Oct 21

Students continued presenting on their BC First Nation. 

We then talked about a Salish Weaving Activity we will do on Monday / Wednesday next week.

We then read out Day 19th of the Daily Walking Challenge and had time to complete it. 

Finally, students were given a BC Map Assignment that we will be working on during Friday's class next week (Oct 30th). Students are encouraged to bring larger paper / poster-board if they'd like. Maps will be due November 3rd. 

Oct 19

Today students presented on their BC First Nation. Presentations will resume on Wednesday. As we continue to explore the BC Indigneous Peoples, students are to take a look at the nation they presented through the lens of one of these two interactive maps: 

https://maps.fpcc.ca/

https://native-land.ca/maps/native-land

For homework, students need to read the primary source from Chief James Wallas and answer the 2 questions on the margin. See below.

We are currently on Day 17 of our daily walking challenge. 

Oct 15

Today we finished watching the NFB documentary on stereotypes.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/reel_injun/ 

Students then wrote a reflection on stereotypes of indigenous people in popular culture. 

For homework, students were given one or two BC first nations groups to research for presentation on Monday. 

We then completed Day 15 of our daily walking challenge. 

Oct 13

Today we began watching and taking notes on "Reel Injun," a film from the NFB. 

https://www.nfb.ca/film/reel_injun/ 

We watched the first 62 minutes and then students had time outside to start their Day 13 entry for their 30 day walking challenge. Students also had their first assessment for their 30 day walking challenge. Students who were not present for today's class should hand-in their journals at the start of PLT on Thursday. 

Oct 8

Today we continued discussion Indigenous vs Western Worldviews and did an inclass reflection assignment. 

Here are the two links to the videos: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2rpJxVGJ-k 

https://museumofvancouver.ca/that-which-sustains-us

Students then completed Day 11 of their walking challenge. 

Oct 6

Today we began discussing the differences between Indigenous & Western Worldviews. We read 2 articles and watched the following videos: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmzOtnOOgXs&t=9s 

https://vimeo.com/113924147?fl=pl&fe=vl 

Students then completed Day 9 of their 30 Day walking challenge. 

Oct 2

Today in class we went on a fieldtrip to Minoru Lake Park and wrote reflections for Days 7 & 8 while surrounded by the land near where we study at Richmond high. Students were encouraged to spend the time in silent reflection and to work ahead in their journal activities when the weather is dry (as some days will likely be wet in the coming weeks). 

Students also received back their in class writing assignment analyzing the article "Coyote Goes to School." I forgot to have students hand in their annotated copies of the article when they initially completed it, so students are asked to bring their annotated copy of the assignment on Tuesday Oct 6th so that I can look it over with everything else they wrote. 

September 29th

Today in class we watched this BC Lions video featuring Phyllis Webstad’s Story “Orange Shirt Day – Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3q7byZhbaI

 Then we did a quickwrite reflection on this question: 

What does the history of the orange shirt reveal about evolving Canadian values, the need to take collective action and the necessity of reconciliation with Canada’s indigenous peoples?

 We then read through Day 5 (today) and Day 6 (Thursday) of the "30 Day Walking Challenge” assignment. 

September 24th

** IF YOU WERE ABSENT TODAY, PRINT THE FIELDTRIP PERMISSION FORM BELOW ⬇️ & BRING IT BACK SIGNED TO CLASS ON TUESDAY SEPT 29th)!! There are also more of these on my inbox in Rm 128. **

Today is our Day 3 of our 30 day walking challenge. Students spent some time engaging with the concepts in their walking challenge directives & started filling out their journals. Note, the days we are including in this challenge are only school days (Schedule is posted Sept 22nd). Most days we will try to spend some time outside when we meet together. 

Just a reminder, for those who are able, the journals cost me $2 each. If you're able to reimburse me, I'd really appreciate it! 

September 22nd

Today students were introduced to a new project assignment called the "30 Day Walking Challenge." It has students broaden their awareness of indigenous knowledge by spending time outdoors in a guided journaling practice. ⬇️ 

Students then shared their understanding of the article “Coyote Goes to School: The Paradox of Indigenous Higher Education” in a specific paragraph in-class writing assignment. 

As you start the 30 day walking challenge, just a reminder, for those who are able, the journals cost me $2 each. If you're able to reimburse me, I'd really appreciate it. 

September 18th

Another plug for the festival this weekend. If you don't have tickets, get them for free here --> 

 https://www.cometowardthefire.com/ 

Students wrote a short reading quiz about  Daniel Sims article "Not That Kind of Indian:” The Problem with Generalizing Indigenous Peoples in Contemporary Scholarship and Pedagogy, Active History.

Then, Students read the article “Coyote Goes to School: The Paradox of Indigenous Higher Education” and completed step 1 --> Step One: Add annotations and connections to the article while you read. What is the text saying? Do you agree/disagree? What are your thoughts / feelings about the info? What connections (self, text, world) can you make)? Write your annotations directly on the article.

Heres a vocab sheet for those of you that didn't get one:

September 16th

Another plug for the festival this weekend. If you don't have tickets, get them for free here --> 

 https://www.cometowardthefire.com/ 

Today we watched a video about Empathic Civilisation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g

Then we did a Quickwrite on why we need empathy when we're dealing with topics about BC Indigenous Peoples. 

For HW: Students need to finish reading & taking handwritten notes on Daniel Sims article "Not That Kind of Indian:” The Problem with Generalizing Indigenous Peoples in Contemporary Scholarship and Pedagogy, Active History.

September 14

Today in class we watched a video overviewing last year's "Come towards the Fire" festival at UBC's Chan Centre. 

 https://www.cometowardthefire.com/ 

We then talked about the impact of the missing & murdered indigenous women on indigenous communities. 

We then reviewed what we learned from the TED Talk last week where Kevin Lamoureux talked about Truth and Reconciliation. Available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FG8SXalxTg 

Then we dialogued about how our collective sense of identity is influenced both by the landforms and other features that situate us in a place. 

For homework, students are required to read & take hand-written notes on Daniel Sims article "Not That Kind of Indian:” The Problem with Generalizing Indigenous Peoples in Contemporary Scholarship and Pedagogy, Active History.

September 11

Here's our course outline ⬇️