Aboriginal Culture and Language Education:

Recognizing Indigenous Pedagogy in Aboriginal

Communities

Resources and Bibliography

Prepared for: Aaron Paquette

Compiled by: Dawn Marie Marchand
October 5, 2015

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Aaron Paquette for asking me to help him in this
project which is near to my heart. In 2011, we were partners in a conference
called Cree8 Success as a way to challenge educators, social workers and
corrections officers to include Indigenous pedagogy and culture as a way to
engage and help First Nations, Metis and Inuit youth. Since this time, it is
still my belief that the respectful inclusion of these things are not a reward
for perceived right behavior but in fact a prerequisite. One of the residues
of the Indian Residential School is imposed shame. Negative and misleading
information in the mainstream media, stereotypes and a colonial history
based on Terra Nullius and Doctrine of Discovery seem to re-inforce some of
this shame when their oral histories and traditional knowledge is delegated
to the margins. Negative assessment methods rarely work as motivators
because if the youth can act appropriately they might be rewarded with
learning about their culture. When the biggest problem is attendance, then
the opportunity if they behave will not entice them to come back.
Conversely, if you gave them the teachings about honor and gave them the
opportunity to grow in that virtue then the desired effect was actualized and
they in fact modified their own behavior intrinsically. We did not come by
this knowledge through research. We learned this by working with our
students. Along the way, we found friends, colleagues and mentors to help
us become even more effective with this area of education. We speak with
confidence in this area because we know that it works.
I got much help with the research of this project. I would like to
acknowledge the help of some individuals in particular. Sarah Auger Cortez
who is currently in her PhD program of Indigenous Peoples Education. She
was critical in vetting, finding and providing articles for this project. Dr. Sean
Lessard who is currently an Associate Professor of Indigenous Education and
Core Studies at the University of Regina. He graciously gave his own
research which is award winning and groundbreaking. I also thank Treena
Metallic: Research and Development Analyst at First Nation Education
Council in Quebec.

tanisi

My name is Dawn Marie Marchand. I am a Cree Metis from Cold Lake

First Nations. It is Denesuline territory. Im an artist and I live in Edmonton,
Alberta. I am not a certified teacher nor do I have a degree in Fine Arts. For
this reason I do not submit this as an authority on anything. I humbly submit
it and warn you that the information contained and how it is presented are
quite different in tone and intention. I can only give you what I have, I can
only tell you what I know and tell you how I see things. I can only put you on
a path and give you the tools to hopefully change things for Aboriginal
children and youth. I admit that this research is unabashedly biased. I
believe with my whole human being that the most important piece of
Indigenous Student Success is in the recognition of who they are as human
beings; their identity based on their languages and cultures. The very things
that were removed through the Indian Residential Schools. Im hoping that
by giving you this information, that it guides you in decisions about the role
of language and culture on Aboriginal Education. Everything has been
chosen to add to your understanding but I am not providing a synopsis. You
will have to read it through and decide for yourself.

A problem of capacity:
I was one of the grassroots activists who vehemently opposed the First
Nations Education Act and later the First Nations Control of First Nations
Education Act. The major problem as I saw it was the assumption that the
capacity to sustain Indigenous Languages and Culture were within the
current provincial structure. As a person who worked within schools and
school boards, I found that the process of implementation was deeply flawed.
The Results based approach was creating a gap with lack of consistency in
programming. Programs come and go constantly within all areas of
Aboriginal Education. Its hard to get excited or invested in anything that
may not last because the intrinsic value couldnt be measured within 6
months to a year. Sometimes rebuilding pride and self-esteem would take
longer than that. In cases where curriculum needed development like in
Cree or Dene; the lack of resources became a problem. Often language
programs languished because they needed both curriculum and resource
development simultaneously. Grassroots initiatives often marginalized as not
being properly vetted or without proper development in line with the
curriculum guidelines. Some of the people considered cultural instructors in
the community where not certified teachers therefore, were not allowed
access to much more than class presentations. Hiring certified teachers

often created a cultural vacuum where their lack of knowledge of the

community and culture made their instruction in these areas unsuccessful.
Indigenous worldview, pedagogy and cultural sensitivity was not recognized
in the classroom, resources and curriculum. This is pervasive and throughout
the education system. Individual school systems can address this as they
see best, some have managed this effectively. Unfortunately, successful
programs disappear frequently under the strain of the results based
approaches or meeting the curriculum standard.

