Annotated Bibliography
Building Post-Secondary Success
Frances Abele and Katherine Graham
March 29, 2010
Abele, Frances. Gathering Strength: Native Employment Training Programs in the Northwest
Territories. Calgary: Arctic Institute of North America, 1989. [will not be annotated; included
here for reference]
Alaskan Native Knowledge Network. Alaskan Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools. Adopted by
the Assembly of Alaska Native Educators. Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Knowledge Network,
1998. (see Barnhardt 2005 below).
Barnhardt, R. (2005). Culture, Community and Place in Alaska Native Education. Democracy and
Education, 16(2), pg. ? (forthcoming). Journal could not be located, but article available at
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/Articles/RayBarnhardt/CultureCommPlaceANE.html
This article traces the development towards and implementation of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) – a
successful bottom-up educational reform strategy created in 1994 to serve two central purposes: “to set up
initiatives that systematically document Indigenous knowledge systems” and “to develop pedagogical practices
that appropriately integrate Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing into all aspects of the education system.”
Simply put, the purpose of the AKRSI was to show that Native and Western knowledge can be complementary in
nature and that together they may be used to create the foundation of a new, more holistic curriculum in Alaska. It
is important to note that the AKRSI is predicated on the “democratic principle of local control over education”
recognizing that local control is almost always constrained by the “top-down pressures of current federal
mandates.” The paper is divided into three sections focusing on Indigenous Knowledge, Formal Education Systems,
and bringing the two together, respectively. Barhhardt differentiates Indigenous knowledge from Western
knowledge concisely, stating that Indigenous Knowledge focuses on the parts of a system, rather than parts in
isolation. Knowledge (and thus education by extension) is interactive; connected to the land and to experience. The
next section outlines a brief history of the introduction of the formal education system in Alaska divided into 4
distinct periods
o
o
o
Dual System (Contact with Russian Traders (1700)-1900): The two knowledge systems are mutually
independent with little, if any, contact between Natives and immigrant populations.
One-way Transaction (1950s): this period is characterized by residential schools and policies of
assimilation of Natives through schooling.
Two-way Transaction (1995) By 1995, a transition takes places between identified periods. Four main
things happened:
o In the 1960s, most communities had a local elementary school.
o In the 1970s, a class-action lawsuit forced the state to create high school programs across rural
Alaska; also in the 70s, local boards were created to replace federal and state-operated education
systems.
o Funding for bilingual and bicultural education programs granted to local boards
o First generation of Native teachers to bridge cultural divide emerged.
1
o
Systemic Integration (2000): after the implementation of the AKRSI, indigenous knowledge and the formal
education system would be fully integrated; interconnected and inter-dependent. This requires a two
pronged approach, in which Native educators and Native Elders collaborate. The role of AKRSI is to guide
stakeholders through the process.
AKRSI was completed in 2005. One of the key developments of the initiative was the creation of the Cultural
Standards (already annotated). The remainder of the article offers several examples of successful projects of the
initiative from various regions in Alaska.
Barnhardt, R. "Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Higher Education: Preparing Alaska Native PhDs for
Leadership Roles in Research." Canadian Journal of Native Education 31.2 (2008): 154.
This paper documents the recent efforts to develop an Indigenous Studies PhD program in Alaska and discusses the
needs to overcome discord arising from the intersection between indigenous and western knowledge. Based on
Kawagley (1995)’s seminal work, the author argues that fostering a new generation of Indigenous academic leaders
is a key factor in setting appropriate research priorities that are appropriate and reflects aboriginal values, which in
turns furthers self-determination and sustainable governance. While the Alaska Rural Systematic Initiative is one
example of reconciliation between the Indigenous world view and western education system, allowing the benefits
of indigenous knowledge to be realized, there is room for further research particularly in areas of scientific
processes of knowledge construction and use. With references to the Circumpolar Indigenous PhD network,
Barnhardt agrees with the Arctic human development report that the University of the Arctic provides an
important foundation to foster and represent international collaboration. This collective representation allows
northern perspectives to influence northern education research, and helps with the transition from a
professionalized faculty to open an classroom, which respects different forms and authority of knowing and
teaching.
Battiste, Marie. “Enabling the Autumn Seed: Toward a Decolonized Approach to Aboriginal
Knowledge, Language, and Education.” Canadian Journal of Native Education 22, no. 1 (1998): 16-27.
Battiste focuses on government-First Nations agreements that require First Nations to adopt provincial curriculum
in order to gain control of the education system; she argues that Aboriginal knowledge must be retained through
language supported in curricula. A curriculum that includes diversity of knowledge and an Aboriginal consciousness
would enable Aboriginal humanity to be respected and protected.
Despite recent constitutional reform that respects the rights of Aboriginal peoples to their cultural practices,
Aboriginal languages and knowledge is not reflected in the education system. Battiste explores the vision of cultural
restoration that Aboriginal educators are beginning to coordinate. She discusses barriers to their vision and
describes current contexts and manifestations of decolonization, focusing on Aboriginal language and knowledge,
cognitive imperialism, the relationship between Indigenous knowledge and Eurocentrism in public schools, and the
required process of decolonization in Canadian education. She criticizes the limited methods of provincial and
federal governments in transforming the education system to include Aboriginal knowledge. She points to limited
provincial efforts to include thematic content, rather than addressing cultural biases and inadequacy, a lack of
federal funding to enable Aboriginal communities to manage and implement culturally significant education, and
provincial requirements for those communities taking control of the system to adhere to the provincial curriculum.
She argues that Indigenous self-conceptualization cannot occur without a transformed education system that is
inclusive of Aboriginal language and knowledge.
Marie Battiste, Lynne Bell, L M Findlay “Decolonizing education in Canadian universities: An
interdisciplinary, international, indigenous research project”. Canadian Journal of Native Education.
Edmonton: 2002. Vol. 26, Iss. 2; pg. 82
2
Despite several decades of work on educational equity in curriculum and research and bridging and access projects,
Aboriginal peoples' achievements, knowledge, histories, and perspectives remain too often ignored, rejected,
suppressed, marginalized, or underutilized in universities across Canada and beyond. Although promising to make
postsecondary education accessible to Aboriginal peoples, universities express an Aboriginal agenda in mission
statements, priorities, and projects that reaffirm Eurocentric and colonial encounters in the name of excellence,
integration, and modernity. Addressing these challenges is the purpose of a research project undertaken by a team
of investigators at the University of Saskatchewan, building on the theoretical foundations of postcolonial
Indigenous consciousness emerging from Canadian Aboriginal scholars and from Aotearoa (New Zealand) in the
scholarly work of Graham and Linda Smith. This article offers a process of animating postsecondary education that
can generate methods and practices for the more thorough decolonization of research and policy development and
the experience of Aboriginal students and teachers.
Beck, Richard A. et al “Nutarniq: Uniting the Arctic Community with a Wireless Arctic Network for
Circumpolar Communications” In Polar Geography, Volume 29, Issue 1, pages 43 – 78, 2005.
Reviewed; will not be annotated (focus is on the technical).
Berger, Thomas. Conciliator’s Final Report March 1, 2006 ‘The Nunavut Project’: Nunavut. Vancouver:
Craig E. Jones, Counsel to the Concilliator, 2006.
Motivated by long-standing disagreements over the implementation of the Nunavut land claim, the parties to the
claim appointed Thomas Berger to:
1.
Review the background, current status and outstanding issues related to the update of the Contract;
and
2. Make recommendations to the parties on possible approaches, which could be taken to resolve the
current impasse.
The stalled negotiations created particular uncertainty around two issues: funding levels for the Institutions of
Public Government, and Canada’s responsibility with respect to Article 23, relating to Inuit levels of employment in
the territorial public service. Berger and his staff met and consulted with a wide variety of stakeholders across
Nunavut, in Ottawa and elsewhere in the country. Berger’s interim report focused mainly on the issue of funding;
the Implementation Panel’s final decisions were in line with the interim report and the issues of funding for IPGs
has been resolved.
