Aboriginal Language Courses for Families, starting January 2013

Aboriginal Conversational Language Courses for FAMILIES:

Cree, Anishinaabe, Michif courses

Starting January 2013-April 2013

9 classes (3 hours) evening or weekends

Location: Winnipeg MB

Cost: 195$

Families are encouraged to join

Learn and practice together to protect our cultures

Language is the outward expression of an accumulation of learning and experience shared by a group of people over centuries of development. It is not simply a vocal symbol; it is a dynamic force, which shapes the way a man looks at the world, his thinking about the world and his philosophy of life. Knowing his maternal language helps a man know himself; being proud of his language helps a man to be proud of himself (National Indian Brotherhood, 1972, p14-5, Indian Control of Indian Education).

Contact:

Miriam Christoph administrator

204.474.8190

languages@umanitoba.ca

After the release of the stats on languages by Statscan I was stunned by the continued eroding of Aboriginal languages. As a Program Director of Aboriginal Focus Programs, I felt it would be better to start offering a set of language courses through my faculty not offered in the traditional university manner, but more in keeping with a traditional Aboriginal learning environment. I want to have the entire family learn in a holistic manner. Meaning, you learn as a family and you practice as a family. We need to start involving the children and grandparents in passing on our languages.

I don’t know what the success rate will be, but I hope that students will be able to learn to communicate simple words, commands, music greeting, and occupations and discuss these issues with their children and grandparents.

Aboriginal peoples in control over their education.

Gang Graffiti Serving as Utilitarian Tags vs Traditional Graffiti & Tags of Winnipeg

Here is some interesting graffiti around Winnipeg that I found in the downtown area. It is interesting because it apparently indicates gang presence in the area and the gang is marking their territory. Graffiti can be a form of linguistics and discourse to indicate a number of elements. It seemed that what I found in the gang ridden areas was very plain and dull. For instance you will see the very utilitarian tag of PK meaning posse kill. This is a warning to the Indian posse to stay away from this territory, because they will be killed. There is no art to this graffiti. It is utilitarian and in fact was a little dangerous that as I was taking photos, two large gentlemen both heavily tattooed came out of some dark hovel to stare at my colleague (U of Winnipeg) and I while they started to transport a large nondescript bag.

It was near the University of Winnipeg, but they did not look like the usual students one would normally encounter in a class.  I will not mention the name of my esteemed colleague for he fears assassination from his colleagues at the U of Winnipeg for working with his colleague from the U of M. I will maintain his anonymity during our afternoon exploration gang discourse. 

This back alley had one of the homes busted in a Drug Op by Winnipeg police in Aug 2013. A 12 year old was arrested for being part of the gang and in the crack house. Quite the scene and image. The use of young children brings to mind the experiences of youth in war zone and the conversion of these youth to child soldiers. I suspect that many of the same indoctrination techniques used by rebel forces in Sierra Leone and Gangs in Winnipeg are the same. CTV Aug 15, 2013 http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/boy-12-charged-with-trafficking-cocaine-after-winnipeg-drug-bust-1.1412346 

PS I did not take a photo of the gang members, though I did say Tansai, I received no response, but a very cold and chilling stare.  

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9481.00020/abstract

http://www.snopes.com/crime/gangs/sneakers.asp perhaps they are in the army and have been posted!

 

The following is more traditional graffiti Art with tags attached. I found this in Osborne village just outside of the downtown core. I did not find art like this on my walk; it seems that this art is not expressed during a gang war. That is always the case of art and war. It is much more artistic, but still causes blight upon the community, but at least you know that you will not be shot or beat-up by taking photos. Many of the biz associations are taking measures to remove graffiti from their respective areas in order to maintain appearances of law-abiding orderliness. This would make for an interesting study, but......

