First Nations 2013 - Monday Night Section

“Wiki wiki” means “rapidly” in the Hawaiian language. Since the Hawaiians are First Nations, this page is already in the spirit.

Group Members:

Daryl Wyatt, Gatlin Saip, Jana Unruh, Sean Lambert, and Vitor Giberti

Indian Residential Schools

The Indian Residential Schools of Canada were a network of boarding schools for First Nations ["Indians"], Metis, and Inuit funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs, and administered by Christian Churches. The schools ran for over a hundred years and are credited with the significant destruction of First Nations languages, culture and identity as a result of systematic physical, sexual and psychological abuse the students experienced there. These abuses are credited with contributing to the significant social and economic problems widely facing First Nations today.

Day Schools

Similar to Indian Residential Schools, Day Schools operated both separately and at the same location as Residential schools and taught students who lived in homes nearby. The same abuses and problems facing students at Residential Schools occurred here.

Rationale

As the key-post colonization issue facing First Nations peoples, study of this topic is considered essential and shows up in the Grade 11 Social Studies IRP. The issue is relevant to the modern day, with the recent Reconciliation hearings taking place throughout Canada and apologies being issued by all the parties involved. Hearings on this topic have been seen by all peoples as a great step in moving forward towards healing and reconciliation. Teaching this topic well is one way teachers can participate in the healing process. Teachers should treat the topic honestly, give dignity to the stories of survivors, and make sure to care for the mental health of all involved as the materials can be graphic in nature.

Indian Residential Schools Links and Documents

Indigenous education from UBC library

Map of Indian Residential Schools in Canada

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Official Website

Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariate

Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society

List of Residential Schools

Indian Residential Schools Resources and Lesson Plans

Aboriginal Over-Representation in the Justice System

Rationale

When we contemplated whether looking at the Aboriginal over-representation in the justice system is appropriate for secondary students, it was hard to have an assertive answer. Nonetheless, thinking about the opposite possibility, which would be to ignore this topic, brought us the certainty of a dangerous and equivocate omission. If this reality is not addressed in a responsible manner by a qualified and knowledgeable instructor (the teacher), it is highly likely that students will eventually come across an article, a news report, or a comment bringing up this fact, and chances are they will not be prepared to view it through a socially-just and historically-accurate perspective. The consequences to that may be catastrophic, beginning with ignorant stereotyping, but allowing room for all sorts of negative attitudes to take place. To that extent, bringing this matter into classrooms becomes a crucial step to allow students, future citizens, understand this reality as a result of the historical and current colonialism that has deeply affected Aboriginal peoples, and therefore have the elements to keep a socially just posture throughout their lives.

This assertion, however, does not mean that this is not an extremely complicated and delicate issue to be approached in the classroom. Teachers must be as mindful as possible to make sure that students acquire an in-depth understanding of its reasons. Thus, the Aboriginal over-representation in the justice system must not be solely mentioned to students without any further efforts to understand its root causes. On the contrary, the staggering numbers of this over-representation must serve as a hook to the study of their motives. These numbers can be a compelling door to instigate students to look for the greater picture. Hence, approaching this theme is not only necessary to form citizens committed to social justice, but it is also a great hook to bring historical and present colonialism in Canada into the Social Studies curriculum.

Basic facts

The Aboriginal over-representation in the justice system has come to the spotlight in the 1960s. From that point, several reforms have been proposed to tackle, or at least minimize the issue. Notwithstanding the measures adopted, numbers are still very high, and actually continuously increasing. According to Correctional Service Canada and Statistics Canada, in 1989 Aboriginals comprised 9% of all federal incarcerated inmates and 2.5% of Canada's population; respectively, by 1996 they represented 14% and 2.8%, and in 2006 reached 16.7% and 3.8%. It is estimated that such disproportionate representation will continue to grow both in federal and provincial prisons (Correctional Service Canada, n.d, p.12. Numbers for provincial custody are generally even worse. In 2010/2011 the representation of Aboriginal adults in provincial custody compared to their percentage in the overall population was 40.6% to 4.9% in Alberta, 77.6% to 11.9% in Saskatchewan and 11.4% to 1.8% in Ontario (Dauvergne, 2012). When concerning youth, statistics keep disturbing. In Ontario, young (12 to 17 years old) male Aboriginal jail population is five times, and female ten times greater than what they comprise of the province population (Rankin and Winsa, 2013).