The final report focuses on the second issue – Inuit employment as per Article 23 of the land claim. Berger notes
that even though it may be “remarkable” that in only six years, 45% of public service employees are Inuit, this
number falls far short of the 85% goal; and, he argues, the current figures are misleading. If employment, by
ethnicity, is broken down by position it is possible to see that Inuit hold the majority of administrative support
positions, a large number of senior management positions and about half the executive positions; however, there
are very few (about 25%) in the “professional” positions – the ones which inform policy making. The report opens
with a tailored overview of Eastern Arctic history, stressing the rapid changes and continued colonization
experienced in the region during the post-war period leading up to the 1970s when “Inuit nationalism” sparked the
journey toward the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA). Berger also provides a brief summary of the NLCA
process, highlighting in particular the roles and responsibilities of the parties to the claim, as determined by the
Agreement. Berger outlines the clauses of Article 23, noting the international attention they received, concluding
that in essence the Article is “an equity clause for a majority.” Achieving a fully representative public service in
Nunavut has proven to be a challenge. Berger offers a demographic profile of Nunavut, touching on some of the
major socio-economic challenges, including housing, health, the mixed economy, and education. Notably, Berger
3
ties the commitment in Article 23 to the issue of language and education, stating that:
Achieving the objective of Article 23 means that the Inuit must over time occupy 85 per cent of
the positions in all occupational groupings and at all grade levels in the public service, and this
necessarily implies that Inuktitut must be the principal language of the workplace and that
government services must beprovided in Inuktitut.
The parties to the claim, therefore, cannot fulfill their obligations as set out in the claim, without also addressing
the broader issues of language and education. A new approach to implementation by the parties is necessary,
according to Berger. Berger’s recommendation is clear: a long-term plan to enhance bilingual education, as a way
toward fulfilling Article 23, must be supported by the parties. (see Bilingual Education Bibliography for details of
Berger recommendations on that topic).
Post-secondary education
Berger analyzed employment patterns in the Government of Nunavut, which has been reaching levels of about 50%
Beneficiary employment overall. He found the greatest shortfall in senior and middle management, and
professional, positions (all at 25% or less Beneficiary employment). Noting that the current graduate rate from high
school could not begin to meet the demand for well-educated people to take up these positions, Berger focussed
on improving high school graduation rates through bilingual and bicultural education. He also made a number of
recommendations directed towards improving access to post-secondary education for high school graduates,
including enhanced support for Nunavut Sivuniksavut, and various scholarship and mentoring programs. He noted
that only post-secondary education can prepare people for senior and middle management, and professional
positions.
Canada, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: Presentation by Larry Aknavigak, Kitikmeot Board of
Education
Larry Aknavigak focusing on four subjects: the powers assigned to the Divisional Board, the future government of
Nunavut, post-secondary education and Inuit teachers teaching Inuit culture. A question-and-answer session with
the Commissioners follows the presentation. The importance of post-secondary education to local development is
discussed.
Canada, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: Presentation by Charlie Evalik, Economic
Development Facilitator, Hamlet of Cambridge Bay
Charlie Evalik describes the life of the Inuit in the Cambridge Bay area beginning in the 1950s, where the Inuit were
forced to adapt to a more permanent home life in settlements, rather than continue with their nomadic way of life.
He discusses some issues that are affecting Cambridge Bay residents, such as lack of post-secondary opportunities,
employment, lack of proper housing, and a high rate of residents on welfare. A lengthy question-and-answer
session with the Commissioners follows the presentation.
Canada, Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs. Aboriginal Literacy and Empowerment: You Took
My Talk. 4 th Report. Ottawa: Queens Printer, 1990
Recognizing that “Aboriginal languages are irreplaceable cultural resources that require protection and support,”
the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs commissioned a study on literacy among Aboriginal peoples in
Canada before “embarking on a major review of the land claims settlement process in the fall of 1990.” The report
4
is divided into several sections, each with its own set of recommendations. The following is a list of the
Committee’s findings and recommendations: (NOTE: Recommendations are paraphrased in the interest of space.)
Aboriginal Language and Mother Tongue Literacy
The committee concluded that collaboration between levels of government in partnership with community leaders
are necessary in order to achieve a high level of literacy in aboriginal languages and official languages (seen to be of
equal importance by the committee).
1.
2.
3.
The federal and provincial/territorial governments should support mother tongue literacy among all
Aboriginal people, including adults and children.
A foundation or institution should be established with a mandate to promote the survival, development
and use of Aboriginal languages; and encourage all sources of support.
The Government of Canada should publish the Aboriginal language version of self-government legislation
along with Eng/Fr versions.
Literacy and the Education System
Literacy should be valued for its own sake in any language; it should be a lifelong process beginning at home.
4.
5.
6.
7.
DIAND should work with the Council of Ministers of Education to establish a National Taskforce on
Aboriginal Education focusing on: quality/quantity/accuracy of aboriginal content in school curricula;
relationship between culturally sensitive curricula and self-esteem of Aboriginal students; funding for a
national aboriginal youth conference; status of Aboriginal language instruction; comparative review of
Aboriginal vs. Non student’s literacy levels; barriers to employment of Aboriginal teachers; accrediting
schools for study of Aboriginal languages.
This Task Force must include aboriginal reps from a wide variety of professions, parents, students and
other stakeholders.
When negotiating Master Tuition Agreements, federal government should align itself with its fiduciary
duty.
DIAND should publish an annual report on the MTA for public use.
Federal-Provincial Jurisdiction
Improving Aboriginal literacy has been hampered by jurisdictional and interdepartmental debates over
responsibility over sub-segments of the Aboriginal population, namely Inuit, off-reserve and Métis.
8.
Governments along with representative from the various aboriginal organizations should resolve these
jurisdictional issues in order to move forward.
Ongoing Support and One-Window Funding for Native Literacy
Must continue support for Aboriginal literacy beyond International Literacy Year but this is complicated by the
jurisdictional issues.
9.
The Government should commit to clarifying responsibility for delivering native literacy services and
establish a “one window” funding mechanism.
10. Governments and aboriginal peoples should work towards developing an aboriginal languages and literacy
strategy board with the purpose of promoting and preserving Aboriginal languages. Communities should
be supported to engage in activities with these goals at the local level with locally identified priorities.
11. Long-term funding should be provided to ensure literacy programs can continue.
5
12. The Strategy Board should have policy and operational control of funds, overseeing transfers; modeled on
the Canadian Aboriginal Economic Development Strategy.
Community-Based and Community-Controlled Native Literacy
According to the committee’s work, adult literacy programs will be successful if they do the following: are
aboriginal controlled; holistic approach; learner and community centred; access to women, elderly and disabled;
aboriginal language instruction; support for staff and volunteers; use culturally sensitive materials.
13. The proposed Strategy Board (Rec #10) should be given the mandate to ensure that literacy training and
development programs are available to each aboriginal community, where possible. The goal should be
local empowerment.
14. The Strategy Board, along with governments should be given sufficient scope to address the following:
curriculum development; literacy worker networking; student support; need for staff and volunteers;
libraries/materials/publishing; research; jurisdictional barriers.
Native Literacy Awareness Campaigns
Motivation and self-confidence are essential for improving literacy.
15. Awareness campaigns must be controlled by Aboriginal partners through cooperation with other
stakeholders.
Prison and Urban Native Populations
Prison population is most needy with respect to literacy; Native Friendship Centres are primary partner in urban
centres for literacy work.
16. Correctional Services should strengthen its literacy programs for aboriginal inmates.
17. Friendship centres should be considered a key element in the delivery of literacy programs for the urban
aboriginal population.
Chance, Norman. "Premises, Policies and Practices: A Cross-Cultural Study of Education in the
Circumpolar North" In Education in the North - Selected Papers of the First International Conference on
Cross-Cultural Education in the Circumpolar Nations and Related Articles, edited by Darnell, Frank,
Arctic Institute of North America and University of Alaska, 1972
Chance examines the value assumptions and premises that have shaped relations between Northerners and
government bodies from contact to the ‘present’ (1973), resulting in exploitation and cultural devaluation. He
reviews, briefly, the assumptions and rationales enabling exploitation of Northern Canadian and Alaskan peoples,
from religious superiority, to social darwinism, to economic drivers for resources, and government funding for
‘equal’ status. Chance argues that Aboriginal people are falling behind in standard of living, educational
achievement, and social and cultural development; this condition is maintained by discrimination, perpetuated
inferiority, and a lack of culturally reflective education. He argues for the conference workshops to entail a focus on
efforts to restructure the education system to reduce discontinuities in learning, sustain positive parental roles,
strengthen students’ self-image and self-esteem, and prepare Aboriginal peoples to be economically and socially
competent in dealing with North American institutions. He suggests: a) real Aboriginal representation on school
boards and other organizations responsible for policy and content of school programs, b) inclusion of Aboriginal
language in primary grades and c) development of effective adult education. Chance briefly compares Northern
6
Canadian and Alaskan experiences with Native inclusion in Russia – in education and economy -- and variation in
Scandinavian approaches to northern education.
