AWÂSIS Education Conference
Acceptance of Difference
April 28 and 29th, 2016
Saskatoon Inn
STF SPECIAL SUBJECT COUNCIL
Incorporating Aboriginal Content in Education
Registration Package on line www.awasis.com
NEW on line registration
In Person Registration Wednesday April 27th 4-9, Thursday 8-4, Friday 8-12
Thursday Greeting: Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations
Keynote 9:00- 10:15
Dr. Sean Lessard
Friday Greeting: Saskatchewan Teachers Federation
Keynote 9:00- 10:15
Laurie Davis
Dakota Dunes Casino Thursday Evening
Thursday and Friday Continental Breakfasts in Keynote Ballrooms
Luncheons
Thursday April 28th, 2016 PIPE CEREMONY 8:00-8:30am
Greetings from Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations 8:45
Saskatoon Inn Ballroom A&B
Keynote 9:00-10:15
Dr. Sean Lessard
Red Worn Runners: Exploring the Possibilities of Curriculum Making both In and Outside of School Places
Dr. Sean Lessard reflects on how earlier work alongside aboriginal youth in communities (Red Worn Runners) continues to shape his understandings of curriculum as a process that is fluid, transactional and filled with possibilities. It is through the narrative experiences alongside the Red Worn Runners that Lessard continues to draw on both philosophically and pragmatically in his research that explores identity and curriculum making both in and outside of school places. These places include communities across Western Canada where youth and families continue to guide this work. Dr. Sean Lessard is from Montreal Lake Cree Nation Treaty 6 territory. He is a published author, award winning researcher and assistant professor in the field of education and youth.
Dr. Lessard’s home community is the Montreal Lake Cree Nation of Northern Saskatchewan, but a non-Aboriginal rural family in North Battleford adopted him as a child. Frequent trips between both worlds allowed him to develop strong attachments to both communities, which shaped his sense of self. He came to realize that there isn’t one singular story of identity, which now makes up the heart of his research.
Dr. Lessard unpacks his personal experiences of place by teaching “sideways”, or narratively, using inquiry to provoke dialogue and counteract the strong stereotypes of Indigenous peoples that exist among many young teacher- candidates.
As co-founder of the Growing Young Movers Youth Program, Dr. Lessard is working alongside community as a pedagogical space. This program forms an inter-generational living space in North-Central Regina, integrating the teachings of Indigenous families and Elders to deliver wellness activities outside of school for Indigenous youth – many of whom are transitioning from Treaty home communities and experiencing many institutional challenges and barriers as they adjust to urban living. Six Indigenous high school students serve as mentors to the younger students while Dr. Lessard’s teacher-candidates challenge their assumptions and contribute their observations to the ongoing research each week during the school year. Changes made from their findings include the use of different teaching spaces and physical movement activities to foster an environment of positivity and inclusion.
#100 Smudge Ceremony Mike Maurice
Smudging is a spiritual way to cleanse a person, place or an object of negative energies, spirits or influences. The smudging ceremony involves the burning of special, sacred plants and herbal resins, then, either passing an object through the resulting smoke, or fanning the smoke around a person or place. Participants will participate in a smudge ceremony and discuss protocol of ceremonies.
#101 "250" Conversations Dr Sean Lessard
Dr. Sean Lessard explores his time spent developing targeted youth programming within urban and community school settings. "250" conversations was an intentional process within schools to connect and create conversational spaces for aboriginal youth and their families within a school system. The idea of "250" conversations has carried forward as many students he has worked with in the past continue to graduate from high schools and transition to both work and post-secondary settings.
Keywords: transition, graduation, post-secondary, safe spaces, responsive school models
# 102 Introductions to SLN Storysacks Andrea Iron
This presentation will provide attendees with an overview of the Saskatchewan Literacy Network’s Storysacks Canada program and training. Storysacks is a hands-on family literacy activity that gives parents and caregivers an approach to enjoy books and reading with their children in a fun and easy way. The session will cover topics including the history, philosophy, and guiding principles behind the development of Storysacks. It will also cover what is and why use Storysacks, as well as outlines the creation of Storysacks and how to use the program as a community development tool. Attendees will gain information regarding how to access Saskatchewan Literacy Network training and support to facilitators, who will then deliver programs and host Storysacks lending opportunities in their own communities. Storysacks motivates and excites family learning, by encouraging active participation in reading. Storysacks bring the story to life using drama, encourages storytelling, promotes learning through word games and activities, builds confidence to use print, and nourishes further learning through non-fiction books. Attendees will each receive copies of Saskatchewan Literacy Network for the Love of Reading, For the Joy of Learning and For the Success at School booklets.