Such startling levels of over-representation are one of the consequences of the historical colonialism that Canadian society has imposed to Natives. There are several factors (often with blurred boundaries among them) that lead to this reality. In the research project we propose (found in the Unit Sequence section on this Wiki) we raise eight of them, as follows: Historical Marginalization of Aboriginals in Canadian Society, Displacement of the Traditional Roles of Aboriginal Women, Residential schools, Aboriginals and the justice System: Fitting in, Police and Aboriginals, Racism and the Criminal Justice System, Incarcerated Aboriginals, and Aboriginals' Socioeconomic Status. Although these factors were set as distinct themes to structure the research, they can only be seen as pieces in the intricate myriad of facets and mechanisms of the historical and current colonialism toward Natives. Aboriginal over-representation in the criminal justice system is one of the symptoms of this colonialism.

References

Correctional Service Canada. Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Correction 2006-2011. [N.p.] Correctional Service Canada, n.d. Retrieved October 20, 2013 from http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/aboriginal/092/002003-1000-eng.pdf

Dauvergne, Mia. Adult Correctional Statistics in Canada 2010/2011. Statistics Canada, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2013 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2012001/article/11715-eng.htm

Rankin, Jim and Winsa, Patty. Unequal Justice: Aboriginal and Black inmates disproportionately fill Ontario jails. The Star, Mar 01 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2013 from http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/03/01/unequal_justice_aboriginal_and_black_inmates_disproportionately_fill_ontario_jails.html

Teaching Resources and Links

Historical Marginalization of Aboriginals in Canadian Society

Hamilton, A.C., and C.M. Sinclair. “Chapter 3, An Historical Overview”. In Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba, Volume 1: The justice System and Aboriginal People. Winnipeg: Public Inquiry into the administration of justice and aboriginal people, 1991. Web. 22 November 2013.

Dupuis, Renee. “Chapter 2, Second-Class Status” In Justice for Canada's Aboriginal People. Trans. Robert Chodos and Susan Joane. pp 39-76. Toronto: James Lorimer, 2002.

Displacement of the Traditional Roles of Aboriginal Women

Hamilton, A.C., and C.M. Sinclair. “Chapter 13, Aboriginal Women”. In Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba, Volume 1: The justice System and Aboriginal People. Winnipeg: Public Inquiry into the administration of justice and aboriginal people, 1991. Web. 22 November 2013.

McGillivray, A., and B. Comaskey. “Everybody had black eyes: Intimate Violence, Aboriginal and the Justice System.” In No Place for Violence: Canadian Aboriginal Alternatives, ed. J. Proulx and S. Perrault. pp 39-57. Hallifax, NS: Fernwood Publishing and RESOLVE, 2000.

Monture-Angus, P. “Chapter 11, The Roles and Responsibilities of Aboriginal Women” In Criminal Injustice: Racism in the Criminal Justice System, edited by Robynne Neugebauer, pp. 319-340. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000.

Residential Schools

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. They came for the children: Canada, Aboriginal Peoples and Residential Schools. Winnipeg: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2012.

Barman, J. “Schooled for Inequality: The Education of British Columbia Aboriginal Children,” in Jean Barman, Neil Sutherland, and J. Donald Wilson, eds., Children, Teachers and Schools in the History of British Columbia. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises, 1995. pp.57-80.

Jainie, Linda (ed.). Residential Schools: The Stolen Years. 2 ed. Saskatoon: University Extension Press, Extension Division, University of Saskatchewan, 1995.

Aboriginals and The Justice System: Fitting In

Hamilton, A.C., and C.M. Sinclair. “Chapter 2, Aboriginal Concepts of Justice”. In Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba, Volume 1: The justice System and Aboriginal People. Winnipeg: Public Inquiry into the administration of justice and aboriginal people, 1991. Web. 22 November 2013.

Mandamin, Leonard, Denis Callihoo, Albert Angus, and Marion Buller. “The Criminal Code and Aboriginal People.” University of British Columbia Law Review, 1992 Special Edition: 5-39.

Frideres, James and Gadacz, René. “Chapter 5, Aboriginal People and the Canadian Justice System” In Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Contemporary Conflicts. 6 ed. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2001.