Gerorge Erasmus, Greatest Canadian Speech, Bringing Canadians Together

This is an example of the fiery speeches that former Grand Chief George Erasmus was well known for and perhaps one of the greatest speeches in Canadian history. This is the 20th anniversary of when Erasmus spoke to a group of prominent Canadians during a panel called “Bringing Canadians Together” during the 125 anniversary celebrations of the founding of Canada held in 1992. During the speech he discusses South Africa and Apartheid. This speech is what inspired me as a 17 year old to travel to South Africa and observe the first free elections in that country. I had the chance to see Nelson Mandela and feel the hope of the Indigenous peoples of that country in their demands for FREEDOM.

TO LEARN MORE (PODCAST)

http://archive.org/download/1993SpeechGivenByGeorgeErasmusAboutCanadaConfederation/AtTheEdgeOfCanadaGeorgeErasmusMainMixdown.mp3 

Listen to how he builds the rhythmic cadence as the speech continues, reaching multiple climaxes. Hearing the speech gives me chills down my spine.

Georges Henry Erasmus (born August 8, 1948, in Rae Edzo, Northwest Territories) is a strong Canadian aboriginal politician. Erasmus was born in a Dene community of the Northwest Territories to a family of 12 children. He attended high school in Yellowknife. He became president of the Dene Nation in 1974 and while president fought against the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. It was his involvement in Indigenous politics of this period which allowed his rise to prominence. He was the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations from 1985 to 1991. Erasmus was national chief of the Assembly of First Nations during the Oka Crisis. After serving two terms as national chief he co-chaired the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. If you compare these speeches from the current speeches given by the current AFN Grand Chief you will see major differences in style. Is this method of confrontation the best means to obtain the rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada? Are the people of Canada prepared to hear Erasmus and the words he has to say? Would you ever give a speech like this today or have current leaders moved to more professional negotiated discussions over resources and social services?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipxq8sR0_Lc

http://archive.org/details/1993SpeechGivenByGeorgeErasmusAboutCanadaConfederation

http://archive.org/download/1993SpeechGivenByGeorgeErasmusAboutCanadaConfederation/AtTheEdgeOfCanadaGeorgeErasmusMainMixdown.mp3 

Dr Kim Anderson, Life Stages and Native Women: Memory Teachings and Story Medicine

Dr Kim Anderson (Cree/Métis) is an Associate Professor in Indigenous Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford. In her new book Life Stages and Native Women, Kim shares the teachings of fourteen elders (Métis, Cree, and Anishinaabe) to illustrate how different life stages were experienced by girls and women during the mid-twentieth century. These elders explore the four life stages of women as they share stories about their own lives, the experiences of girls and women of their childhood communities, and customs related to pregnancy, birth, post-natal care, infant and child care, puberty rites, gender and age-specific work roles, the distinct roles of post-menopausal women, and women’s roles in managing death. By understanding how healthy communities were created in the past, Kim explains how this traditional knowledge can be applied toward rebuilding healthy Indigenous communities today.

To Learn More (Podcast): http://archive.org/download/DrKimAndersonLifeStagesAndNativeWomenMemoryTeachingsAndStory/AtTheEdgeOfCanadaMay31kimAnderson.mp3  

different files
http://archive.org/details/DrKimAndersonLifeStagesAndNativeWomenMemoryTeachingsAndStory

Vanada Fleury, Mamawi Apiketan Decolonization and Community Based Education Paradigms

This is a conversation with the very interesting Vanda Fleury (Métis). Vanda grew up around Hamiota and attended Brandon University before going to the University of Manitoba to work on a master's degree in native studies. She gave a presentation at the University of Manitoba about her work called Mamawi Apiketan Decolonization and Community Based Education Paradigms. Vanda's work steams from her desire to break down stereotypes.

While working for the Manitoba Museum she spent 16 months working with northern schools and elders to come up with 12 education kits for middle and high school students. Her research deals with the theories behind objects, perception, education stereotypes and colonization.