#103 Classroom Activities to Support First Nation Language Teaching
Angelina Weenie
In response to the TRC Call to Action, and to support schools in their language revitalization efforts, methods on how to teach First Nation language will be presented. This is a workshop which will provide classroom ideas, activities, and ways to engage children in learning language.
#104 Getting it Right Success for Readers with FASD
Dr. Linda Wason-Ellam
Literacy is critical to positive development and life adjustments for children with Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Multimodal literacies are a response to the sweeping changes in this school population, providing a framework that embraces cultural, linguistic, experiential, multimodal and technological diversity while at the same time advocating a social justice standpoint for all learners with FASD to have fair access to success. Drawing upon multimodal literacies, means that reading and writing will take on multiple variations for each learner when it comes to constructing meaning from their own point of view and their own experience. Classroom research integrating drawing during and after reading to create multimodal visuals for these struggling readers experiencing difficulty comprehending before reading, during reading, and after reading. Draw-talk-write-read stories integrate visual, writing and reading strategies that foster multiple opportunities for struggling readers to move fluidly between visual and textual literacies. Readers trans mediate when making meaning from images to texts or one symbol system to another. These readers visually represent or map comprehension before reading, during reading, and after reading through modes such as drawing, storyboards, story maps, concept maps, or digital pictures, which serve as memory pegs. Multimodal texts are a critical support in encoding ideas and images from texts into memory, making implicit comprehension more explicit. When struggling readers with FASD embrace visual literacies, they are able to elaborate on their self-created images through oral or textual modes and the more concrete the story becomes for them, the greater their comprehension and engagement in learning literacy.
#105 Literacy and Math in an Alternate School Ramona Washburn
Ramona and Warren Washburn teach a unique program at Ehpewapahk School in Maskwacis. This program includes wellness, life skills, and cultural components along with a Literacy and Numeracy program. Each student completes a Multiple Intelligence (MI) survey and this information is used for creating student learning tasks including Project Inquiry tasks. Delegates will gain some fresh ideas for their differentiated and MI classroom with a focus on Literacy and a little on Math, Ramona will share some great strategies for working with wide range learning levels. Warren will also share about Mathletics and some other strategies he uses in the classroom. CD printable resources will be available for purchase at $5/each.
#106 Creating a School Wide Metis Education Program at St. Michael Community School Cort Dogniez
Central Urban Metis Federation Incorporated (CUMFI) and the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools are in partnership to create a Metis Education Program at St. Michael’s Community School. The goal is to build capacity so that all teachers meaningfully include Metis content in their classroom programs and to see Metis ways encouraged through the school. Cort Dogniez is the Metis Education Program Leader and along with other members of the partnership will have their visions, hopes and dreams for this unique program that started in the fall of 2015.
#200 Safety in the Workplace: From Lateral Violence to Lateral Kindness Greg Riehl
Lateral violence exists on a spectrum, from seemingly ordinary behavior such as gossiping or criticism, to intimidation, racism and outright physical intimidation or harm. Lateral violence cannot thrive when employers, co-workers, and team members become ethically and legally responsible. We do not accept bullying in our schools or other workplaces so why so we accept it or turn a blind eye within our teams? The concern is that lateral violence is happening or fostered at various levels and going on where we have learned to oppress one another and has become normal. Often, lateral violence is mind-set based on fear rather than respect. The goal of the presentation is to empower individuals to recognize lateral violence and intervene, through conflict resolution and to avoid unhealthy coping strategies. Having the conversation is what matters; it shows that everyone shares the responsibility for behaviour conversation and role models so they will be able to model behaviours to lead us into the future in a balanced and health way forward.
