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Story Topic: Art/Performance

Art/Performance

“Fostering a sense of identity”: χpey̓ Elementary, The Vancouver School Board’s Indigenous Focus School

Posted on June 22, 2018 by andrewkendall

χpey̓ Elementary School was developed by the Vancouver School Board in 2012 in response to calls from the community for an education that was culturally relevant for Indigenous youth and encompassing of local and surrounding traditional Indigenous knowledges. χpey̓’s students are largely Indigenous, although the school also has many non-Indigenous students who attend. The teachers […]

χpey̓ Elementary School was developed by the Vancouver School Board in 2012 in response to calls from the community for an education that was culturally relevant for Indigenous youth and encompassing of local and surrounding traditional Indigenous knowledges. χpey̓’s students are largely Indigenous, although the school also has many non-Indigenous students who attend. The teachers at χpey̓ are each Indigenous and bring their own cultural knowledge and experiences to the school. They infuse Indigenous pedagogies into the BC curriculum with the aim of providing classrooms and teaching which encompass a holistic model of education. The school is focused on teaching “the shared worldviews of Indigenous people and environmentalists” and aims to “honour the shared values, experiences and histories of all Indigenous peoples as well as the aspects that make each nation unique.”

Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre – A Resource for The Community and The Classroom

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Timothy Merasty

Ensuring an institution exists where Indigenous languages and cultures are respected, honoured, and shared.

The Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre (SICC) is a provincially based non-profit organization whose Elder Council and staff are dedicated to promoting, preserving, and protecting Indigenous cultures and languages in Saskatchewan. SICC’s President, Wanda Wilson, explains, the organization records stories and visions from Elders and Knowledge Keepers from Saskatchewan’s eight linguistic groups (Plains Cree, Swampy Cree, Woodlands Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Lakota, Nakoda, and Dakota). SICC’s programs reflect community needs and Saskatchewan needs the truth, supported by and through the formal education system.

Penny Couchie and Sid Bobb – Indigenous Arts Education

Posted on by Gabrielle Pellerin

Aanmitaagzi, an Indigenous arts company. Seeks out many ways to have/supports both direct and indirect learning.

Aanmitaagzi, an Indigenous arts company. Seeks out many ways to have/supports both direct and indirect learning.

Spirit Lines Educational Tool Kit

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Richard Stecenko

Spirit Lines is an educational tool kit developed jointly between the Manitoba Museum and First Nations communities in Northern Manitoba. It consists of three photo books, two text books, and a recording of 20 oral histories. The toolkit has been used in all classes from Kindergarten to Grade XII. Also, it has been used at […]

Spirit Lines is an educational tool kit developed jointly between the Manitoba Museum and First Nations communities in Northern Manitoba. It consists of three photo books, two text books, and a recording of 20 oral histories. The toolkit has been used in all classes from Kindergarten to Grade XII. Also, it has been used at community events. David describes the amazement of people hearing stories told by their parents and grandparents.  https://manitobamuseum.ca/main/manitoba-museum-reaches-out-to-northern-communities/

Know Who You Are – Traditional Knowledge Holder Darlene Cardinal

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Frannie and Kisa Rogers

Traditional Knowledge Holder uses her experience in the classrooms of the Grande Prairie Public School system with an aim to help students know who they are and where they belong. This Traditional Knowledge Holder teaches directly in the public school system classrooms of Grande Prairie. She works to share cultural teachings to students and to […]

Traditional Knowledge Holder uses her experience in the classrooms of the Grande Prairie Public School system with an aim to help students know who they are and where they belong. This Traditional Knowledge Holder teaches directly in the public school system classrooms of Grande Prairie. She works to share cultural teachings to students and to bring a cultural perspective to support the helpers in assigning meaning to what is happening in a child’s world both in and out of the classroom. Advocacy of children and the culture and the role culture must play in their lives both in and out of the classroom is an urgent piece of her work at all times.

Banuts’ukuih: Indigenous-led Experiential Learning at the University of Northern British Columbia

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Kiara McLean

The Banuts’ukuih (meaning, canoe coming to shore in Lheidli) project is an example of the experiential learning opportunities led by Indigenous instructors in partnership with the University of Northern British Columbia. Other experiential courses have involved creating a pit house, decolonization through land stewardship, and moose-hide tanning. These courses offer Indigenous and non-Indigenous post secondary […]

The Banuts’ukuih (meaning, canoe coming to shore in Lheidli) project is an example of the experiential learning opportunities led by Indigenous instructors in partnership with the University of Northern British Columbia. Other experiential courses have involved creating a pit house, decolonization through land stewardship, and moose-hide tanning. These courses offer Indigenous and non-Indigenous post secondary students the opportunity to learn about Indigenous cultures through participation in cultural activities – such as carving a cottonwood canoe. In addition, these courses allow for the transmission of oral traditions – such as the Lheidli T’enneh story of ‘Astas and the Salmon. https://www.unbc.ca/experiential-learning

Contemporary Indigenous Art at the Wanuskewin Heritage Park Gallery

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Timothy Merasty

Felicia Gay is the Gallery Curator at Wanuskewin Heritage Park and she discusses contemporary Indigenous art, arts programming, and curatorship within the interpretive center.

The Wanuskewin Gallery focuses on contemporary Indigenous art with content accessible to people five years old and older. As an interpretive center, Wanuskewin interprets the culture of the people on the northern plains through archeology, ethnography, traditional ceremony, and food. Felicia Gay believes that Indigenous education involves Indigenous history and contemporary worldviews. The stories and narratives of Indigenous people need to be disseminated to the wider public in order for Indigenous people to be better understood. The objective of the gallery is to relay the Indigenous worldview through contemporary narratives inclusive of history, post-colonialism, and Indigenous superheroes – trickster, etc. Though Indigenous visual culture has focused on traditional art, the gallery introduces people to contemporary Indigenous art created by people in Saskatchewan, with a large number of artists coming from Saskatoon.

Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre – Circle of Voices Program

Posted on by Timothy Merasty

Jennifer Bishop and Marcel Petit highlight the transformative process that occurs during the Circle of Voices Program.

Since 1999, each year the Circle of Voices Program has offered fifteen participants, ages 15-24, a safe place to learn about theatre and career pathways while exploring identity through cultural learning. The youth are immersed in learning from cultural and arts-based leaders in an after-school program from October to March. Participants come to the program ready to push their boundaries and change patterns for personal growth and development. Participants often leave the program with the cultural knowledge and skills needed to have confidence in their abilities and their voice. They also develop close relationships with their peers and mentors that sustain them in their personal and professional endeavors.

*Photo credit goes to GTNT and Cory Standing.