Corson, D. “Norway's Sámi Language Act: Emancipatory implications for the world's aboriginal
peoples.” Language in Society, 24, pp.493-514, 1995
The article discusses the effect of the 1992 Sámi Language Act in Norway in revitalizing the Sámi culture. The Act
legitimized the native language in government operations, including the education system. Using various
ethnographic methodologies, the paper discusses: 1) The organizational structure of Sámi and regular schools to
allow aboriginal languages 2) The influence of Sami cultural groups in Sámi and regular schools and 3) the balance
of language used in instructional practices for Sámi students in the bilingual and bicultural context. The author
contents that the Act provided the necessary foundation for Sámi nation to become “agents of their own
emancipation”. In essence, language legitimization by the Act established a recognized political voice. Second,
localization of the Sámi language in six local districts enhanced local control of cultural conditions and
circumstances. The non-partisan Sámi Education council provides valuable supports to the local districts by
mediating discords between Sámi and Norwegian culture as well as devising acceptable solution for Sámi nation.
Churchill asserts that the Norwegian experience is “no extraordinary concession for governments to governments
to be making to groups of their citizens; devolving social policy decision-making in this way is no more than
consistent with modern notions of social justice p.511”. The Sámi model offers hope for cultural revitalization for
other Aboriginal cultures subject to assimilation by a dominant culture.
Daléus, Lennart , Member of Parliament, The Swedish Parliament. IT and the Arctic- Report for the
Fifth Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, Tromsö, Norway 11-13 August 2002.
Focussed on widening knowledge accessibility to all those living in the Arctic through the use of new information
technologies (IT), this conference established five goals for IT development: 1) IT must be a tool available to
everyone living in the Arctic; 2) IT must boost the possibilities of setting up and investing in knowledge-intensive
enterprises in the Arctic; 3) IT must help the Arctic become a region with a high general level of education; 4) IT
must be used to revamp the social services in the Arctic; 5) IT must help reinforce participation, transparency and
access, and the Arctic identity. The report proposes seven measures that are worthy of greater cooperation by
Arctic nations. These measures are: 1) an IT information system for the Arctic should be studied and developed; 2)
a joint study of Arctic infrastructure should be conducted; 3) a concerted effort to follow developments in the
various European Union programmes, and to formulate a position of the Arctic nations in relation to these
programmes should be made; 4) cross-border macro-clusters in the IT sector should be established; 5 )an Arctic IT
dimension is needed; 6) efforts should be made to strengthen the development of IT-based translation
technologies among the languages of the Arctic nations; 7) there should be higher expectations concerning the
presence of the Arctic nations on the Internet.
Darnell, Frank. Education in the North - Selected Papers of the First International Conference on CrossCultural Education in the Circumpolar Nations and Related Articles, Arctic Institute of North America
and University of Alaska, 1972.
This is a collection of articles from a conference held in Montreal in 1969. It was the first conference on circumpolar
education held in Canada, and it includes papers from Alaska, Russia, Scandinavia and Canada. It is primarily of
historical importance, though the relevance of many of the papers to today’s situation is quite striking.
Douglas, Anne S. "Recontextualizing Schooling within an Inuit Community." Canadian Journal of
Education 19.2 (1994): 154.
Douglas describes community of Arctic Bay’s adoption of a more locally managed education system, to replace the
centralized EuroCanadian model. She argues that in the context of a small community, the increasing role and
participation by local community members has “recontextualized” factors influencing the formal education system,
contending that the concept of ‘formal schooling’ expands beyond the classroom values and practices and includes
7
relationships at all levels of the community. Douglas explores four research questions: 1) Do the changes (in the
schools) imply that the school is meeting the needs of the community or that the community has greater control
over what takes place in the schooling process? 2) Are the changes in the school the result of on-going negotiation
between Inuit and Qallunaat values? 3) Which culture's values underlie the content of the school in terms of
curriculum and interpersonal behaviours? 4) Despite the predominance of Inuit staff, whose school is it, or, in other
words, which culture is the host? She draws from her observation that increased Inuit input has created a culture
rapport, enabling a two-way transaction between culture and education in Arctic Bay. This case study
demonstrates that it is possible to balance maintenance of the existing culture with the acceptance of new cultures
in education, which suggests that integrating Inuit values and practices into the school system is possible.
Douglas, Anne S. "There's Life and Then There's School". Montréal: McGill University, 1999.
Douglas’ thesis examines the relationship between the community and school in Arctic Bay (North Baffin Island)
from the perspective of the community and illustrates that Inuit have been able to maintain organizing elements of
their kinship traditions. However, social and interrelational experiences learned at school by younger Inuit
contradict some of the kinship traditions, and responsibilities that Inuit adults are asked to perform at school
impinge on kinship obligations. Douglas’ conclusion is that school, and its socialization processes, increasingly
impinges on the values, social relations, and cultural practices that the Inuit have maintained.
Dunnigan, K. “Navigating by the North Star: Bridging the Pedagogical Gap between Content and
Structure in Higher Education” Proceedings of the 50th Annual Meeting of the ISSS, 2006.
Dunnigan analyzes the effects of ‘hidden curriculum’ in formal education, using the example of a particular campus
of a northern California university and the university’s commitment to environmentally sound practices. His paper
serves three purposes: 1) to analyze the hidden socializing impacts of organizational systems and structures in
formal education on students; 2) to place the purpose of modern education into an ecological and social context;
and, 3) to promote ecological and community based organizational systems that may serve in to bridge the gap
between teaching and governing in higher education. He argues that classrooms are subject to a socialization
process where societal values are translated into norms that govern the general behavior of the “participants”. A
hidden curriculum therefore includes social norms embedded in the structure of the education system. Dunnegan
suggests that diminishing the gap between the mission and operating structures of an educational institution
strengthens progress towards educational goals, by creating consistency in content and method between academic
curriculum and governance. The concept of hidden curriculum and attention to reforming it to better align practice
and formal goals (such as biculturalism), beyond simply “adding in” cultural practices.
Findlay, L.M. “Always Indigenize! The Radical Humanities in the Postcolonial Canadian Universities.”
ARIEL 31 (2000): 307-326.
Through this piece, the author calls on the Canadian academy to turn its eye inwards to assess its own role in
furthering/maintaining colonial attitudes and practices, particularly, he suggests, via the humanities disciplines.
Ultimately Findlay concludes that the university as an institution cannot “indigenize” without the inclusion of
Indigenous peoples and scholars in the process. and The author begins the article with a brief discussion of the
concept of Indigenizing (a concept adopted from the exhortation “Always historicize”). He argues that this must
ultimately be defined and articulated by Indigenous peoples and scholars. Although universities have made some
important progress in “moderating their traditional Eurocentrism” in recent decades, there is much work to be
done. Findlay writes, “the consequence of academic complicity with colonialism has been a massive and persistent
deficit in the national understanding of the rights of Indigenous peoples and the value and potential relevance of
Indigenous knowledge to economic prosperity and social justice in Canada.” The academy must decolonize its own
presumptions, curricula and research practices: “universities themselves need to be studied as objects of
anticolonial or actively decolonizing inquiry.” He suggests that debates over political correctness of have
overshadowed real inquiry and have resulted in what Findlay calls “Indigenous academic ‘homelessness’”.
Decolonization of universities and research practices cannot occur through any one strategy but must be done via a
variety of methods, employing a variety of stakeholders.
8
Fuzessy, Christopher. “Biculturalism in Postsecondary Inuit Education,” Canadian Journal of Native
Education 22.2 (1998), 201-209.
