Caitlin Langford’s Weblog Log
Module One

Below are a few links to sites that I have found useful for my students and myself when teaching about Aboriginal people and Canadian history. There are also some online resources that have caught my interests, as I start to discover what I will research for this course.

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Twitter

Twitteris an onlinesocial networking andmicrobloggingservice that allows users to send and read messages that are a maximum of 140-characters each. These messages are called "tweets". Twitter is an excellent starting place for any internet research. You can network with experts all over the world and be linked to thousands of sources with a few simple searches. As a registered user you can read and post tweets, but if you do not want to resister you can still read tweets. Twitter is also very user friendly and can be accessed easily from a mobile device.Here are a few (of many) suggestions of hashtags to search or people to follow:

Hashtags
# / #abed
#abedchat
#IndigenousEd
People to follow
@ / @FNESC

”FNESC is committed to improving BC First Nations education.”
@IENatOISE

” The Indigenous Education Network at OISE provides a space for Indigenous centered education, research and community building/outreach.”
@UBCLonghouse

”Tweets on Aboriginal initiatives and events at the University of British Columbia and things beyond”
@YIEUBC

”News, events, and updates about the Year of Indigenous Education at the Faculty of Education, UBC Vancouver.”
@WabKinew

”Anishinaable. Father. UWinnipeg AVP of Indigenous Relations. Aljazeera Fault Lines Correspondent. TRC Honorary Witness. Martial Arts.”

MEDIA

  • CTV’s First Story

First Story is a half an hour TV series on CTV on Aboriginal current affairs in Canada. Almost all of the episodes our available online at the website listed above. I have used the shows in my teaching and in my own education. They often connect the past and history of First Nations groups and our country with present day issues and events. I find them entertaining and interesting.

  • CBC’s Achieves

This site offers a collection of print, radio and television clips from CBC’s achieves. It is an excellent way to see how things have been report in the past. It can also be note worthy to see what is not there. The site also has a teachers section - - which includes lesson plans and ideas. I have often used CBC’s Achieves when teaching history.

WEBSITES

  • The Canadian Encyclopaedia – Aboriginal People

The digital interactive version of the Canadian Encyclopaedia’sis a nice place to gather basic info and background info as a starting place or for topics you are unfamiliar with.

The link is for the Aboriginal People section, but of course the site has updated information about most Canadian people and events. The site is always being added to and revised. It also offers a “learning centre” for teachers with classroom resources.

  • Indigenous Foundation Arts - UBC

The website was created by the First Nations Studies Program at UBC. The Indigenous Foundations is a site with information on topics relating to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. I have often directed my students to use this site to aid them in their research.

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

  • Assembly of First Nations - Topic

The aims of the Assembly of First Nations are to protect treaty rights and other interests of First Nations in Canada. This channel is a collection of videos on health, education, culture and language as they relate to the First Nations population.

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Caitlin Langford’s Weblog Log
Module Two

Below are a few links to sites that I have found while attempting to narrow my search to fit in with my interests for my final paper. I have been focusing on popular media representations of Aboriginal populations over the years.

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Twitter

A few more suggestions of hashtags to search or people to follow:

Hashtags
# / #nativefilm
#nativemovies
People to follow
@ / @LASKINSFEST

”Native American Film Festival, Concert, Sketch Showcase and other cool stuff located in Los Angeles every November.”
@IJInit

”Indigenous voice & POV in journalism, photojournalism, & media ☼ storytellers, investigators, experts, creatives, & academics ☼ tweets by @murrjw”

WEBSITES

  • CBC’s The 8th Fire

8th Fire: Aboriginal Peoples, Canada & the Way Forward is a Canadian broadcast documentary series. It has television, radio and web broadcasting components. The focus is on the changing nature of Canada's relationship with its First Nations communities. You can get a sense for that theme from this opening clip:

The website offers several helpful sections. You can stream the TV shows and the radio show. There is also map section which has several nice visuals that would be helpful for students and a section called Aboriginal 101 with a few video clips covering some basic information. Finally there is a section on with bios on Aboriginal filmmakers which I am hoping will be helpful with my final paper.

  • Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is a Canadian broadcast cable television network. Their programs are made by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples. The programming includes documentaries, news magazines, dramas, entertainment specials, children's series, movies, sports events, educational programs and more.
I particularly like the website because it offers a lot of their programming for streaming online. I also really like the large selection of kids shows available and the news sections which offers stories that are not normally covered on traditional new programs.

  • Vision Maker Video

Vision Maker Media shares Aboriginal stories, cultures, experiences, and values with the world. Their fundamental vision is to support Native media. They serve American Indians and Alaska Natives producing public broadcasting programs in television and radio. They also support training of American Indians and Alaska Natives in producing broadcasting programs. Their end goal is to reaching the general public with Native produced media that shares the Native perspectives.
Like the other websites in my log for this module this one also has a section where you can watch video of their programming. They also have a section with podcasts and an educators section with links to resources for different grade levels.

  • First Nations Film ad Video Festival

The Festival aims to provide an appropriate venue for Native American film and video makers to tell their side of the story (to represent themselves.) They particularly embrace work that breaks stereotypes and promotes awareness of contemporary issues. While I cannot watch the films from the website I believe that it can point me in the right direction to some modern First Nations made films.

  • imagineNATIVE

A Canadian film festival, that promotes and celebrates Canadian and international Indigenous filmmakers and media artists. Like the American version mentioned above they hope to dispel Indigenous stereotype through media from within their communities.
It is a well put together website with many useful links, including video links and artist information.
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YOUTUBE CHANNELS

  • Indigenous Peoples – Topic

A set of videos on Indigenous people

Ideas:
Other countries
TED and TED ED
YouTube Channels

American Indian Higher Education Consortium
Dakota Language Homepage
Native American Indian Resource Site

Cradleboard.org

CD Rom

The Native Americans (1995)

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Caitlin Langford’s Weblog Log
Module Three

Below are a few more links to sites that I have found while attempting to narrow my search to fit in with my interests for my final paper. I have been focusing on popular media representations of Aboriginal populations over the years.

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Twitter

A few more suggestions of hashtags to search or people to follow:

Hashtags
# / #notamascot
#slurskins
#changethename
#changethename
#changethemascot
#notyourmascot
#nohonorinracism

MEDIA

  • Gyasi Ross on Change The Mascot Name Redskins Controversy (2014)

A YouTube video clip from the show ESPN Outside The Lines, guest Gyasi Ross discuses the “Change The Mascot”, “Change The Name,” Redskins Debate. Gyasi Ross explains that all Aboriginals do not feel the same way about the issue; however it should be left up their to decide what words (and images) are appropriate to use or not.

  • The Fighting Whities - American Morning with Paula Zahn, March 13 2002

A YouTube clip from CNN Sport Illustrated with Keith Olbermann, Anderson Cooper and Paula Zahn. They discuss an intramural sports team called the Fighting Whities. The team picked this name in protest of the schools mascot and to bring attention to offensive mascots. I have used this story in several social studies classes, and have found it helps to start really good discussions.
Here is a link to an article on the same story:

They now also have an online store:

GOOGLE BOOKS

  • Hollywood's Indian: The Portrayal of the Native American in Film

I certainly have not read this whole book, I do hope to use parts of it to inform my research. I like that it offers analyses of specific films as well as a “bigger picture” the industry and how they portray Aboriginals in film.

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

  • Rights And Warriors: First Nations, Media And Identity
    Gail Valaskakis

This article focuses on the portrayal of Aboriginals in news media. It centers around the Oka Crisis and its aftermath. Valaskakis discuses how the warrior image came out of those events and made a lasting impression both inside First Nations communities and outside. While I was originally going to focus my research on fiction, I found this article to be very interesting. It would also be very relevant in a BC social studies 11 class.

