Recently deceased former South African president, philanthropist, politician and human rights activist, Nelson Mandela states that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” A significant lack of education, awareness and understanding has resulted in continued naïve and ignorant attitudes, stereotypes, generalizations, and classifications towards Aboriginal people through forms of media, popular culture, family beliefs and educational teachings in schools.
Educational systems are one of the primary foundations in the development of early childhood teachings and beliefs. “It has been argued that there is an essential relationship between students' culture and the way in which they acquire knowledge, manage and articulate information, and synthesize ideas.”(Barnhardt, 1999; Bell 2004; Kanu, 2005). Lessons taught to young school children are first fundamental steps in shaping their future ideas, opinions, thoughts and behaviors and how that influences how they view the world and those around them. One of the simplest ways to properly educate Canadians about the lives, history and accomplishments of Aboriginal people is through introducing Aboriginal history beginning in early childhood education. Children are the future; if they are given the proper education and tools to correctly inform future generations they hold the power to correct the impact that decades of stigmatization, marginalization, inequality, colonialism, and denial of responsibility has had on Aboriginal life and spirituality. In order to properly educate these children, educators too must be informed. Previously in Canada, Indigenous education was not discouraged but was also not a required mandate in the curriculum. Pa...
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...bility is a concept Aboriginal people have understood and practiced for their entire existence.
21st century media and popular culture has encouraged and normalized the idea that Aboriginal history and Canadian history are two unconnected entities. The nativity and ignorance of most individuals in modern Canadian society has resulted in the thought of distinct separation between Canadian history and Aboriginal history. In a common goal to further educate Canadians about the lives and history of Aboriginal People it requires Aboriginal People and Non Aboriginal People to acknowledge and relate to one another, respecting one another’s laws and institutions, educating and empowering one another and working together peacefully to create social justice for the mutual benefit of the entire society. Self-awareness serves as a catalyst for the goal of Aboriginal education.
The Blanket Exercise is a simulation of Aboriginal history from pre-European contact to the present. The Blanket Exercise was created in 1998 by Ed Bianchi, Suzanne Doerge, Chris Hiller, and Dr. Rose-Alma J. Mcdonald, from the Assembly of First Nations. A strong advantage of this resource is that it was created by a large group of Aboriginal peoples, including chiefs and members of major Aboriginal committees and organizations. According to their PDF document which can be purchased online, the goals of the Blanket Exercise include ensuring “that the living history between Indigenous peoples and newcomers is part of classroom learning”(Hill MacDonald, 2013, 4). The Exercise is “designed to help people understand how Indigenous peoples went from using and occupying all of the land [...], to a situation where reserves, [...] [amount] to only [...] 1%” of Canada (Hill MacDonald, 2013, 14). Throughout the Exercise, students gain an understanding of the many racist policies and practices that were imposed upon Aboriginal peoples and provides a critique of them. Critiquing these colonial practices is an important aspect of gaining a better understanding of the Aboriginal community, and this Exercise strives to teach students where the Aboriginal community came from and how they got to
Fleras, Augie. “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Repairing the Relationship.” Chapter 7 of Unequal Relations: An Introduction to Race, Ethnic and Aboriginal Dynamics in Canada. 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2010. 162-210. Print.
This again shows the traumatic effects of residential schools and of cultural, psychological, and emotional upheaval caused by the intolerance and mistreatment of Aboriginals in Canada. Settlers not only displaced Aboriginal people from their land and their homes, but they also experienced emotional trauma and cultural displacement.
First I will define the definition of terms used in this paper. When I use the word Aboriginal, I understand this as a label given from the colonizers/ Europeans to identify Indigenous peoples. Canadian legislation defines Indigenous peoples as Aboriginal, I understand this as indifferent from the dominant ideology, therefore, the colonizers named Indigenous peoples as Aboriginal. According to teachings I have been exposed to it’s a legal term and it’s associated with discrimination and oppression. However, audiences I have written for prefer the use of Aboriginal. More premise to this reference is Aboriginal, Indigenous, First Nations, Indian and Native are used interchangeable, but it should be noted these names do represent distinct differences. Furthermore, I will use Indigenous to represent an empowering way to reference a unique general culture in Canada. Under the title of Indigenous peoples in Canada, for me represents: First Nations people, Metis people and Inuit peoples. These are the two titles I will use when I reference Indigenous people from an empowering perspective and Aboriginal from a colonizer perspective.
Generations of native people in Canada have faced suffering and cultural loss as a result of European colonization of their land. Government legislation has impacted the lives of five generations of First Nations people and as a result the fifth generation (from 1980 to present) is working to recover from their crippled cultural identity (Deiter-McArthur 379-380). This current generation is living with the fallout of previous government policies and societal prejudices that linger from four generations previous. Unrepentant, Canada’s ‘Genocide’, and Saskatchewan’s Indian People – Five Generations highlight issues that negatively influence First Nations people. The fifth generation of native people struggle against tremendous adversity in regard to assimilation, integration, separation, and recovering their cultural identity with inadequate assistance from our great nation.