This paper presents the results of a study undertaken by the author to analyze and characterize the self-reported
cultural identities of a group of first-year postsecondary Inuit students (from Nunavik) studying in Montreal. The
existing literature suggests that minority students need a strong foundation in their primary cultural and language
coupled with an education immersed in primary cultural values and methods in order to succeed in adopting a
secondary culture and/or language. Previous studies (mostly conducted in the mid 1990s) that looked at
communication and interaction in Inuit classrooms and households found that there exists a relationship between
values and discourse patterns in classrooms; and that patterns of interaction within and among Inuit households
has changed over the course of recent generations. Moreover, there exists in communities a significant relationship
between the school and the community, which the literature calls a “two-way bicultural and bilingual framework”.
The author developed his own typology for characterizing Inuit students studying in the South: traditional;
bicultural; mainstream Canadian. The study found that a large majority of first year students are bicultural, which
suggests that bicultural students may perform better (“with ease”) at the post-secondary level compared to their
“traditional” or “mainstream” counterparts. This finding supports the literature – that a strong primary cultural
foundation supports successful adoption of the secondary culture or language. The author notes, however, that
most Nunavik students have already experienced a great deal of exposure to a secondary culture by the time they
reach post-secondary education and this may be the reason for so many students being in this category. The study
found that the “bicultural group is open to life in the south but maintains a clear connection with the North;” and
finally that the secondary cultural attachment is, for the bicultural students, also a strong part of their identity.
Goldbach, Ib. "Greenland: Education and Society between Tradition and Innovation." Intercultural
Education 11.3 (2000): 259-71. (see Bilingual Education Bibliography)
Grant, Agnes “The Challenge for Universities” In First Nations Education in Canada: The Circle Unfolds,
edited by M. Battiste and J. Barman. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1995
The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to trace the development of the Teacher Education Program (TEP),
which started in the mid 1970s; and second to discuss the challenges associated with evaluating a teacher
education program that involves more than one “way of knowing”. At the time the article was written (1995) the
TEP had existed for 20 years and while it had many successes (increased local control of education, participation of
indigenous people in curriculum development and an increase in Aboriginal teachers), there were still many
problems with the program – namely, inappropriate teaching methods for the students and an autocratic
administration. The mandate of the TEP was to increase the number of Aboriginal teachers and to influence the
university, as an institution. Some of the ways in which the TEP program changed the university are still in effect
today: extra time for students who speak English as a second language; the option of distance education; and nontraditional teaching strategies. Despite these changes, TEP students were still expected to conform to most of the
traditions of the institution. At the same time as the TEP started, local control over education in Aboriginal
communities was increasing and the concept of culturally-relevant schooling was developing. This further stressed
the existing tension over how to reconcile university standards with self-determination. The author provides
several examples of instances of student evaluation from the progam. One that stands out: a student goes home to
complete her practicum. As part of her community’s educational plan, teachers took their students out on the land.
This student teacher wrote about her teaching experiences in her report. Her supervisor was unsure how to
evaluate her report on her experiences because they did not fit the existing framework or teaching activities in the
university curriculum. In the last section of the article, the author offers several case studies of different options for
evaluating alternative programs like TEP. Finally, Grant suggests some questions to consider for future research:
1. How do institutions validate knowledge?
2. How do institutions and communities recognize the socialization within divergent cultures
9
3.
How can institutions work towards accepting different ways of knowing, spiritual beliefs and worldviews.
Hanson, Morley. Inuit Youth and Ethnic Identity Change. Ottawa: National Library of Canada. 2003.
In this thesis Hanson writes about young Inuit using education as a tool to ground their ethnic identity in a world
that is ever-changing. Analyzing his experience as an instructor at an Inuit-controlled post-secondary institution,
Nunavut Sivuniksavut, Hanson identifies the elements of this program that empower youth by supporting them to
discover a sense of cultural pride and belonging. The elements include teaching of Inuit history, dances and songs,
along with studies of the circumstances of Inuit in post-land claim societies.
Henderson Youngblood, James Sakej. A National Project of the Canadian Council on Learning:
Wîtskêwin (Sharing Success): Responsive Systems in Aboriginal Learning Promising Practices
Symposium, April 2009.
Interesting power point presentation by James (Sakej) Youngblood Henderson, of the Native Law Centre of Canada
at the University of Saskatchewan, that looks at post secondary education successes. It is focussed on the
experiences and prospects of First Nations, though data for Inuit educational attainment are presented, and
Henderson’s ideas about pedagogy are relevant to all humans: he emphasizes transformative learning (rather than
forced learning, and the importance of mentoring to support students in finding their curiosity and confidence.
(http://iportal.usask.ca/index.php?sid=960484466&id=21953&t=details&having=511191
Hitchins, Diddy M. “The Role of the University of Alaska in Northern Development” in Douglas Nord
and Weller, Geoffrey (ed) Higher Education Across the Circumpolar North. A Circle of Learning.
Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
This chapter provides an historical overview of the history of the post-secondary education system in Alaska.
Hitchins describes the initial failure of the University of Alaska system to respond to the request from the Alaska
Federation of Natives for community colleges that would offer specialized curriculum to meet Alaska Natives’ postAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act needs for financial and managerial education, and the subsequent remedies.
Positive impacts of Alaska universities include: assistance to economic development, provision of local access to
higher education, training and certification of professionals to serve in Alaska, as well as an overall contribution to
the social and cultural development of Alaska. Despite a well-developed university system, some forms of
professional education; for example, there is no medical school.
Hodgkins, Andrew P. "Marketing Adult Education for Megaprojects in the Northwest Territories."
Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education 3.2 (2008): 46-58.
Hodgkins examines the influence that the current economic climate has on adult education policy and program
development. Accepting the Arctic Human Development Report’s view that “Education policy is driven by values
and interest”, he approaches the research inquiry from the perspective of the local labour market and how that
affects adult education policies. His work gives a different perspective to the perception of intellectual and
economic influence of power multi-national corporations in education policy in the resource extraction oriented
NWT. He argues that despite the social and political transformation in the NWT proliferating local autonomy, the
Aurora College, a traditional bureaucratic apparatus of the state and responsible for adult education, is influenced
by political and market pressures that local expectation of education is co-opted to these other pressures.
Hodson, John. “Aboriginal Learning and Healing in a Virtual World” Canadian Journal of Native
Education. Edmonton: 2004. Vol. 28, Iss. 1/2; pg. 111, 12 pgs
Today Aboriginal peoples on Turtle Island are witnessing the leading edge of a new wave of colonialism propelled
by the new religion of corporate globalism, and the Internet is the contemporary missionary of that new religion. If
we do not extend the dialogue about this new colonialism and understand its potential outcomes, we risk
10
repeating our pasts. Although this article was inspired by the events related to a research project, it is not intended
to be an exhaustive discussion of the findings associated with the Learning and Healing Network research project,
which investigated the suitability of Internet-delivered education for Aboriginal peoples. Instead I share some of
our experiences and discuss the critical issues that arose during the completion of the Learning and Healing
Network project. It is my hope that others will find this experience relevant as they break their own trails to
Internet-delivered education. [publication abstract]
Hull, Jeremy. Aborginal Post-Secondary Education and Labour Market Outcomes Canada, 1996.
This report presents data from the 1996 Census of Canada concerning educational attainment, educational success
and labour market outcomes among Aboriginal people and others in Canada. It is a follow-up to a similar study
which was published by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada based on 1991 Census data, and for the sake of
comparability, similar categories and presentation formats are often used. The report focuses on three population
groups: registered Indians, others with Aboriginal identity, and for the sake of comparison, other (non-Aboriginal)
Canadians. Definitions of these groups and many of the variables and concepts used in this report are provided in
the Notes to Readers section, below.
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/inac-ainc/aboriginal_ps_edu-e/pse_e.pdf
Iseke-Barnes, Judy M., and Cory Sakai. "Indigenous Knowledges, Representations of Indigenous
Peoples on the Internet, and Pedagogies in a Case Study in Education: Questioning using the Web to
Teach about Indigenous Peoples." Journal of Educational Thought [H.W.Wilson - EDUC] 37.2 (2003):
197.
