The Anishinabe language is alive, and Anishinabe world view is embedded in it. It is important to continue speaking the language because not doing so contributes to language loss and the undermining of the Anishinabe world view. Dictionaries can help in preserving Native languages, but they must be written by Natives from a Native perspective. The…

Through a story of experiences at a library and two museums, a Cree university student demonstrates how such institutions fail to adequately respect and portray Native culture, despite good intentions. (TD)

Aboriginal literacy encompasses oral tradition, culture, language, identity, and world view in addition to the written word, and is a process of lifelong learning, much of which occurs beyond school walls. When defining Native literacy, one must move away from measuring Aboriginal students by Euro-Western definitions and move toward a balanced,…

Non-Native scholarly interpretations of The Three Bears--a traditional story of the Nlha7kapmx Nation--focus on mythology as simplistic science to explain the physical world. In contrast, a Nlha7kapmx interpretation illuminates connections of land to people. Such stories reinforce cultural identity and teach young people about the spiritual power…

Examines the importance and centrality of orality, rather than literacy, in the shared lives of the Cree of northern Alberta. Discusses orality consciousness related to the practice of shared memories and personal and communal healing during the "dance of the ancestors" or "ghost dance." Includes a short history of the Cree…

A grandmother teaching fishtrap building by actually building one while telling a story provides a model and criteria for success in teaching Nlakapamux children, the most important criterion being the presence of cultural experts--grandmothers. Role-modeling, storytelling, and hands-on experience combine theory and practice and provide a mnemonic…

Dr. Terry Tafoya relates his experiences as a student and a therapist and integrates traditional Native American stories to illustrate the importance of balancing Western knowledge with traditional culture and values. Stresses the importance of approaching the acquisition of knowledge from different perspectives when developing graduate programs…

Aboriginal literacy programs in Canada are using literacy as a means of reclaiming Aboriginal languages and a positive cultural identity. The Rainbow/Holistic Approach to Aboriginal literacy uses seven ways of knowing, each corresponding to a color. The approach recognizes that spirit, heart, mind, and body equally contribute to a life of balance,…

For Canada Natives, storytelling and describing dreams are the beginnings of literacy. Many elders survived abuse in residential schools because of language, and claim that one cannot be Indian without the language. This author works in English, yet her writings are informed by Native culture. Language can be a tool or a weapon; it depends on how…

A 4-week program in Vancouver (British Columbia) used traditional and academic formats to connect Aboriginal communities throughout British Columbia with each other and with Maori participants from New Zealand. A conference, a symposium and graduate courses covered the role of Aboriginal art, politics of transforming education, revitalization of…

The traditional culture of the Stle7esht tribe of British Columbia has no word for art, because everything is art. Years of Eurocentric boarding schools have threatened this culture. The New Zealand Maori model of working outside the formal school system through early childhood education can be adapted by the Stle7esht to foster cultural…

Some postsecondary programs in child and youth care for First Nations students in British Columbia are offered locally and employ elders as teachers because they understand their cultures and communities. The strengths found in the traditions of respect and intergenerational transmission of knowledge through elders are empowering to Native…

A Canadian teacher-educator's research into what has meaning for Bush Cree students became a reciprocal learning-teaching relationship. What emerged is a reverence for the ordinary, and the researcher's realization that in Cree society, the medium and the message are one, just as education and culture are one. Contains photographs used in the…