To Learn more (podcast):

http://archive.org/download/VandaFleuryMamawiApiketanDecolonizationAndCommunityBasedEducation/VandaFleuryOctober42012.mp3

 

http://archive.org/details/VandaFleuryMamawiApiketanDecolonizationAndCommunityBasedEducation

To Read more about Vanda http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/museum-kits-teach-aboriginal-heritage-150729365.html

Jamie Wilson Manitoba Treaty Commissioner and the Racism of lower expectations

James B. (Jamie) Wilson is the second Treaty Commissioner for the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba. He was at the University of Manitoba to speak about racism during the recent homecoming events. He was a guest speaker at the Presidents Visionary Conversations: We Need To Talk About Racism on Wednesday, September 12. This is a double header where we attempt to tread lightly around the themes of racism, family, role models, success, thoughts on the racism of lower expectations that we project on Aboriginal youth, and Jamie's work building trust between communities across Manitoba.

To Learn more (Podcast):
part I:  ttp://archive.org/download/JamieWilsonAndRacism/JamieWilsonAndRacism_vbr_mp3.zip
part II: 
http://archive.org/download/JamieWilsonAndRacismPartIiTheGoodStuff/JamieWilsonAndRacismPartIiTheGoodStuff_vbr_mp3.zip

Brett Rushforth, Bonds of Alliance; Indigenous & Atlantic Slaveries in New France

Dr Brett Rushforth is an associate professor of history and Director of Graduate Studies at the College of William and Mary in the United States. Brett has written a new book Bonds of Alliance that reviews the interactions between the settler society of New France and the Indian tribes with whom they traded.  While generally not know to the general public, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, French colonists and their Native allies participated in a slave trade that spanned half of North America, carrying thousands of Native Americans into bondage in the Great Lakes, Canada, and the Caribbean. The book looks a vast geographic and chronological scope carefully dissects the lives of various enslaved individuals and masters, this book gives voice to those who lived through the ordeal of slavery and, along the way, shaped French and Native societies.



http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/sflarch/post-contact.htm 



Rather than telling a simple story of colonial domination and Native victimization, Brett argues that Indian slavery in New France emerged at the nexus of two very different forms of slavery based on different political needs: one indigenous to North America and the other rooted in the Atlantic world. The alliances that bound French and Natives together forced a century-long negotiation over the nature of slavery and its place in early American society. Neither fully Indian nor entirely French, slavery in New France drew upon and transformed indigenous and Atlantic cultures in complex and surprising ways.

We discussed the large slave trade that existed in Indians in New France’s territories, the ideas surrounding different types of customary adoption, sexual violence, children and slavery, the marking of bodies, the terms used to describe slave (I make you my Dog), secondary wives, the political consequences (alliances) of owning Indian slaves, the idea that Indians make for bad slaves versus Africa-American slaves etc…

The book was published by the University of North Carolina Press.


To Learn More (interview & podcast)
http://archive.org/details/BrettRushforthBondsOfAllianceIndigenousAtlanticSlaveriesInNew 

Citations

Children's author Peter Eyvindson about Kookum's Red Shoes

This is an interview with children's author Peter Eyvindson about his new book published by Pemmican, called Kookum's Red Shoes. It looks at the story related to Residential Schools and how this history should be introduced to young children and the value of this story.

Peter met an elder grandmother many years ago who was always going to the local school to check on the children. He discovered the reason why she was so protective of the children. As a young child the Kookum was is taken away from her home to live in a residential school. Wanting very much to leave, Kookum decided that only by being good will she be released. After all, Kookum only wants to be with her parents and her baby brother and to wear her bright red shoes. The Shoes had been bought just before the authorities came to take her. Her parents gave her this gift after they had seen the Wizard of Oz in the local small town theatre.

Peter Eyvindson's Kookum's Red Shoes is a story of one girl's strength in the face of oppression. Sheldon Dawson (Illustrator) has provided great pictures in vibrante colors to compliment Kookum's story. My children loved the book so much that they would not put it down.

The discussion talked about the church, how one goes about introducing such a dark story to small children, violence both surface and subsurface (Peter did not have any overt violence in the book), Peter's reasons for wanting to write the story and the length of time it took to find a courageous publisher willing to put this story in print.