This paper documents a case study that seeks to examine how cultures are represented in the website and who
controls the representation about Indigenous knowledge. The author conducted a qualitative study analysing the
cultural representation and misrepresentation contained in the “Exploring Nunavut” website by exposing the
internet text to a class of grade 3 / 4 students and subsequently asked them to tell stories about what they learned
from the website with references to Inuit. The case study analyzing these stories shows that internet texts
reproduce dominant discourses about subordinate people and thus reinforced the oppressive perspectives and
secondly, Indigenous knowledge are not taken up in website nor educational practices. They argue that internet
texts as presented through the colonialist lens establishes a natural/ cultural binary which produces the discourse
that does not take into account the issue of loss or does it provide room for critical analysis on the issue of erasure
of cultural knowledge. Furthermore, the paper discusses the roles of educator as well as website owner on the
issue of internet use in educational settings. To dispel myth about cultural groups, an education goal that could be
integrated or enhanced in the education system is to let students see all people as member of cultural groups living
in dynamic cultures in complex environments. Furthermore, the onus to ensure cultural equity of website lies on
the owners in the absence of Indigenous voice to validate the contents.
Kleinfeld, Judith, and Justin J. Andrews. "Postsecondary Education Gender Disparities among Inuit in
Alaska: A Symptom of Male Malaise?" Etudes Inuit 30.1 (2006): 111-21.
The research paper studies the phenomenon of low and declining post-secondary attainment by male compared to
female Inupiat in Alaska. A comparative study using quantitative data from the Inupiaq region and the Yup’ik
region reveals similar trends in low male educational attainment in high school and post-secondary education,
despite these groups being situated in very different economic situations, with different employment prospects.
The author suggests that this pattern reflects ‘male malaise’- disengagement from wage employment for which
education is a preparation, rather than a functional adaptation to a mixed wage and subsistence way of life where
gender role varies. To properly distinguish the gender representations between the possible ‘male malaise’ or
‘functional adaptation’, community level research is needed to develop better explanation and interpretations.
This paper provides an important indicator of gender gaps in higher education that has long term and widespread
policy implication across the circumpolar North concerning the participation of male Inuit in the knowledge
economy in the near future.
11
Lee, T. "Connecting Academics, Indigenous Knowledge, and Commitment to Community: High School
Students' Perceptions of a Community-Based Education." Canadian Journal of Native Education 30.2
(2007): 196.
Lee argues that community based programs are a way of achieving Indigenous self-determination in education and
returning to traditional Indigenous educational approaches. She cites historical precedents for Native assimilation
and colonisation in the US, and, since changes in policy recognizing Indigenous rights, Native attempts to re-control
their education, values and culture – in both the States and Canada (Agbo). She uses a Community Based Education
Model (CBEM) based in a federal grant school for Natives students in New Mexico to demonstrate the effect this
model had on students with respect to engaging them academically and with respect to connections they made to
their realities and home communities. She outlines that CBEM is a model that attempts to stimulate students in
math and science through a focus on their application to Native government and community. Philosophically, it is
considered the most relevant program for Native students because it uses students’ knowledge of their home
communities and has a basis in real-life considerations and issues that the communities face. Lee comments on the
creation of a book, by elders and Aboriginal educators and scholars that addresses the disconnect between school
and culture that Aboriginal people experience (in the US and Canada)– The Relevance of Community-based
Education for Indigenous Education. The book focuses on Native students need to experience meaning in education
it has to be relevant to their lives and validate their values and life-experiences. It echoes the philosophy of Cajete,
and exemplifies Freire and Dewey’s educational models. Lee details, through citations and examples, of key
elements of meaning in education for Native students. She also focuses on, in Canada, land-based alternative
education for Indigenous youth as an example of community based education. Lee presents a detailed overview of
community-based education program for Pueblo students and her methodology, as well as examples of their
reflection on the program. Her conclusion restates the importance of education that reflects community concerns
and issues, and that has relevance to the life of the Native student. Through the CBEM program, students’ interest
and motivation increased, they expressed interest in further education, and their cultures and values were
validated by education controlled and reflective of their home communities.
McConaghy, Cathyrn. Rethinking Indigenous Education: Culturalism, Colonialism, and the Politics of
Knowing. Flaxton, Qld: Post Pressed, 2000.
[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Over the last twenty years or so Indigenous education has been a highly contested terrain. In a context of claims
and counter-claims about its forms and its capacity to transform the lives of Indigenous people, a range of views
has been put forward. These views have informed a number of traditions: a paternalistic form of welfarism;
assimilation, which seeks to institutionalise colonial mimicry; cultural relativism, which promotes cultural sensitivity
and tolerance; and radicalism, which seeks to invert colonial power relations. Despite shifts in approach to
Indigenous education a number of core assumptions remain intact across each of these competing traditions. Using
recent resources from a theoretical field that is created through a nexus of postcolonial and poststructural feminist
theories, this book identifies these common assumptions as a form of culturalism.
Culturalism emerges as central to an understanding of the relationship between colonial legitimacy, epistemic
authority and disciplinary capacity within Indigenous education. The book examines how, as a set of epistemic
assumptions, culturalism articulates with the complex process of rationalisation and the regimes of naturalism,
patriarchy, nationalism, colonial desires, transnational capitalism and scientism that collectively constitute
Indigenous Australians as subjects and objects of colonialism.
However, culturalism can be critiqued on a range of moral, conceptual and political grounds. The book signals a
need from 'postculturalism' within Indigenous education and suggests how this may transcend some of the
intractable problems associated with culturalism in this field.
The broader critique of the relationship between culturalism, colonialism and the politics of knowing explored in
this book has relevance for rethinking Indigenous education in other postcolonial sites, such as in relation to First
12
Nations education in Canada and the United States and Maori education in New Zealand.
The book seeks to make connections and to turn the gaze in on the processes by which disciplinary knowledges are
constituted in colonial and postcolonial contexts. It is also politically motivated to challenge the obsessions with
ethnography, with method and with 'Indigenous cultural difference' that limit the possibilities for decolonising
Indigenous education. New postcolonialities require a rethinking of epistemological assumptions and the
formulation of new legitimating conditions for Indigenous education, work that remains a challenge for us all in the
millenium ahead.
McGregor, Heather E. Education and Schools in the Eastern Arctic. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2010.
This book was available to one of us in manuscript, and will soon be available in print from the publisher. Written
by one of the new generation of northerners, it explains the history of education in the eastern NWT, later
Nunavut, with unusual clarity and insight. It is an interpretation of history, rather than an evaluation of it.The
documentation of how the educational system unfolded is invaluable. There is no treatment of post-secondary
education, but we include the reference here so that you and the NCIE are aware that the book will soon be
available.
Mackay, Ron and Myles, Lawrence “A Major Challenge for the Education System: Aboriginal Retention
and Dropout” In First Nations Education in Canada: The Circle Unfolds, edited by M. Battiste and J.
Barman. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1995.
This chapter presents the results of a study conducted by the authors, which sought to determine the factors that
contribute to the high drop out rate of First Nations youth in Ontario. Motivated by the reality in Canada that
graduation from high school is the principle gateway to further education (and employment), the authors offer
some insight into the reasons students drop out, hoping to contribute to a broader discussion about what can be
done to improve Aboriginal student retention. The chapter provides a brief overview of the recent and current
trends in “native student retention”: in the 1970s and 80s the number of Indian high school students increased in
Ontario. This can be attributed partially to the professionalization of the Aboriginal counselor role and the
increased involvement of Bands in education, even when students attended schools off-reserve. The authors also
cite a recognition among the students themselves that staying in school would increase their chances for
employment in the future. Interesting to note – the authors suggest that the record keeping system (one of the
only tools available to measure student retention) may not be particularly reliable since, for example it equates the
number of students in Grade 12 with the number of students in their 4 th year of high school, and not necessarily 8
credits away from graduating. Also, the authors suggest that the education system has not used the record keeping
system to its fullest potential – rather than simply using it for administrative and funding purposes, it should be
using it as a way to identify students who could benefit from an intervention by a counselor. The author’s study
identified 42 factors that influenced a student’s retention, many of which are socio-economic in nature; however,
the authors also stress that too often research has focused on the factors that lay outside the control of the school
and that more research should focus on school culture. The study found that all stakeholders- educators, students
and parents/communities are all part of the problem and thus must all be part of the solution and that a space
must be provided in each instance (i.e. at each school/community) for these stakeholders to come together. One
aspect of the study was to see if the different stakeholders agreed on what the problems were, in order to highlight
where the major conflicts were. Three areas included in the chapter were Language Skills (ESL; parental literacy,
etc); Parental Support (parents uncomfortable at school; geographic reasons; fear of losing children); and HomeSchool Communication. All stakeholders agreed that improvements in home-school communication was central to
decreasing the number of students dropping out. There are cultural, psychological and physical barriers to
13
communication and ultimately, the authors conclude that progress in this area must start with the leadership: the
Band leaders, the school boards and the principals, to create a new environment for open communication.
