yatta. [2011]. “Chapter Four: Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into the School Curriculum: Layering at Five Levels of Classroom Practice,” In Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into the School Curriculum: Purposes, Possibilities, and Challenges. University of Toronto Press. pp. 95-119.

Grading the Gap. Equity Matters.

"The federal government is reluctant to admit it, but many experts agree that First Nations kids living on reserve get significantly less funding for their education than kids going to school anywhere else in Canada."

The issue of some students being given more allocated money for education over others needs to be addressed and dealt with immediately.  Please give the following CBC interview a listen... 

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2695939565/

In some parts of the country some first nations students are given about half the amount as other students.  This shortest of funding puts them at risk.  

When taking a closer look at the Matawa Learning Center.  It receives $13,000 in tuition per student.  That’s the amount of money the federal government provides First Nations in the area for each school-aged person who normally lives on a reserve. By contrast, Thunder Bay’s French Catholic board received more than $27,000 per student, not including capital costs, from the provincial government last year.

How is this reconciliation?  

The Indian Act

 

What was YOUR prior knowledge of the Indian Act?  

Prior to the 1876 Indian Act, education was provided on reserves at day schools for the children to attend and begin their assimilation into settler society.  However, issues with low attendance impeded this plan. The education policy was revised after government officials studied how the American government managed education of native children. So in 1920, the Act was amended to combat the attendance concerns by making it compulsory for status Indian children to attend residential schools, with consequences to those who hid their children. If children were not readily handed over, the Indian Act gave power to the Indian agent to enter the family dwelling and seize the children, often with the help of the local constabulary or by the constabulary alone. Parents or guardians who tried to hide the children were liable to be arrested and or imprisoned. 


“The problem is the Indian Act is deeply interwoven into the fabric of First Nations over seven generations,” says Alexander. “It’s embedded in almost every aspect of life on a reserve, and has had a terrible effect on how First Nations people see themselves. (Beazley, 2017)
 
It’s not just about assimilation. It’s oppression.

So the question remains... what next?  These days, many people working in the field of Indigenous law argue that if the Indian Act can’t die, it must dwindle away – through a process of delivering its powers and responsibilities to Indigenous communities on a case-by-case basis. One of the Indian Act’s major sins was to treat all Indigenous communities as if they were cut from the same cloth, with the same cultures and pre-contact legal systems.

The key is its replacement can’t be another law that does the same thing.

How does the Indian Act inform my professional practice?  I have become more of an advocate and ally to indigenous women after learning that under the Indian Act, First Nations women were  banned from voting and running for Chief and Council elections. The oppression of First Nations women under the Indian Act resulted in long-term poverty, marginalization and violence, which they are still trying to overcome today. As a self identified Metis woman I learned that  both Inuit and Metis women were also discriminated against and prevented from: 

• serving in the Canadian armed forces

• getting a college or university degree

• leaving their communities for long periods (e.g., for employment)

• becoming an ordained minister

• becoming a professional (e.g., a doctor or lawyer)

 

Image 

http://fb.historicacanada.ca/education/english/indigenous-perspectives/IndigenousPerspectives/assets/common/downloads/publication.pdf 

Available Online at https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/the-indian-act-residential-schools-and-tuberculosis-cover-up 

Beazley, D. (2017) Decolonizing the Indian Act.  Available Online at https://www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/law/opinion/2017/decolonizing-the-indian-act

Kindergarten Indigenous Immersion Policy

Drawing on varied evidence from indigenous language programs, the several articles I examined made the case that immersion programs are vital to early learners. They showcase the benefit of these immersion programs starting at a young age and  illustrate how traditional indigenous values are infused into language programs and can be embedded into the students play. These programs help to build positive strong identities in indigenous and non-indigenous students and their communities. I will provide an outline and rationale for the framework on providing indigenous language to our young students and how this not only emphasizes the interconnectedness to our environment but also supports full day kindergarten experiential learning.  

The research and this subsequent information will highlight four crucial components for Kindergarten Indigenous language programs; challenges, benefits, best practises, and resources.   While no ideal model is possible due to the diversity of languages and community contexts within Canada, there are several factors that have been identified through language acquisition research and years of practice in Indigenous Language programs that can be closely linked to success.

“By the year 2000 all schools will offer Native students the opportunity to maintain and develop their tribal languages and will create a multicultural environment that enhances the many cultures represented in the school” (Reyhner, 2010) (This goal is still far from fruition despite the work of immersion schools outlined in this write up). For many Aboriginal peoples, learning is a lived experience best absorbed through activities such as; learning/talking circles, storytelling, discussions, demonstrations, cooperative learning, role modeling, peer tutoring, and hands-on experiences. My goal is to make the case that kindergarten immersion programs can be vital to healing the negative effects of colonialism and assimilation schooling and that policies need to be in place to support this.