Police and Aboriginals

Hamilton, A.C., and C.M. Sinclair. “Chapter 16, Policing”. In Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba, Volume 1: The justice System and Aboriginal People. Winnipeg: Public Inquiry into the administration of justice and aboriginal people, 1991. Web. 22 November 2013.

CaribooChilcotin Justice Enquiry. Report on the Cariboo¬ Chilcotin Justice Inquiry. Campbell River, BC: 1993.

Zimmerman, Susan. “The Revolving Door of Despair: Aboriginal Involvement in the Canadian Justice System.” University of British Columbia Law Review, 1992 Special Edition: 367-426.

Forcese, Dennis. “Chapter 9, Police and the Public.” In Criminal Injustice: Racism in the Criminal Justice System, edited by Robynne Neugebauer, pp. 161-207. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000.

Harding, Jim. “Chapter 10, Policing and Aboriginal Justice.” In Criminal Injustice: Racism in the Criminal Justice System, edited by Robynne Neugebauer, pp. 209-229. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000.

Racism and the Criminal Justice System

Zimmerman, Susan. “The Revolving Door of Despair: Aboriginal Involvement in the Canadian Justice System.” University of British Columbia Law Review, 1992 Special Edition: 367-426.

Turpel, M.E. (Aki-Kwe). “Chapter 14, Further Travails of Canada's Human Rights Recorded: The Marshall Case.” In Criminal Injustice: Racism in the Criminal Justice System, edited by Robynne Neugebauer, pp. 319-340. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000.

Donald Marshal Jr. 1953-2009. The National. CBC. 08 Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/The+National/Canada/ID/1305509254/?page=27&sort=MostPopular>

Donald Marshall exonerated of wrongful conviction. CBC. 1990. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/society/crime-justice/general-3/donald-marshall-exonerated-of-wrongful-conviction.html>

Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr. Prosecution. Hallifax: Government of the Province of Nova Scotia, 1989.

Incarcerated Aboriginals

Hamilton, A.C., and C.M. Sinclair. “Chapter 11, Jails”. In Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba, Volume 1: The justice System and Aboriginal People. Winnipeg: Public Inquiry into the administration of justice and aboriginal people, 1991. Web. 22 November 2013.

“Aboriginal corrections report finds systemic discrimination” CBC 07 Mar. 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/aboriginal-corrections-report-finds-systemic-discrimination-1.1338498 >

Zimmerman, Susan. “The Revolving Door of Despair: Aboriginal Involvement in the Canadian Justice System.” University of British Columbia Law Review, 1992 Special Edition: 367-426.

“Strategic Plan for Aboriginal Correction 2006-2011” Correctional Service Canada, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2013. < http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/prgrm/abinit/plan06-eng.shtml#7 >

Nielsen, M.O. “Chapter 15, Canadian Correctional Policy and Native Inmates: The Control of Social Dynamite” In Criminal Injustice: Racism in the Criminal Justice System, edited by Robynne Neugebauer, pp. 319-340. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000.

Aboriginals' Socioeconomic Status

Zimmerman, Susan. “The Revolving Door of Despair: Aboriginal Involvement in the Canadian Justice System.” University of British Columbia Law Review, 1992 Special Edition: 367-426.

Dupuis, Renee. “Chapter 1, Disadvantaged and Apart” In Justice for Canada's Aboriginal People. Trans. Robert Chodos and Susan Joane. pp 13-38. Toronto: James Lorimer, 2002.

“Aboriginal Peoples, Work, Income and Spending” Statistics Canada. 12 January 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/subject-sujet/subtheme-soustheme.action?pid=10000&id=10009&lang=eng&more=0>

“Infographic: Aboriginal Poverty” TVO, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://ww3.tvo.org/whypoverty/info/aboriginal-poverty>

Housing and the Reservation System

Rationale

Students in Canadian classrooms are often taught to examine the inequities and problems facing "others" worldwide. In high school, students are often aware of the socioeconomic disparity that exists between most of Canada and the two-thirds world. Very rarely, however, are students confronted with the grim realities of inequity and injustice in their own sphere or "backyard". First Nations Reserves experience some of the most tragic socioeconomic issues, and are often plagued with problems in health, education, and basic living conditions. The reason for teaching about reserves is to awaken students to the pressing issues facing First Nations people.