Macfadyen, Leah P. Intercultural and International Education via the internet: success stories from
Canada. The MAPLE Centre Distance Education & Technology, The University of British Columbia,
2003.
The study is premised on the positive contribution international education brings to intercultural and international
communication, knowledge, skills and understanding. The report showcased the experience of six Canadian postsecondary institutions offering international courses, programs or projects online for undergraduate-level students
and provided a profile of each case based on eight common criteria. Across the cases, they all advance the goals of
educational, institutional and humanitarian of international education. The study concludes that the contribution
of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on International are: 1) Online international education advances
internationalisation; 2) ICTs can support international and intercultural learning; 3) International Education Offices
can play a key role in online IE; 4) ICTs help us share wealth and identified some of the challenges to promote ICT
change that includes resource constraints and institutional settings. With references to the University of the Arctic,
the report highlighted that current funding strategy actively support students from weaker ICT infrastructure
region like Russian North to participate and it also promote the North’s indigenous scholarship that continues to
reshape some of the historical paradigms that defined international education in the North. The discussion on
removing barriers to access to education in general via new technology is relevant to the discussion of the
education system in the North as well, especially in establishing greater co-ordination between the Circumpolar
nations.
McLean, Scott. "Objectifying and Naturalizing Individuality: A Study of Adult Education in the Canadian
Arctic." Canadian Journal of Sociology/Cahiers canadiens de sociologie 22.1 (1997): 1-29.
McLean asserts that the objectification and naturalization of individuality are integral to the moral
regulation of Inuit in Canada, and that adult education is an important site for the process of stateorganized individualizing projects. He provides four types of evidence in the review of educational
discourse to demonstrate that symbolic categories through which to conceptualize Inuit as abstract
individuals were gradually constructed by Euro-Canadian in the 19th century. The author concludes that
adult education exists in a much wider set of individualizing projects of governance. Combined with
other state-organized practices, like health, welfare, employment, justice and children’s schooling, a
cumulative series of lived experiences is produced which inculcate and naturalize certain pattern of
individuality. Together, these interventions create a substantial project of moral regulation that
deserves further examination in the context of self-governing initiatives.
John R Minnis. “Is Decolonization the Answer to Indigenous Under-achievement? Comparing Rhetoric
with Reality in New Zealand and Canada” Canadian and International Education. Toronto: Jun 2008.
Vol. 37, Iss. 1; pg. 23 [journal could not be located in time]
Nord, Douglas and Weller, Geoffrey (ed) Higher Education Across the Circumpolar North. A Circle of
Learning. Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
This collection of articles discusses universities established in northern Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Japan and
Canada, as well as in Iceland and Alaska. Northern Canadian universities are identified as those established in the
northerly parts of the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. Remarkably, there is no discussion at all
in this volume of the possibility of universities being established in the territorial north. Indeed, the editors preface
a brief discussion of the founding of the University of the Arctic with the comment that “[t]he wave of universitybuilding in the circumpolar north now seems to be over.” There is a very useful discussion of the costs and benefits
14
of northern university establishment, based on the cross-national experiences discussed by contributors to the
volume
Phillips, Susan and Helen Raham, Sharing Our Success: Promising Practices in Aboriginal Education.
Proceedings of a National Conference. Society for the Advancement of Excellent in Education.
Winnipeg, November 23-3, 2007.
[EXECUTIVE SUMMARY]
Sharing our Success: Promising Practices in Aboriginal Education was a national research and policy conference
convened by the Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education (SAEE) on November 23-24, 2007 at the
York Hotel and the University of Winnipeg in Winnipeg. There were over 375 participants from regional and
national Aboriginal1 organizations, federal government departments, provincial/territorial departments of
education, schools, universities and other organizations. The conference was designed to engage stakeholders from
across Canada in examining and sharing promising practices in aboriginal schooling. Over 70 presentations by more
than 85 researchers, practitioners and policymakers at every level provided many opportunities for participants to
explore constructive solutions to systemic challenges. Among the many issues addressed over the course of the
two days were literacy and language; cultural programming; the assessment and reporting of results; governance
and leadership; funding; the supply, training and retention of quality teachers; and community supports for
learning. In addition to formal presentations, dialogues in the form of sharing circles and issue roundtables
promoted further cross-pollination of effective strategies, policies, and resources.
This groundbreaking national conversation was a powerful catalyst for creating shared understandings to improve
aboriginal student success. Formal and informal feedback was highly positive both for the calibre of the
presentations and for bringing together all major stakeholders to examine the research and policy issues.
Preston, Jane P. “The Urgency of Postsecondary Education for Aboriginal Peoples” Canadian Journal of
Educational Administration and Policy Issue #86, November 2008.
Mainly focussed on the First Nations experience, this article does contain comparative data about Inuit education
attainment, showing that this is the lowest of all Aboriginal groups. There is a general endorsement of better
programs and better co-ordinated programs in light of the need to ensure that more Aboriginal people complete
post-secondary education, but no specific programmatic advice that is transferrable to Inuit Nunaat.
Proulx-Turner. & the dragonfly was carrying a horsefly: mainstream resistance to indigenous
pedagogies. University of Calgary: Calgary. 2006
http://www.win-hec.org/docs/pdfs/SProulx%20final.pdf A first person account from a First Nations woman
who found it impossible to feel whole and work productively after an experience in a post-secondary institution.
This work is a vivid and poetic evocation of her personal experience.
Poelzer, Greg. “Education: A Critical Foundation for a Sustainable North” in Frances Abele, Thomas J.
Courchene, F. Leslie Seidle and France St-Hilaire, eds. Northern Exposure: Peoples, Powers and
Prospects in Canada’s North. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy, 2009.
Poelzer provides an overview of northern education policy and institutions, showing how Aboriginal, territorial and
federal policy-makers see education as a policy instrument for achieving sustainable development. He defines the
key educational policy tensions in the North, related to both adult literacy and access to university education. Data
on educational attainment reveal that the north in general lags substantially behind Canadian norms. Poelzer
concludes that it is imperative to address traditional knowledge and culture and language retention while providing
education and skills suitable to a globalized world. Several educational initiatives that might serve this goal are
15
highlighted. A “bricks and mortar”, if unconventionally designed, northern university is “a major part of the postsecondary education solution.” (456) Citing the example of the University of Tromso in northern Norway and OECD
research, he argues that a northern university in Canada would (1) improve access to post-secondary education for
northerners; (2) contribute to regional economic development and (3) help ensure that northern residents are
prepared to contribute to innovation and knowledge generation in their region and in Canada. Poelzer argues that
the often posited dichotomous choices between ‘traditional knowledge’ and ‘science’, and between addressing
basic literacy and providing post-secondary education, are false dichotomies. Under the right conditions, these are
complementary. He argues for a strong federal role, as a partner with northern governments, in advancing
northern education.
Price, J.A. A Note on Indian Graduations from Four U.S. Colleges and Universities. Canadian Journal of
Native Studies, v. 2, n.1, pp.181-183 (1982)
Further to Deskins’ published survey of ‘Minority Recruitment Data’ establishing that aboriginal post-secondary
enrolment has surpassed U.S. average at 0.4% and Black and Hispanic population in 1981, Prince provides a short
commentary on native enrolment in post-secondary education and briefly compared that with Canada’s data of
1978-1979. He contends that given the much lower high school graduation rate than U.S. average, those who
advance to post-secondary education represent a small but determined core of Aboriginal students demonstrating
‘upward’ mobility’ academically. In the case of the U.S., these students have a greater tendency to choose
discipline relating to revolving community problems. His comments that Canadian aboriginals education levels are
falling behind than the U.S’s by two years at 9 years, due to the 20 years evolutionary lag of Aboriginal movement.
He also predicts that by year 2000, the disparity in educational attainment will be levelled, and the baccalaureate
disciplinary concentration to diversify into fields of education, social science, business, nursing and engineering. In
terms of graduate level, he observes a high concentration in law that will lead to oversupply and of Aboriginal
lawyers that will encourage enrolment in other fields.