Challenges

Typical assessment mechanisms employed within public education include formative test-taking measures, standardized tests, written evaluations, teacher-centered feedback, and the provision of formal grades/percentages.  These types of curriculum delivery and assessment is ill-matched with Aboriginal ways of knowing and learning. First Nations children may tell a story without an introduction, without building a context, or in a non-linear sequence. Their story retellings may elicit less language than play-based language samples. Assessing a narrative according to the structural features of a different set of norms can result in misattribution of cognitive delay or deficit. (Ball,2006) Its imperative for immersion programs to devise an assessment strategy that aligns with indigenous customs and values.  Some examples of assessment strategies that are indigenous centered are; conferences, portfolios, journals, photo essays, and performances. (Toulouse, 2001) They should provide opportunities for students to express learning through their spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual domains. 

Customs

In mainstream schools, students are expected to speak in a wide range of situations. Some of these may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable for First Nations children.  In many First Nations communities, listening and observing are valued as much as talking. It is important to be aware that people from different cultures may have been socialized into different sets of norms for appropriate ways to use language interactively. For example, First Nations children’s interactional norms may not match situations or expectations in school. Their responses, often in the form of hesitation or silence, may be misinterpreted as lack of comprehension, inability to respond correctly, lack of attention or even insolence. (Ball, 2006) Being aware of these norms will allow for further understanding and will help to modify the kindergarten language approach to learning. 

Best Practises

Aboriginal pedagogy stresses the importance of experiential learning, service learning, and out-of-school experiences.  The full day kindergarten program in Ontario supports this pedagogy and endorses student led learning which will provide opportunities for indigenous languages to be included in their everyday experiences.  It is not enough, however, to simply introduce the native language if a school‟s curriculum remains unchanged (Nevins, 2004). Just translating a non-Native curriculum into the Native language and focusing on vocabulary and grammar is in no way part of a decolonization agenda. (Reyhner, 2010) As Wayne Holm (2006), former director of the Navajo-English bilingual Rock Point Community School, noted, “If school is to be relevant, it has to deal with the realities of the land, the animals, and the people” As a way of emphasizing an interconnectedness with our environment and our relationship to the world, Deloria and Wildcat (2001) advocate both experiential learning involving example and observation and a focus on the importance of reciprocity and giving back. (Reyhner, 2010)

Involvement 

Parent and community involvement is crucial and should be embedded within the policy.  A plethora of research has confirmed the notion that parent/caregiver involvement in school has positive effects on a students’ school experience, including increased academic achievement, better attendance, improved behavior, and a stronger motivation to succeed (Darch et al, 2004). Preston suggests that in turn, education leaders need to develop school-home strategies that are in line with the dynamics of Aboriginal families and their extended members. This could include using technological tools for communication, inviting them in to classroom presentations, sharing their knowledge and keeping them updated and informed. 

Policy

The decision-making about immersion program should be based around the  stakeholders of the Indigenous language community. How decisions are made, and control is exercised, will vary from community to community however, depending on the governance practices of each group.  Community engagement, or participation, has also been found to have positive effects on program. (De Korne, 2010)Programming must be locally controlled and include input, design, and delivery by Aboriginal Peoples. Successful immersion programming must be derived from an Aboriginal perspective (Morcom, 2017 p. 15).

Start Early

  Generally, it appears that if a child enters immersion programming early, detriment to mainstream language development is unlikely to occur (Raham 2004; Usborne et al, 2011) The critical period,when children are able to pick up languages with little instruction through exposure, lasts until about age 12, so the earlier programs start the more time they have to acquire the language. (De Korne, 2010). Ball (2005) claimed that early childhood educational services should be the nucleus of Aboriginal communities. This is why it's crucial to start immersion for students in Kindergarten.

Reyhner, J. (2010) Indigenous Language Immersion Schools for Strong Indigenous Identities. Heritage Language Journal, 7(2) Retrived from https://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/education/20._2010_reyhner,_indigenous_language_immersion_schools_for_strong_indigenous_identities.pdf pg 138- 149. 

 Monk, J. (2017). The Power of Immersion and Bilingual Schools for Indigenous Language Revitalization. Retrieved from: https://www.socialconnectedness.org/the-power-of-immersion-and-bilingual-schools-for-indigenous-language-revitalization/ Accessed July 17, 2019. 

Morcom. L. Weighing the Benefits of Aboriginal Language Immersion. Canadian Journal of First Nations Studies.

Ball, J, Bernhardt, B, and Deby, J..  (2006) . Implications of First Nations English Dialects for Supporting Children’s Language Development.  World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education, 2005.  Retrieved from;  http://ecdip.org/docs/pdf/WIPCE%20Dialectics%20Paper2006.pdf 

Preston, J. (2014). Early childhood education and care for Aboriginal children in Canada. [Online] Retrieved from; https://movingchildcareforward.ca/images/policybriefs/MCCF_aboriginal_childcare_canada.pdf

 De Korne, H.  (2010). Indigenous Language Education Policy: Supporting Community-

Controlled Immersion in Canada and the US.  Language Policy, 9, 115-141

Toulouse, P.M. (2001)  Achieving Aboriginal Student Success: A Guide for K to 8 Classrooms. Portage & Main Press