Basic Facts

In Canada, an "Indian Reserve" is a piece of land or property which is designated for the use and habitation of First Nations people. There are over 2000 reserves in Canada, where more than half of Canada's "Status Indians" reside. Reserves themselves are typically governed by First Nations people, and are independent of local governments.

Due to cycles of inequity, poverty, exploitation and abuse, many reserves in Canada suffer from the country's worst socioeconomic problems. In many cases, substance abuse, inadequate living conditions, limited educational resources, and unsuitable drinking water are rampant on reserves. The issues facing reserves are some of the greatest challenges for First Nations people, and for Canadians in general.

Teaching Resources

UBC Indigenous Foundations: Reserves

Union of BC Indian Chiefs: "Our Homes are Bleeding"

A Short History of Indian Reserves

Land Management and Environmental Protection on Reserves: Auditor General of Canada

Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy 1969

The Royal Proclamation of 1763

The Indian Act

Land, Environment and Aboriginal Title

Rationale

B.C. First Nations people are synonymous with their surrounding landscape. The environment holds sacred value to First Nations people in their histories, their livelihood and their traditions. Researching this deep connection between First Nations groups and their environment will allow teachers to understand why these groups react the way they do to changes over their autonomy and access to land.

Teaching Resources and Links

Storytelling Media and Ceremony

Rationale

Everything tells a story: the elements of the Earth, the art inspired by these elements (painted, sculpted, written, digitally recorded, spoken and unspoken) and the traditional ceremonies that invoke personal and spiritual transformation. In learning about Aboriginal beliefs, values, and culture one must begin to understand storytelling and ceremony. Through Aboriginal storytelling and ceremony any topic can be explored. Before we can consider how to use First Nations pedagogies of storytelling and land, we must look at creating new narratives that integrate decolonizing pedagogy. By turning the mirror on ourselves (past, present, and future) we can deconstruct normative culture to tell more representative stories.

Basic Facts

First Nations culture and identity has deeply suffered from forced assimilation and suppression by the Canadian government. Indigenous peoples of Canada have been dehumanized and prevented from carrying on sacred traditions due to institutionalized racism. Oral storytelling and ceremonies like the potlatch are no longer banned, but the lasting effects of the Indian Act and continued assimilation have caused great suffering in Indigenous communities. Devotion to sacred teachings by First Nation communities has kept the culture alive and waiting for a time when it could be expressed openly. Now with Internet connectivity, these Nations can share their culture and sacred teachings on an unprecedented level. The challenge now is to continue resistance to colonization, practice authentic traditions, use new media as a mode for Indigenous culture, and to make First Nations resurgence as widespread as possible. The developing story of First Nations is one of great sadness for an oppressed people, and anger toward the oppressors, but it is also a story if great resilience that can be a model for all of humanity.

Online Resurgence of Native Spirituality

Teaching Resources and Links

Curriculum

Circle: UBC Free Resource for Aboriginal Education

Museum of Anthropology: Oral Tradition and the Canoe

Changemakers: Inspiring Approaches to First Nations, Métis and Inuit Learning

Saskatchewan: Out-of-Province Curriculum

Saskatchewan: Oral Tradition First Nations Literature

Virtual Museum Lesson Guide

Aboriginal Ways of Learning

BCIT Sweatlodge Experiential Learning

BCME Aboriginal Education Resources - Map of Nations

Media Literacy

Technology in the Classroom: First Nations Prezis

Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival

First Nations Multimedia Pedagogy

UBC Youthmade workshops

ImagiNATIVE Film Festival

Gender, Sexuality, Two-Spirit

Nativeout: Aboriginal LGBT Community

Prairie Women's Health: Digital Storytelling Women's Health

The Healthy Aboriginal: Two-Spirit Resource

Team Spirit: Aboriginal Girls in Sport

Democracy

Media Democracy Fund: Reclaiming Native Place Names

Democratic Movement for First Nations Resistance and Resurgence

Racism

Anti-racism Resource Centre

Society

Chris Bose Blog: Oral Storytelling BC

Laurentian Study of Homelessness, Poverty and Migration in Northern Ontario

Midnight-Sweatlodge by Waubgeshig Rice

BCIT: Sweatlodge Ceremony Experiential Learning

Strong Nations: Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools

Globalization

Globalization and Autonomy, Indigenous Perspectives on Globalization: Self-Determination Through Autonomous Media Creation