Pulpan, A., and M. Rumbolt. "Stories of Resurfacing: The University and Aboriginal Knowledge."
Canadian Journal of Native Education 31.1 (2008): 214.
[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] This article originates from the attempts of Adam Pulpan, a graduate student whose
research dealt with traditional Inuit knowledge education in a particular Inuit community, to have Mina Rumbolt,
an Inuit woman and teacher from that same community, admitted to his thesis examination committee. The fact
that Rumbolt did not have a formal university degree became a hindrance to this process. Both found it intriguing
that university-based academics studying Aboriginal Knowledge, culture, and ways of knowing could appropriate
knowledge, write about their findings, (re)present them to other Western-based academics, and earn doctorates in
the subject, whereas an Aboriginal person living his or her life through Aboriginal Knowledge, culture, and ways of
knowing are often not similarly recognized for his or her knowledge. Although Rumbolt was eventually accepted for
the defence in recognition of her expertise in her own Inuit culture, the process exposed some of the underlying
assumptions, philosophies, and foundations of academe. We examine the tenets of university-based research of
Aboriginal communities and the subsequent values placed on formal academic knowledge over Aboriginal ways of
knowing. This article, a collaboration between a university-based researcher and an Aboriginal community
member, explores diverse stories that arose from instances where Aboriginal communities and University
institutions collided. Although the accounts represented center on a few of our personal experiences, we believe
that these stories, when shared, have the power to reveal truths. By sharing these narratives with others, we hope
to show how personal stories can cause underlying values to resurface.
R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. Aboriginal Peoples and Post Secondary Education: What Educators
Have Learned. Canada Millenium Scholarship Foundation. Montreal; 2004.
http://www.millenniumscholarships.ca/images/Publications/Aboriginal_en.pdf (note: link is
broken)[EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TAKEN FROM REPORT]
16
This paper examines Aboriginal post-secondary education through the eyes of stakeholders working in the field,
describing practices and initiatives believed to help increase enrolment and completion rates. This qualitative
approach—which has evident methodological shortcomings—was used because there is virtually no worthwhile
empirical or quantitative evidence on the subject. Although post-secondary enrolment and completion rates for
Aboriginal people have been steadily increasing over the past two decades, they remain significantly lower than
those of non-Aboriginal Canadians. In order to contextualize the issues, a first section explains the barriers
toAboriginal participation in post-secondary education. While socio-economic factors such as poverty and
unemployment put them at an obvious disadvantage, Aboriginal students also face more subtle barriers such as
discrimination, low self-concept and institutional insensitivity to Aboriginal cultures. Many Aboriginal students
arrive in post-secondary institutions without adequate high school preparation, others struggle to balance
education with family responsibilities. Combined with a history of forced assimilation through educational
institutions, the barriers to Aboriginal participation in post-secondary education are formidable.
The next section outlines various initiatives put in place to make post-secondary education more affordable to
Aboriginal Peoples—most notably, the federal government’s Post-Secondary Student Support Program
administered through Band Councils. While the student support program has made post-secondary education
possible for many Aboriginal students, it has short-comings in terms of the quantity of funding, who is funded and
the process used to award grants.
The final section looks at various strategies and initiatives that have been used to make
post-secondary education more accessible, relevant and responsive to Aboriginal peoples. The main strategies
described are:

Access programs: The access programs, which guide and support Aboriginal people and other underrepresented groups, offer transition, support and guidance that has helped to improve Aboriginal success
rates in Manitoba.
 Community Delivery: Community delivery bridges the gap caused by relocation to urban or distant
schools, and promotes Aboriginal awareness in faculty and staff. It was also shown to promote
recruitment of often under-represented groups such as Aboriginal people in Northern and remote
communities.
 Aboriginal Control of Education: Allowing Aboriginal control of education is intended to over-come the
marginalization Aboriginal people feel in the mainstream post-secondary education system, as well as
increasing Aboriginal self-determination at the post-secondary level. It includes creation and delivery of
curriculum by and for Aboriginal people.
 Partnerships between Aboriginal Communities and Mainstream Educational Institutions: By working
with Aboriginal communities as partners, educational institutions have developed relevant and accessible
curricula and programs, and instated a degree of Aboriginal trust and confidence in mainstream postsecondary institutions.
 Student Support that Addresses Aboriginal Needs: Aboriginal students benefit from personal and
academic support such as that that offered through the First Nations House of Learning at the University
of British Columbia, which offers students a “home away from home” to help alleviate the feelings of
isolation and loneliness that many Aboriginal people feel, especially at large urban universities and
colleges.
For the most part, stakeholders had positive things to say about all of these initiatives; they generally
recommended that such programs be enhanced and expanded. Many gave these strategies some of the credit for
increasing Aboriginal enrolment and completion in recent years. Throughout the paper, comparative examples
drawn from Australia, New Zealand and the United States are used to show that the issues surrounding Aboriginal
post-secondary education are not unique to Canada, and that educators have learned similar lessons in all four
17
countries.
Preston, Jane P. “The Urgency of Postsecondary Education for Aboriginal Peoples” Canadian Journal of
Educational Administration and Policy Issue #86 (2008).
Canada has an unprecedented need to increase the number of Aboriginal peoples who undertake and complete
postsecondary programs. Endorsing postsecondary education for aboriginal peoples advocates an invigorating,
fortifying future for Aboriginal peoples, their families and their communities. Additionally, the postsecondary
educational achievements of Aboriginal peoples support the health and sustainability of the Canadian nation;
spearheaded by Western Canada’s current economic prosperity, human resources supplied by Aboriginal peoples
have become increasingly important. Captured herein are demographic, social, educational, and economic trends
reinforcing the rationale that Aboriginal peoples ugently need to be provided with greater opportunities to succeed
in postsecondary education.
Jean-Paul Restoule. “The Values Carry On: Aboriginal Identity Formation of the Urban-Raised
Generation” Canadian Journal of Native Education. Edmonton: 2008. Vol. 31, Iss. 2; pg. 15, 20 pgs
In research with urban Aboriginal men from the Toronto area, it was found that families inherently passed on
Indigenous cultural values regardless of how explicitly the parents taught these values to their children. Aboriginal
cultural values are ingrained in the families and are passed down such that they may be communicated and
absorbed implicitly. The values of respect, love, autonomy, family, acceptance, ingenuity, and ability to adapt as
they are uniquely interpreted in Indigenous cultures were mentioned by the participants as those cherished by
their families. Employing a learning circle methodology revealed some of the historical or social influences that
affected choices to identify openly as Aboriginal for members of diverse generations in the times and places where
they lived. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Richardson, Cathy and Natasha Blanchet-Cohen. Survey of Post Secondary Education Programs in
Canada for Aboriginal Peoples. Unesco: University of Victoria. 2000.
http://web.uvic.ca/iicrd/graphics/Canada%20Survey%20Report.PDF
The paper “classifies Canada’s approach to post-secondard education for Aboriginal peoples into three categories –
the add-on approach, the partnership approach and the First Nations control approach.” The add-on approach
“opens the door to change very slowly by not requiring any structural change, but only introducing information that
may lead to transforming attitudes”; the partnership approach “allows Aboriginal communities to work together
with established accredited institutions to delivery wuality, often culturally-relevant programming, without having
to ‘start from scratch’ in developing institutions and programs…”; and finally the First Nations control approach
“ensure that Aboriginals set the program and structure.” The authors purport, through the use of case studies, that
although each approach is different with respect how it views the purpose of education; “components of each
approach often co-exist within a program and institution.” The authors argue that many of the challenges
experienced today with respect to education of Aboriginal people are the same ones experienced in the 1970s
when post-secondary education ‘first appeared on the agenda”. The piece also showcases a variety of distinct
models of programming that have taken place across Canada in Aboriginal communities (these appear in the
Appendix). The authors draw on the 1973 Indian Control of Indian Education statement made by the Indian
Brotherhood, and echoed in the 1996 Royal Commission.