To Learn More (interview & Podcast):

http://archive.org/download/ChildrensAuthorPeterEyvindsonAboutKookumsRedShoes/PeterEyvindsonRedShoes.mp3

Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse, a true Hockey Night in Canada

For those who are missing hockey here is a magnificent conversation with Richard Wagamese about his new book Indian Horse. Indian Horse is the story of Saul Indian Horse (Ojibway) who is raised in northern Ontario in a traditional family in the 1960s. Saul is eventually sent to St-Jerome Indian Residential School where he must suffer terrible horrors against his physical and spiritual self. Saul eventually finds some salvation through a new sport the 11 year old had never encountered before. Hockey was introduced by a new young priest at the Residential school, Father Gaston Leboutilier, as a means to train and interest the older boys. The story almost becomes one of the quintessential hockey success story of unbridled natural talent carved out of the Canadian northern rock. While Saul is initially not allowed to play the new sport he gains the admiration and confidence of Father Leboutilier. Saul and Leboutlier become very close as he is able to shield young Saul from many of the abuses of the IRS.
Saul due to his hockey talent then begins a new journey discovering the Canada of the 1960s and early 1970s, one based on ideals of equality and hard work, but not for any dirty Indian. He will eventually retrace his steps and discover the truth about his past.

I really loved this book and was able to read it in 4 hours. While the book is about Saul it is also about that Canadian spirit which is represented by hockey. Hockey is presented as this pure sport above the daily grid found within much of general life of both the rural and urban setting. We see through Wagamese’s magnificent writing that this is not the case and terrible injustice can be perpetrated in the name of the purity of a nation and a sport.

If you are a hockey fan and would like to read something different from the usual fare this book is for you. The true title of this book should have been Indain Horse: The True Hockey Night in Canada. http://www.amazon.ca/Indian-Horse-Richard-Wagamese/dp/1553654021 

Hocket Night in Canada Theme song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByKu8BwT5K4

To Learn More (Podcast):
http://archive.org/details/RichardWagameseAndHisNovelIndianHorse

Citations

Marlyn Bennett, Director of Research and Coordinating Editor of First Nations Child and Family Review Journal

This is a 2 part series and conversation with Marlyn Bennett, Director of Research and Coordinating Editor of the First Nations Child and Family Review Journal. Marlyn also works for the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (http://www.fncaringsociety.com/ )

The First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada publishes the First Peoples Child & Family Review journal twice a year. The journal is dedicated to interdisciplinary research honouring the voices, perspectives and knowledges of First Peoples through research, critical analyses, stories, standpoints and media reviews. More information about submitting articles may be found on their web-site.

To Learn More: (interview & podcast)
Part I: broadcast April 26, 2012
http://archive.org/download/MarlynBennettDirectorOfResearchAndCoordinatingEditorOfFirstNations/MarleneBennetFnFamilyAndCaringSocietyOfCanadaPart1.mp3 
Part II: broadcast May 3rd, 2012
http://archive.org/download/MarlynBennettDirectorOfResearchAndCoordinatingEditorOfFirstNations_983/MarleneBennetFnFamilyAndCaringSocietyOfCanadaPart2.mp3 
  
Citations

Jennifer Reid and her book Louis Riel and the Creation of Modern Canada

This is a conversation with Dr Jennifer Reid of the University of Maine about her book Louis Riel and the Creation of Modern Canada.

Since he was tried and hanged for treason in November of 1885, Louis Riel has been the subject of more histories, biographies, novels, and poetry than any other figure in Canadian history. Politician, founder of Manitoba, and leader of the aboriginal Métis people, Riel led two resistance movements against the Canadian government: the Red River Uprising of 1869-70, and the North-West Rebellion of 1885, in defense of Métis and other minority rights.

Against the backdrop of these legendary uprisings, Jennifer Reid examines Riel's religious background, the mythic significance that has consciously been ascribed to him, and how these elements combined to influence Canada's search for a national identity. Reid's study provides a framework for rethinking the geopolitical significance of the modern Canadian state, the historic role of Confederation in establishing the country's collective self-image, and the narrative space through which Riel's voice speaks to these issues.