#201 Proposal Writing Basics Charlotte Ross
Grant Applications 101 Are you interested in applying for a grant for yourself, for your school or your community in the area of sport, arts, culture or recreation? Are you feeling overwhelmed with how to begin the process? Attend this session to learn the basics of grant application in SK for First Nations and Metis communities. Equip yourself with the tools and knowledge to submit a sound proposal and learn the steps to success. Bring your ideals and interests to add to the discussion and ways of funding your projects
#202 Traditional Men’s Teaching Walter Linklater
Colonization has interfered with the traditional roles of Indigenous men - Come and learn from the Anishinabe/Ojibway/Cree traditional mens roles. Indigenous men have four roles – firekeepers, warriors, providers and teachers. Of relationships between men and women, he says, “There’s supposed to be a balance. The way that I look at it is that the Sacred Pipe, there’s the bowl and there’s the stem…the bowl represents the woman and the medicines and the fire that’s inside it… Women carry that fire of life and it’s the man who has to protect that…and it’s not complete until you put the two together. Learn how to support your students, families in this session.
#203 Overview of Teaching Resources Elgin Bunston
Did you know that the Ministry of Education provides a wealth of resources for students and teachers, available in schools and at home through the Blackboard Learning Management System? Find out what you can access in terms of tools, information resources, programs, and professional learning opportunities and where to find them.
#300 Blanket Exercise - Exploring Our Past through Role Playing
Ian Worme
Description: The Blanket Exercise is an educational tool that gives its audience an in-depth understanding of the shared history between the Indigenous people of Turtle Island and Canada. Through role playing, participants and observers are able to feel and understand the relationship between the two groups. It guides participants through the history of pre-contact, contact, and post-contact and explores major themes federal policies and programs. It is a tool that is excellent for educating in the history of Canada and its involvement of assimilating and colonizing Indigenous societies and the effects that has had on them.
#301 The First Nations - Significance and Teachings of the Tipi Mary Lee
As Cree people, we were given the gift of being named for the four parts of human beings. Nehiyawak, we were called. The tipi teachings relate to nurturing the four aspects of the self: the spiritual, physical, emotional and mental; which are rooted in the four directions. The tipi is also a symbol of the women; so in honour of my mother, great grandmother and Cree women everywhere, I will share some of these tipi teachings with you.
#302 Cree Women’s Traditional Teaching Marie Linklater
Come and learn about traditional Cree Women’s teaching in this session. Learn about the roles of women in traditional Cree society. From earliest times to the present day, in all cultures, women have traditionally been society’s healers as healing has been regarded as the natural responsibility of mothers and wives and a natural manifestation of the feminine principle. Healing has a long alliance with faith, belief, spirit, family support, the web of everyday life, and altered states of consciousness. Healing is defined as the return toward the natural state of integrity and wholeness of an individual.
Healing is the process of bringing together aspects of one’s body-mind-spirit to a deeper level of inner knowing that leads toward integration and balance.
# 303 Education Networks Ron Lawson, Myrna Martyniuk
Most schools, including those on reserves, are part of CommunityNet (CNet). Learn how the various provincial education networks are structured and what this means for individual schools. Find out about some best practices for effectively deploying technology in the classroom and making the most of available bandwidth.
#400 Culture through crafts: Mini drum making Noreen Ray
You will participate in designing and making your own mini drums. Drums will be made of hide, tin cans and paint. Each participant will be taking their own craft home.
#401 Culture through crafts: Tipi teaching Cindy McKay
You will participate in designing and making your own tipi. Tipis will be made of canvas on a wooden base. Each participant will be taking their own craft home.
#402 ColourSpectrums: A Universal Language Supporting Diverse Child Development Rob Chubb
Inspired by the medicine wheel, you too will be inspired to use your four colours to support diverse child development. Sort four ColourSpectrums cards to reveal your personality as a unique spectrum of BLUE spiritual/emotional intelligence, GREEN mental/cognitive intelligence, RED physical intelligence and YELLOW cultural/organizational intelligence. Learn how to use the medicine wheel’s holistic wisdom to support child development across the four strands of wellness, spiritual, culture and education. ColourSpectrums is conducted in a positive atmosphere of natural respect, cultural sensitivity and entertainment.