In the video “Aboriginal Peoples -- It's time”, the main topic of the video is advocating for equity and justice for the aboriginal people. Aboriginal people is a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. The Canadian constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal peoples: Indians (commonly referred to as First Nations), Métis and Inuit. These are three distinct peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. More than 1.4 million people in Canada identify themselves as an Aboriginal person, according to the 2011
Aboriginal people in Canada are the native peoples in North America within the boundaries of present-day Canada. In the 1880’s there was a start of residential schools which took Aboriginal kids from their family to schools to learn the Roman Catholics way of culture and not their own. In residential schools Aboriginal languages were forbidden in most operations of the school, Aboriginal ways were abolished and the Euro-Canadian manner was held out as superior. Aboriginal’s residential schools are careless, there were mental and physical abuse, Aboriginals losing their culture and the after effects of residential schools.
This essay will discuss the Aboriginal Education policies in Victoria and Federally and how these policies impacted upon the children of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. This essay will further analyse the impact these past policies had on the Aboriginal and Torres strait Islanders’ families and children’s education and how current policies were put in place to assist indigenous students’ access to education. Further to this an analysis of how teachers can implement these changes in the curriculum and classroom.
“To kill the Indian in the child,” was the prime objective of residential schools (“About the Commission”). With the establishment of residential schools in the 1880s, attending these educational facilities used to be an option (Miller, “Residential Schools”). However, it was not until the government’s time consuming attempts of annihilating the Aboriginal Canadians that, in 1920, residential schools became the new solution to the “Indian problem.” (PMC) From 1920 to 1996, around one hundred fifty thousand Aboriginal Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools (CBC News). Aboriginal children were isolated from their parents and their communities to rid them of any cultural influence (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Parents who refrained from sending their children to these educational facilities faced the consequence of being arrested (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Upon the Aboriginal children’s arrival into the residential schools, they were stripped of their culture in the government’s attempt to assimilate these children into the predominately white religion, Christianity, and to transition them into the moderating society (Miller, “Residential Schools”). With the closing of residential schools in 1996, these educational facilities left Aboriginal Canadians with lasting negative intergenerational impacts (Miller, “Residential Schools”). The Aboriginals lost their identity, are affected economically, and suffer socially from their experiences.
Despite the decreasing inequalities between men and women in both private and public spheres, aboriginal women continue to be oppressed and discriminated against in both. Aboriginal people in Canada are the indigenous group of people that were residing in Canada prior to the European colonization. The term First Nations, Indian and indigenous are used interchangeably when referring to aboriginal people. Prior to the colonization, aboriginal communities used to be matrilineal and the power between men and women were equally balanced. When the European came in contact with the aboriginal, there came a shift in gender role and power control leading towards discrimination against the women. As a consequence of the colonization, the aboriginal women are a dominant group that are constantly subordinated and ignored by the government system of Canada. Thus today, aboriginal women experiences double jeopardy as they belong to more than one disadvantaged group i.e. being women and belonging to aboriginal group. In contemporary world, there are not much of a difference between Aboriginal people and the other minority groups as they face the similar challenges such as gender discrimination, victimization, and experiences injustice towards them. Although aboriginal people are not considered as visible minorities, this population continues to struggle for their existence like any other visible minorities group. Although both aboriginal men and women are being discriminated in our society, the women tends to experience more discrimination in public and private sphere and are constantly the targeted for violence, abuse and are victimized. In addition, many of the problems and violence faced by aborigin...
The Aboriginal Education and Training Policy`s (AETP) (NSW DET 2008) main goal is that “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will match or better the outcomes of the broader student population” (1.1.2) and includes an explicit focus on developing cultural competencies (NSW DET 2008, p.6). Establishing ‘learning partnerships’ and relationships with Aboriginal communities, including Aboriginal content within the curriculum (NSW BOS 2008, p. 2), and engagement are advocated as necessary elements to achieve this edict. Racism has been proven to be an extremely detreimental factor on all fronts, especially within the education context. To address this intolerance the Anti-Racism Policy (ARP, 2005) is committed to eradicating all forms
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
For First Nations youngsters, relevant education should include education about their heritage. Where Aboriginal children are in school with other Canadians, this part of the curriculum needs to be shared generally, as self-esteem grows when an appreciation of one’s background is shared by others.
According to Keefe (1992:53) “Aboriginality is a complex social reality, only artificially explained by the abstract divisions of resistance and persistence’ and modern history demonstrates the connections between official education policies (or attitudes used by the dominant group) and key events in Aboriginal Australian history.
I started this unit knowing very little about Indigenous histories, perspectives, and cultures. I have been deprived of valid studies in the history of Indigenous people, as this was not taught in my high school history lessons. I can now truly understand the prejudice that may occur and affect my teaching and professional relationships, as some people may only be informed on Indigenous histories, cultures and perspectives from negative colonist attitudes, and racism, portrayed throughout various avenues of media in