Jennifer Reid's profile
http://www.farmington.edu/faculty/jenniferreid.php
jreid@maine.edu

Click to learn more (podcast)
http://archive.org/details/JenniferReidAndHerBookLouisRielAndTheCreationOfModernCanada

Citations

Alena Rosen, Inuit Art, Inuit Voices: The possibility of a critical Inuit art discourse

This is a conversation with Ms Alena Rosen a Master's student in the dept of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba about her passion and work in Inuit art study. Alena gave a presentation in the Native studies colloquium series on March 2, 2012 about Inuit art entitled, Inuit Art, Inuit Voices: The possibility of a critical Inuit art discourse.  Alena has a great understanding of the history of Inuit art, its forms both in sculpture and print, the changes brought about by star artists, the concepts of folk art, the effect it has upon the economies in the North and communities as well the aesthetic qualities of Inuit art.

Alena Rosen is from Toronto, Ontario. In 2007, she completed her B.A. in Philosophy and Social-Cultural Anthropology at the University of Toronto. Her subsequent work experience at the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto spurred her to pursue a graduate degree, and in 2010, she moved to Winnipeg to join the Department of Native Studies at the U of M.

Alena writes that her "research aims to recognize and emphasize Inuit perspectives on the creation and dissemination of Inuit art.  It also examines the relationship between Inuit art, and the production and transmission of Inuit knowledge within the context of colonization." She hopes her work will "contribute to a critical Inuit art discourse that can act as a counterpoint to established and on-going debates on Inuit art in academia and art institutions."

To Learn More (Podcast)
http://archive.org/details/AlenaRosenInuitArtInuitVoicesThePossibilityOfACriticalInuitArt
Here are some musical selections that Alena suggested for your pleasure:

1. Simeonie Keenainak he's a great accordion player from Pangnirtung (his music is featured in the recent viral video "feel the inukness" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iawDXQGQsr0.
2. Charlie Adams - Quviasuppunga [this song plays on the radio at LEAST once a day, it's a classic]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57MOlu45EJs 
3. Lucie Idlout- e5-770: my mother's name http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyCun8Le3jg
4. Tumivut - Movement  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJkXcUtBRhQ

Alenaerosen@gmail.com

A Wilder West: Rodeo in Western Canada a conversation with Mary-Ellen Kelm

A controversial sport, rodeo is often seen as emblematic of the West's reputation as a 'white man's country.' A Wilder West complicates this view by moving beyond the black and white to show how rodeo has been an important contact zone between settlers, Aboriginal peoples and governement. It is a chaotic and unpredictable place of encounter that challenged expected social hierarchies. Rodeo has brought people together across racial and gender divides, creating friendships, rivalries, and unexpected intimacies. Fans made hometown cowboys, cowgirls, and Aboriginal riders local heroes. Lavishly illustrated and based on cowboy/cowgirl biographies and memoirs, press coverage, archival records, and dozens of interviews with former and current rodeo contestants, promoters, and audience members, this creative history returns to rodeo's small-town roots to shed light on the history of social relations in Canada's western frontier.

Mary-Ellen Kelm is a Canada Research Chair in the Department of History, Simon Fraser University. Her previous books include Colonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia. She is one of the leading scholars in the history of Canadian Aboriginal peoples. Working in collaboration with First Nations and health researchers, Kelm has a record of producing groundbreaking research on the history of Aboriginal health in Canada. Her current research examines how Aboriginal health has been researched over the course of the 20th century. She is studying the contributions made by Aboriginal people, as well as by anthropologists, health-care providers, and government in defining Aboriginal health issues. In the course of her research, she is paying particular attention to the relationships of power that are inherent to medical research and to emerging ethical dilemmas

http://cgi.sfu.ca/~wwwhist/cgi-bin/viewfaculty.php?view=46

http://www.ubcpress.ca/search/title_book.asp?BookID=299173309

To Learn More (interview and podcast)

http://archive.org/details/AWilderWestRodeoInWesternCanadaAConversationWithMary-ellenKelm

Citations

Leo Baskatawang, Applied Research, Marching from Vancouver to Ottawa

Leo Baskatawang is taking applied research to new level. Leo is a Masters student at the University of Manitoba in the Native Studies department. He will be conducting a March (March4Justice) across Canada from Vancouver to Ottawa to discuss and force awareness about the issues surrounding the Indian Act and the inability of the federal government to work meaningfully with First Nations and Aboriginal peoples. Support Leo and his applied research in contacting him as he drags the Indian Act to Ottawa.