Barriers to Aboriginal Student Success

I used to do an annual presentation to the first year education students
at the University of Alberta called Barriers to Aboriginal Student Success.
In this presentation, I took apart the barriers to Aboriginal Students and
showed that there are two distinct and separate set of barriers presented in
the lives of Aboriginal Students. Firstly, there are poverty barriers. This is an
unfortunately high population in schools. Although poverty was
generationally imposed, it is not our natural state and it is not a true
reflection of our capability to learn. Often students in poverty felt that they
were being punished for being poor. Things like field trips, special school
functions, and sports were being withheld because of the poverty of the
family. This compounds the feelings of shame. Often schools opt to supply
poverty supports as Aboriginal supports. It was a dangerous assumption
causing parents and others to think that the only use for Aboriginal supports
was to connect them to the Food bank instead of help them apply for
scholarships. Poverty supports are necessary but they are necessary for
every poor student in the school. Lumping it into Aboriginal file is a
disservice because it is not actually addressing Aboriginal issues or
reconciling the gap in education for them. It also further marginalizes them
and creates an aura of shame for needing to access them.
The other set of barriers had to do with Aboriginal culture.
Communication barriers, not understanding protocol, no access to cultural
supports, limited or negligent resources in the libraries, not critiquing
Aboriginal stories for stereotyping and negative rhetoric, disciplining
students for participating in ceremony, not knowing how to accommodate
death in the family, not understanding the family structure. The programs
that broke my heart the most were the programs that were pull out
programs where the students were allowed access to their culture as a
reward. It disturbed me because it became a privilege to know your
culture. That never sat well with me. As I mentioned in the
acknowledgements, I believe that the culture can and does anchor identity
and it was systemically attacked and removed. Giving it back to those we

think deserve it sends the opposite message to what I have been taught.
It is an honour to be born nehiyaw. I didnt get to be nehiyaw because I was
never late to class and didnt talk back. If they knew who they were and how
to honour that then the other stuff would fall in line too. Conversely, a once
a year Aboriginal day was a tokenizing gesture. One day a year they could
celebrate and learn about the diet, dance, dress or dialect of their nation;
sometimes a nation in a completely different part of the country.
The work I was doing in the schools integrated language, culture and
art into social studies and language arts curriculum. There was no teaching
degree that would allow me to do that except in special education. I felt that
the work was necessary for all Aboriginal students who chose it. My choice
was to continue to do the work but I kept up with the research hoping that
one day, it would catch up to the work that was happening. This project is a
result of the constant search to make things better for our students.
Although I have been a full time artist for four years, this is still an area
where I spend time and energy. I am also hoping that you find it a challenge
to some of the assumptions that may have caused you to not consider
listening to someone who doesnt have exact qualifications when they speak
on areas that they are passionate about. Im not here to say that academia
is not important. I believe academics working with language and culture
holders can make a huge difference in this field which is what excites me
about the work of Sarah and Sean. We are just not quite there yet, again,
due to lack of capacity. The reintroduction of these old pedagogies are not
properly supported yet they may in fact be the thing that will point us in the
right direction in building the capacity. Ultimately, my belief is that
education is a Treaty Right. When our ancestors negotiated that right, it
included maintaining their education and adding the skills to sustain
themselves in the changes they foresaw.
Education is not just about learning to read and write and acquire
skills, it is also socialization. The current paradigm of socialization is based
on cultural deficit and assimilation. This will not be combatted with
programs directed at either poverty (only an Aboriginal issue due systemic
abuse and marginalization) or pull out rewards. A conscious, prolonged and
deliberate focus on language and culture in Aboriginal Communities is
necessary. The fulsome implementation of the spirit and intent of the treaty
right to education will be best fulfilled through treaty and fiduciary
responsibility. The key to authentic voice in language and cultural influence
should come from the community and fan out. I have not quite figured out
how to do that effectively or practically, hence my research continues.

ekosi