Intended for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners, this course will explore indigenous ways of knowing and how they can benefit all students. Topics include historical, social, and political issues in Aboriginal education; terminology; cultural, spiritual and philosophical themes in Aboriginal worldviews; and how Aboriginal worldviews can inform professional programs and practices, including but not limited to the field of education.
2.8: Interview with Angela Mashford-Pringle [Part 2] (12:02)
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来自 University of Toronto 的课程
Aboriginal Worldviews and Education
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从本节课中
Aboriginal Worldviews Colliding with Newcomers
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与讲师见面
Jean-Paul RestouleAssociate Professor
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
>> What are some things that mainstream teachers and schools can do to be more
inclusive of Aboriginal learners? >> There's a lot of things they can do.
One is, when they're looking at their textbooks and, and the curriculum they
actually are providing that they try to include aboriginal focus.
So you know In a math text book it's really hard to do, but maybe in the
handouts that they provide, maybe they use aboriginal names or aboriginal places when
you're trying to do like a math, you know, they go from Attawapiskat to Sandy Lake as
opposed to going from Toronto to Ottawa. So that's one way they could do that.
The other way is to make sure they incorporate traditional ways of knowing
and knowledge, so reading up on and understanding what traditional ways of
knowing and knowledge are and understanding the different learning
styles. Aboriginal people tend to learn from
experiential learning as opposed to learning from books, the way we see
mainstream want to do. I do see a change in the shift in the
educational system and we are moving there.
But we're not there yet. So if, if we have teachers look at those
things and try to come up with positive role models, and showing positive
aboriginal role models for those students. They don't know that they have aboriginal
students in their classrooms so it's really, it's best that they always try to
teach in that way. >> Mm-hm.
>> It helps to be a diverse classroom that way.
And then that way, the students that are in their class, they'll start to learn a
little about First Nations. So, you know, don't just stick to the
curriculum in three, grade 3, grade 6, and grade 9, but try to incorporate First
Nations, all the way through the curriculum.
And it will help to bridge that stereotypical, you know, discriminatory
gap that we seem to, to have in Canada >> Mm-hm and you mention grades three, six
and nine because in Ontario. >> Yes, they're explicit.
>> That's where they are explicitly mentioned in the curriculum that we
include some aboriginal content, I'll say. Because such as content I think
introducing aboriginal perspectives into teaching and learning throughout the
curriculum >> Mm-hm. >> Is a good strategy for that, for
reasons of equity and inclusion and so forth.
And you mentioned too that teachers don't always know that they have indigenous
students in their classroom because we all look different, >> Yes.
>> We don't necessarily. Adhere to that movie native stereotype.
>> Yes. >> So that's something that I think I've
been trying to convey to teachers in my work is you don't necessarily know whether
you have them in your class but they're there.
>> Yes. >> You just may not recognize them.
So one, one of the questions and you kind of touched on this I was wondering about
the value for non aboriginal learners in that classroom of taking on those kinds of
examples and integration of aboriginal perspectives.
You know, why should, why should we do it even if there, there isn't an indigenous
student in that class. >> There's a huge number of reasons.
One is, if we don't start teaching about Aboriginal history In an, an acceptable
way that shows not only how mainstream has always seen aboriginal history, but in the
way aboriginal people see their history. Then we can't ever get rid of stereotypes.
We can't ever get rid of discrimination and racism, and as much as we want to say
that we are not a colonized country. We are and we have to get past that and
the only way to decolonize is to start bringing in that history at as many places
as we can so students start to understand. About aboriginal people, their history and
the, attempts that it's had at assimilation so that we're not talking
about it in some abstract third person type of way, but how it relates back to
them because. Treaties don't just mean aboriginal
people. They were made with the British Crown, so
we need to talk about those things. And we need to talk about, you know, there
are certain things that haven't been happening in Canada, and we need to talk
about why child welfare doesn't work. And we need to talk about why the social.
Or the justice system doesn't work for us. The only way we can have honest
conversations is if everyone in the classroom learns about Aboriginal people
right from the beginning, and we can build upon that knowledge.
Think about math, if we didn't build upon knowing 1 plus 1, we could never get to
long algebraic equations. So we need to think about Aboriginal
people just like an algebraic equation. >> Mm-hm, so I guess we can't discuss our,
treaty relationship if we don't realize that we are all treaty people in Canada.
>> Exactly, so I think that if we don't start building upon that relationship
building and, and talking about the true history that we, we're starting to hear
more and more about. The residential schools about the 60s
group, talking about what the Indian Act means.
What kind of rights and privileges were taken away with the Indian Act.
We can't ever sit down and have a, a true conversation about where Canada needs to
go from here. >> Mm-hm.
Where does Canada need to go? [laugh] >> Well I think we have a lot of
work to do. I think that we, we see it.
Right now we have the idle no more movement happening across Canada.
And I think it's a one step in moving us towards.
Building a new relationship.Some Canadians are saying okay I've had enough of hearing
about it you know, just, you know, go away.
While other Canadians are saying yeah the Indian Act is wrong and it's repressive
and we need to do something about it because that's not the country we thought
this was. And I think if we don't start talking
about it as aboriginal people and start engaging non aboriginal people.