APTN Story
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/02/16/iraq-war-vet-set-to-walk-cross-country-for-first-nations-issues/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/march_4_justice
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/people/Leo-Baskatawang/1172088564#!/March.4.Justice

To Learn more (interview & podcast)
http://archive.org/details/LeoBaskatawangAppliedResearchMarchingFromVancouverToOttawa

Zonnie Gorman talks about “Growing Up With Heroes: The Navajo Code-Talkers of World War II – A Daughter’s Journey”

This is a conversation with Zonnie Gorman about her work on Navajo Code Talkers. Zonnie will be doing a lectuer tour accross Canada entitled “Growing Up With Heroes: The Navajo Code-Talkers of World War II – A Daughter’s Journey”

Ms Gorman spoke at Migii Agamik (Bald Eagle Lodge) at the University of Manitoba on Monday March 26, 2012 at 10h30.

This lecturer series is made possible by the U.S. Consulate of Winnipeg, the U of M Aboriginal Student Centre, Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Department of History, and Department of Native Studies at the U of Manitoba.

Zonnie Gorman is a recognized  historian on the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II.

She is the daughter of Carl  Gorman, one of the original Code  Talkers and has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Canada at  universities, colleges, museums and other institutions, including  the Museum of the American  Indian and N.A.S.A. Headquarters  in Washington, D.C.   

http://nmai.si.edu/education/codetalkers/html/chapter2.html 

http://navajocodetalkers.org/code_talker_story/ 

To Learn More (podcast):

http://archive.org/download/ZonnieGormanTalksAboutgrowingUpWithHeroesTheNavajoCode-talkersOf/ZonnieGormanTalksAboutgrowingUpWithHeroesTheNavajoCode-talkersOf_vbr_mp3.zip 

http://podcasting.newwinnipeg.net/podcast/download.php?filename=20120322-341.mp3

Xavier-Gabriel Ouellette 11 Nov 2013

X

Seeing Red in Canadian Newspapers, race and image of Aboriginal peoples

This is a conversation with Dr Mark Anderson and Dr Carmen Robertson of the University of Regina about their new book Seeing Red in Canadian Newspapers: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers.

The first book to examine the role of Canada’s newspapers in perpetuating the myth of Native inferiority.

Seeing Red is a groundbreaking study of how Canadian English-language newspapers have portrayed Aboriginal peoples from 1869 to the present day. It assesses a wide range of publications on topics that include the sale of Rupert’s Land, the signing of Treaty 3, the North-West Rebellion and Louis Riel, the death of Pauline Johnson, the outing of Grey Owl, the discussions surrounding Bill C-31, the “Bended Elbow” standoff at Kenora, Ontario, and the Oka Crisis. The authors uncover overwhelming evidence that the colonial imaginary not only thrives, but dominates depictions of Aboriginal peoples in mainstream newspapers. The colonial constructs ingrained in the news media perpetuate an imagined Native inferiority that contributes significantly to the marginalization of Indigenous people in Canada. That such imagery persists to this day suggests strongly that our country lives in denial, failing to live up to its cultural mosaic boosterism.

quoted from the University of Manitoba Press http://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/seeing-red 

Mark Cronlund Anderson is the author of four books, including Pancho Villa’s Revolution by Headlines and Cowboy Imperialism and Hollywood Film, which won the 2010 Cawelti Prize for Best Book in American Culture. He is a professor of history at Luther College, University of Regina.

Carmen L. Robertson is mixed blood (Lakota/Scottish) scholar currently working on projects related to the art and mythology of Anishinaabe artist Norval Morrisseau. She is an associate professor of art history at University of Regina and also maintains an active curatorial practice.

To learn more (interview & podcast)

http://archive.org/details/SeeingRedInCanadianNewspapersRaceAndImageOfAboriginalPeoples_869

Citations