Roland, Greta. “A university in the Fourth World': the self-determination of the Norwegian Saami”
Dialectical Anthropology Volume 18, No. 1, 1993
The paper seeks to show “how education can affect social change on behalf of a minority in the long run, especially
18
when brought about at top levels of governance.” The paper traces the development of the Saami education
reform movement across the homelands of the Saami, focusing primarily on Norway. Roland refers to the Saami as
“active Fourth World peoples” and likens their recent experience in Norway to that of the indigenous peoples in
North America. Building on existing models from social movement and education literature, Roland asks “how has
[the Saami’s] social movement assisted the development of a specialized teacher education program and, in turn,
how has this educational program helped the movement?” Roland provides a socio-historical overview highlighting
the struggle the Saami endured in asserting their own indigeneity – a necessary first step for an ethnic social
movement linked to language and cultural rights. One important characteristic of the shift in attitude toward
Saami status in Norway is that the changes tended to come from the top-down (albeit shaped by democractic
processes). The top-down forces came from both the nation-state (Norway) and the Saami elite (in the form of
cross boundary Saami organizations and then eventually the Saami Parliament). Corporatist post WWII Norway
allowed for the participation of local teachers in the decision making process and this created an avenue for Saami
participation, as long as there were Saami teachers. Once Saami received constitutional status, it was possible to
assert their language and cultural rights, including the right to speak and study in their “home language”. As a
result of the assimilationist policies of the previous decades, language loss was substantial. These factors
contributed to movement prioritizing Saami teacher education programs. A Taskforce was commissioned – The
Hoem Committee” to determine whether specialized Saami teacher’s training was necessary. Citing Saami cultural
and language rights, the committee determined that indeed, special training was necessary to serve the Saami
population of Norway better. A Saami department was created at Alta Teacher’s College but over time, the
department was reduced to only a subject area in the General Education Department. Administrative issues, a lack
of political well at the national level and the very real challenges of student retention, and the continued existence
of socio-economic challenges in Saami communities seemed to contribute to the demise of the Saami department.
A new Hoem Committee was created in 1982, which reinvigorated the movement, reasserting the goals of the
movement; offering insights for curriculum development and for the necessary qualifications for Saami teachers.
Importantly, the report also criticized the national universities for allowing Saami research and education to “fall to
a low priority.” Roland concludes: “Once the Saami elite entered the democratic process in the 1980 by participating
in government committees with mandated Saami majorities, they were able to advocate specialized teacher
training for Saami. Their line of reasoning was that a program to train Saami teachers would abate the shortage of
teachers in areas with Saami populations. Yet their intention was that such a program be only a stage toward the
development of a Saami university. This university in turn would be an intellectual home for Saami and non-Saami
researchers whose work would include synchronic and diachronic studies of Saami language, Saami religion,
legends, history, etc. The retrieval and preservation of Saami culture would ensue. In this way, Saami ethnic identity
and status were to be secured in Scandinavia.”
Salokangas, Raila Maarit. The Meaning of Education for Inuvialuit in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada. MSc
Rural Sociology University of Alberta, 2009.
[ABSTRACT]
This study investigates how the meaning of education has changed for the Inuvialuit in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada,
over a century. This is done by situating Inuvialuit educational experiences in the context of government policies,
socioeconomic and cultural changes, and Inuvialuit self-determination. The study found that the meaning of
education for the Inuvialuit has been and continues to be: acquiring the means to support a family. A change has
occurred from learning “the Inuvialuk way” in the 1930s to “striving for the best of both worlds” in the 1970s to the
dream of “becoming whatever I want” in the 2000s. Unfortunately, the dreams that youth have are often cut short.
Among other things, the level of engagement in formal education by youth and their families is influenced by the
family’s past experiences and perceptions of the education system. The study identifies family, community, school,
and policy factors that increased student engagement.
19
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education (2009). Post Secondary Education: In Support of First Nations and
Inuit Students. (ISBN 978-1-926612-10-2). University of Saskatchewan, Aboriginal Education Research
Centre, Saskatoon, SK & First Nations and Adult Higher Education Consortium, Calgary, AB.
http://www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/AbLKC/ATB4_PostSecondary_en.pdf
Despite the mention of Inuit in the title, this study is firmly focussed on the First Nations experience. There is a
potentially use survey of western Canada post-secondary programs targeting Aboriginal people, including a
discussion of First Nations University.
Sweet R. and Anderson T. Adoption and Use of a Computer Conferencing System by Contact North Site
Coordinators, Proceedings of the Role of Circumpolar Universities in Northern Development
Conference. Thunder Bay, Ontario:Lakehead University. (1989). [technology is out of date]
Tomlins-Jahnke, Huia. The place of Cultural Standards in Indigenous Education, MAI Review, 2008, 1,
Article 1. http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/index.php/MR/article/viewFile/100/107
[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
This article explores the development of cultural standards in Aotearoa New Zealand as a basis for enhancing the
learning pathways of Māori children through the infusion of indigenous history, language and culture in the
curriculum and milieu of primary schools. Rather than employing an ad hoc attachment or merely incorporating
experiences of localized knowledge, an infusion of indigenous perspectives in every segment and module of the
curriculum accepts the role Māori people have played in the history and culture of Aotearoa New Zealand. The
cultural standards plan offers a unique opportunity for schools, Māori tribes and communities to develop a truly
inclusive education for all children. It provides a way of consolidating an identity as Māori and/or New Zealander
within the context of Aotearoa New Zealand. Furthermore, the development of a cultural standards plan brings
into sharp focus the gaps in education where so many children are educated without knowing the history of the
land, language, environment, flora and fauna specific to Aotearoa/ New Zealand. This paper highlights the issues
and concerns that are highly topical, but which have received little attention in the literature.
Willinsky, J. Learning to Divide the World: Education at Empire's End. Minneapolis, Minn.: University
of Minnesota Press, 1999.
[TAKEN FROM UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS]
Through analyses of colonial schooling, anthropology, and the formation of academic subjects instrumental in the
expansion of empire (history, geography, science, language and literature), Willinsky argues that education was and
is the research and development arm of imperialism. Drawing on contemporary classrooms and materials, he
considers how schools continue to educate the young within the "colonial imaginary." Through primary texts,
cutting-edge scholarship and students' voices, Willinsky examines schooling itself, arguing for the incorporation of
the imperial legacy into a multicultural education that does not dismiss the achievement of the West but gives an
account of the divided world that achievement has created.
Wilson, Shawn. "Progressing Toward an Indigenous Research Paradigm in Canada and Australia."
Canadian Journal of Native Education 27.2 (2003): 161.
This article focuses on moving away from Western research methods towards an Indigenous research paradigm
and uses colonialism in Canada and Australia as examples. Wilson provides a historical perspective of non-
20
Indigenous research done on Aboriginals starting with the Terra Nullius Phase (1770-1900) of research focused on
possessing Aboriginal land through surveys with no regard for Aboriginals; the
Traditionalizing Phase (1900-1940) of colonial discourse research with the church serving as agents of the
government; the Assimilationist Research Phase ( 1940-1970) informing government for policies to
assimilate Aboriginals; the Early Aboriginal Research (1970s-1990) interpreted Aboriginal worldviews as this type
of research was seen as morally ‘just’. Recent Aboriginal Research Phase ( 1990-2000) focused
on Aboriginals advocating redress for problematic structural relations since colonization. This led to today’s entry
into the Indegenist Research Phase and includes three stages. First stage: Indigenous researchers forced to
separate their Indigenous and academic lives as their inherent worldviews conflicted with Western research
methods. Second stage: marginalized Indigenous views of research in Western models whilst the struggle of
acceptance. Third stage: the awareness of Indigenous perspectives has led to some acceptance in academe. More
people are beginning to understand the richness of Indigenous knowledge and the potential to supplement it with
Western research methods. Wilson also provides evidence of academics labeling those who want to add
Indigenous customs to research as an ‘anti-intellectual’ instead of extra intellectual. Included in the article are
principles for Indigenous research methods where he calls it a ceremony to be respected. Following this method
institutes a deep embedded understanding of the culture and ethics of Indigenous people.
VanEvery-Albert, Caroline. An Exploration of Indigenousness in the Western University Institution.
Canadian Journal of Native Education. Edmonton: 2008. Vol. 31, Iss. 1; pg. 41, 16 pgs
This article explores Indigenousness in the Western university from the author's perspective. This narrative piece
begins with the author's story about learning the Mohawk language. Through this learning experience she explores
Indigenous epistemology, differences between Western education and Indigenous traditional education, and issues
surrounding Indigenous scholarship. The exploration ends with her thoughts and experiences in negotiating her
identity in the academy.
21