Environment

Jane Goodall Institute of Canada: Wisdom Keepers and Storytellers

Native Peoples, Plants & Animals: Halkomelem Ethnobiology (SFU)

Lesson Plans

Decolonizing through Storytelling Social Studies 10 Lesson Plan

Social Responsibility and Storytelling Lesson Plan for Grade 9

Free Library: Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Lesson Plan (US context)

Novel Study Assignment: Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson Lesson

Ghost of Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson Prezi

Articles

Decolonizing Pedagogies Teacher Reference Booklet

Jane Goodall Institute of Canada: Wisdom Keepers and Storytellers

Native Peoples, Plants & Animals: Halkomelem Ethnobiology (SFU)

[https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/31969 UBC Circle, Behind the Buckskin Curtain: aboriginal youth participation in spiritual ceremonies combined with drama activities

Building Global Democracy: Indigenous Ways of Being and Post-Imperial Global Learning

[http://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8080/bitstream/handle/1828/1929/CMarchant2009h.pdf?sequence=3 Indigenous Ways of Learning, Being and Teaching: Implications for New Teachers to First Nations Schools]

Unit and Lesson Plans

Unit Rationale

The purpose of this unit, Historic and Contemporary First Nations Issues is to expose students to a variety of information and experiences pertaining to First Nations’ issues in Canada. First Nations issues undoubtedly constitute some of the greatest challenges facing Canada’s government and school system, and have been largely excluded from the public and educational discourse for many decades. This unit will examine First Nations issues with specific reference to 5 essential topics: - Storytelling, Media and Ceremony - Indian Residential Schools - Land, Environment, and Aboriginal Title - Housing and the Reserve System - First Nations and the Justice System . The chief end of this unit, by use of these essential themes, is to inform and challenge students to engage with First Nations issues, to develop a critical stance on social and political issues pertaining to First Nations, and to encourage active participation in the public debate and discourse over highly contested First Nations concerns.

Unit Sequence

Class 1. Indigenous Storytelling, Media and Ceremony Social Responsibility and Storytelling Lesson Plan for Grade 9

Class 2. Indian Residential Schools File:SS 10 - IRSlesson.pdf File:IRS stories lesson.pdf

Class 3. Land, Environment and Aboriginal Title File:SS 11-BC Land Claims and the Nisga'a Treaty-Jana Unruh.pdf

Class 4. Housing and the Reserve System File:Reservation Lesson.pdf

Class 5,6,7,8. Aboriginal Over-representation in the Justice System; Major Project File:Project plan Aboriginal overrepresentation in the justice system.pdf

Critiques

Article Critiques

File:Schooled for Inequality-Sean Lambert.pdf

File:The Color of Social Studies -Jana Unruh.pdf

Response to Stay Solid! Chapter 15 Indigenous Struggles - Daryl Wyatt

File:Goulet's article critique-Vitor Giberti.pdf

File:Accountability and Aboriginal Education.pdf Gatlin Saip

IRPs and Textbooks

IRP Criticisms with regards to Aboriginal Cultures

Social Studies 8

First Nations are not covered in Social Studies 8 at all. One of the reasons First Nations are neglected in World Cultures 500-1600 would be because of a lack of written sources and information about pre-contact North America. However, since the civilizations in Europe, the Middles East, Africa and Asia are examined, why not have small units about North and South America and Australia? It is hard to cover all subjects, but nowhere in any IRP are pre-contact Aboriginal Studies covered.

Social Studies 9

This course has several IRPs about Aboriginals. However, they are often compared or connected to the French and English settlers and not looked at by themselves. They participate in the fir trade, but usually in association with Whites. The whole year is done with a Euro-centric feel, with words like ‘explorer’ used when of course the land was already explored – and occupied – by First Nations.

The grade 9 textbook, Pathways is very brief and general in describing Aboriginal people. It does not provide much critical thinking and glazes over content that could be investigated further. Solely using the textbook is not enough material to give the topic justice. Additional materials should be used to supplement the textbook. The Textbook provides a good starting point, but additional materials should be used to make the content more interesting and meaningful to students. By only using this textbook, the post realities of social studies are being reinforced. Thus, relinquishing the potential power social studies could have on understanding race relations within the community.