  • Cowboys and Indians: Perceptions of Western Films Among American Indians and Anglos
    JoEllen Shively

Shively surveys a group of Anglos and a group of Aboriginal males on their enjoyment of western movies. The focus is on the film The Searchers (1956). All of the participants enjoyed the movie (and Westerns in general) despite the portrayal of the “Indians” as “the bad guys,” In many ways there was very little ethic bias affecting the participant’s responses. Shively reviews the responses and attempts to explain some of them further. I found the results to be very interesting, I am hoping to find some more current surveys of a similar nature.
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Caitlin Langford’s Weblog Log
Module Four

GOOGLE SCHOLAR
Indigenous Media Gone Global: Strengthening Indigenous Identity On- and Offscreen at the First Nations\First Features Film Showcase
Kristin Dowell

Dowell’s article focuses on First Nations film showcases. She writes about some of the themes in Aboriginal films, mainly family dynamics, traditional stories, contemporary realities and urban lifestyles and connection to the land. Dowell gives many examples and summaries of films that fall under each of those themes. She also addresses the networking and community building that takes place at these showcases. The concerns and challenges facing Aboriginal film makers also feature in the article. Dowell writes about the difficulties in finding funding and gaining positions of power within the industry. I particularly liked that Dowell discusses the intended audiences of the films and how the film makers should not have to apologise for making movies for their own culture.

MEDIA/WEBSITES

Raven Tales


The above site is a website for the series Raven Tales. They are half hour Computer-Generated Imaging animations for children. They are meant to share or introduce Aboriginal storytelling while using humour. They focus on the stories of the adventures of Raven. The stories are told using three principal characters, Raven, Eagle and Frog. Every episode is on a different Raven Tale that has been adapted from the traditions of many Aboriginal nations, including;Haida, Salish, Kwakiutl, Cree, Salish, Nisgaa, Comanche, Navaho among others.
You can watch the episode on the Bald Eagle here:

The Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit Adventure

Nanisiniq Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (The IQ Adventure) website in both English and Inuktitut, where you can learn about the Inuit from the Inuit. It is an interactive movie about an adventure by Sea in Nunavut, Canada. Throughout the movie there are scenarios in which the user will discover the Territory of Nunavut and have roles and responsibilities along the way. The site also includes computer games in the video, where the users will have to demonstrate your ability in Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ). There are also searchable databases of Inuit art, as well as audio of Inuit Elders sharing the adventures of Kiviuq among many other resources!

For more on the Qaujimajatuqangit Adventureyou can read the following article:
Inuit Cyberspace: The Struggle for Access for Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit

Alexander, Cynthia JView Profile. Journal of Canadian Studies43.2 (Spring 2009): 220-249,263.

Kiviuq’s Journey


This site presents Kiviuq’s story Kiviuq (a legendary hero of the epic stories of the Inuit of the Arctic) in the words of Inuit elders. Forty Inuit elders generously shared their memories of Kiviuq with filmmaker John Houston and storyteller Kira Van Deusen. The elders wanted their stories to be available to young people both in Nunavut and beyond. In most cases the story appears in three languages and writing systems: English, Inuktitut syllabics, and Inuinnaqtun.

Kitkmeot – Heritage Society


A website by the volunteer run Kitikmeot Heritage Society. It is a charitable organization from the community of CambridgeBay. The society is dedicated to preserving and promoting culture, language and history across the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. The site features artist and their work. They also have videos and many other resources. Here is a link to their youtube page:

FILMS

Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance

This site streams a Canadian documentary about the military 1990 siege of the First Nations reserve near Oka, Quebec, and its causes. It portrays the showdown between the Mohawk Nation and the mostly white Quebec town of Oka.Alanis Obomsawin of the Abenaki tribe describes conflict that last 11 weeks and arguably had no winners. This documentary includes a historical section and interviews with politicians. It captures much of the Mohawk identity and struggle.