We're not going to get anywhere. We're just going to spin our wheels, and,
and we need to do that to educate not just aboriginal people about their own history,
but non-aboriginal people about the history that they may not, not have ever
experienced or known. >> Mm-hm.
One of the earliest agreements, I guess, between the newcomers and indigenous
people, is the, The Two Row Wampum or the Guswenta, which laid out a, a model for
co-existence. >> Mm-hm.
>> So I'm wondering if, if you can talk a bit about the Guswenta.
>> Well the idea was that we would go through life, in this land in two separate
streams but we would work where we needed to together but we wouldn't disrupt each
other. Unfortunately, that didn't occur because
within you know a hundred year of that. The two row wampum we came to put rope
proclamation that say we are sovereign people we going to share land and right
after that, you know, not even hundred years later, we come into confederation
into the British North America act of 1867.
Where all of the sudden aboriginal people become the wards of the state.
And then with the wards of the state, that's when they started to change how
education would lay out for the aboriginal people.
It was no longer about you know, the experiential learning that we were
experiencing and that we always done in, in apprenticeship kind of way.
Now, all of a sudden, people had to go to schools and they had to learn things that
they really didn't know what they were going to use it for like they were
learning how to write. They were learning how to read and then
they found out that if they actually went beyond K to 12, and went to post
secondary, they lost their status. They became enfranchised and they didn't
even ask for that. That was just something that was forced
upon them. So, they lost their ability to identify as
Aboriginal people. So, we, we often don't think about those
things, and I think that we need to start thinking about how do we educate Canadians
about those. They don't seem like a lot, but I think if
Canadians started to understand those little pieces.
>> Mm-hm. >> We would start to move towards building
a better relationship in Canada, between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people.
And maybe they could see the benefit of working with the fastest growing
population in Canada. >> Mm-hm, what are some steps Canadians
can take? >> I would hope, I would sincerely hope
that they would take some time to you know, five minutes and look at some
videos. There's lots of them on the Aboriginal
People's Television Network, or YouTube. You can go on and, and watch things.
Eight Fire. And it's a great series.
They can spend just even five minutes to try to figure out what's going on, listen
to the idle no more movement. Going around and listening to people
talking about it. Asking their MP about what are they doing
for aboriginal people. In your community, because there's not
very many communities in Canada, and writings in Canada where there's not
Aboriginal people. So, what are they doing for the Aboriginal
people right there in their back yard? Talking to their, their children's
teachers. Asking them what's being taught in
schools. Making sure that it's actually being
taught in schools. Talking to the schools about you know,
doing something about social justice, justice.
So you know, in Nunavut, to buy a bottle of water is you know, three to five times
the amount that it is here in Toronto. So maybe it's about how can we work
together to reduce the prices in remote communities.
Maybe it's about sponsoring a remote community and helping them in some way.
So I think Canadians have lots of abilities to go out and do something but
they need to educate themselves. So I think that first step is, or find an
elder. >> Mm-hm.
>> Go out and find an elder find an event and go talk to people.
There's lots of aboriginal people. And I'm sure they would love to sit down
and talk and, and tell you what you, you know, want to know.
There are books out there that specifically work towards telling you
about aboriginal people, like First Nations 101 by Linda Grey.
>> Mm-hm. >> Or you can sit down and, and simply sit
with some people and have a meal or go to the nearest friendship center and, and
hang out and maybe you might learn something that you never new before.
>> Yeah connecting, connecting to the community is so important and um,[COUGH]
it's one thing for Canadians to connect to indigenous people in their communities but
indigenous people. Responding in a, in a good way.
>> Yes. >> What are some ways that indigenous
people can respond to allies who come looking for knowledge?
>> I hope that they will take the time to extend a hand and help them.
Because it's, it's so very important when a non-indigenous person comes to you and
asks for help, and they want to know more about aboriginal people and indigenous
people, that it's, It's taking the time to give them the knowledge that you do have.
And if you don't have the knowledge, passing them on to somebody else that will
and, and doing it in a good way, not just saying, oh, well I don't know I'm going to
send you to somebody else, but trying to actually find out the, the answers to the
questions that they have. Not, you know hiding behind a veil of not
knowing because a lot of aboriginal people know where they can go to get more
information so I, you know helping out and doing that.
Being part of any kind of volunteer day where you know, aboriginal awareness week
in February or aboriginal National aboriginal day June 21, you know.
Getting out there and showing non-aboriginal people that we are here and
talking to them about what it means to be indigenous in Canada today.
>> Mm-hm. And the Toronto District School Board also
has aboriginal education month in November.
So there's. >> Yeah.
>> There's different ways to market, that's how we're doing it locally.
But certainly other, other regions choose different times and different months.
>> That's right. >> I'd like it to be all the time.
[laugh] Speaker:[LAUGH] But the thing is, that if you, if a non-indigenous person
wants information. You know, when is, in February, you would
just go to a local college or university across Canada and they would have
something going on in, on that week. >> Mm-hm.
>> Or on June 21st, every city in, in Canada usually has some kind of aboriginal
event, on top of there's always pow wows going on.
All they have to do is look on the internet for >> Different events going on
in Aboriginal communities and they will certainly find them.
>> Huh. So you have to take the responsibility to
make that connection. >> Yes, definitely.
>> Well, thanks very much Angela for sharing your knowledge today.
>> Thank you. [inaudible]