Social Studies 10

The Social Studies 10 IRP, which was updated from the 1997 edition in 2006, seems to include very little in reference to first nations issues and history. Focused, instead, on the movement of Europeans westward, and their role in founding a nation from a former colony, the grade 10 curriculum is lacking in representation for First Nations Issues. There is, however, representation of Aboriginal history in the emphasis on the Northwest Rebellion and Louis Riel; though this is of benefit to Aboriginals, it does little to represent First Nations. Under the heading Identity, Society, and Culture: Canada from 1815 to 1914 There is reference to aboriginals, but only insofar as it relates to European settlement and expansion.

Social Studies 11

There are a number of great places to interject First Nations into this IRP. First, when dealing with the topic of poverty, the IRP has the teacher have students compare Canada to third world countries. This would be a great place to compare the poverty rate of First Nations communities with the third world and with the rest of Canada; this would highlight the drastic differences that exist between Aboriginal and Non-aboriginal communities.

The second major area of Aboriginal studies is the PLO that is focused on Aboriginal issues themselves. This should be done properly but with an updated perspective; there have been developments in self-government, treaties and IRS since the text was written and there are now better, more modern examples.

History 12

This IRP has no mention of First Nations. There is a small place to include mention, in the PLO about total war and the major battles of World War II. In these sections, the teacher could focus in on the action of First Nations soldiers fighting on behalf of the Allies in World War II. Besides that, there is no place for First Nations in this IRP, and based on the subject, you wouldn’t imagine there to be one anyways. With so many other courses touching on First Nations issues, this might be the one course to excuse.

Law 12

This IRP has no mention of Aboriginal Law, even though Aboriginal Law is one of the largest sections at Department of Justice, and court cases on Aboriginal topics are heard every day at the BC and Federal Supreme court. This does not take into account the extra-judicial IAP process, which has to do with the Indian Residential School survivors. Aboriginal Law relates to all aspects of the justice system, from criminal, to business, to constitutional, to family, yet has no mention at all. Especially here in BC, where so much work is being done, it should be an essential topic, and would ideally be studied at the end of the year since so many aspects of it overlap with other topics.

Geography 12

Under PLO D6, explain how climate affects human activity, it would be possible to interject a First Nations focus by looking at the climate of where we live, BC, and how the climate affected the settlement patterns of the BC First Nations people. Bringing forth the Aboriginal oral culture, which even today is used by government departments like DFO to predict and understand trends in fish and shellfish populations, would help students understand how closely people and the environment are interconnected.

Comparative Civilizations 12

This curriculum is very open and offers a lot of opportunities to delve into Aboriginal issues. Some of the topics we have brought up, such as storytelling and land treaties, could be discussed in detail. The points in the IRP are broad and could apply to any group, leading to the major critique of this IRP: the teacher makes the choice of what the course covers. A teacher more interested in say, African issues, could focus on that group instead of the Aboriginals. As Canadians, it is important that we do study our most marginalized group and to see them placed specifically among the PLOs would make a lot of sense. Aboriginals have a lot in common with the oral culture of the Greeks and several other ancient civilizations and could be favorably compared.

First Nations Studies 12

This curriculum is quite open and allows a variety of First Nations topics to be looked at in a variety of ways. One thing I noticed about this IRP is how it seems to focus much more on resources for teachers (pg. 12), which points to the probability that the ministry expects some teachers of this subject to come from outside of the First Nations community. These teachers might need extra help in understanding the great role community and personal bonds plays in the First Nations culture and the location of the many non-mainstream resources, and so the IRP is set up for this. This course is highly dependant on a good teacher using a wide variety of resources to ensure its success.

Social Justice 12

This curriculum is very open and offers a lot of opportunities to delve into Aboriginal issues. Any of the topics we have brought up could be discussed in detail. The points are broad and could apply to any group, leading to the major critique of this IRP: the teacher makes the choice of what the course covers. A teacher more interested in say, African issues, could focus on that group instead of the Aboriginals. As Canadians, it is important that we do study our most marginalized group and to see them placed specifically among the PLOs would make a lot of sense.