Canada - East Side

I must have been a tad suss looking when I landed in Toronto, I had to go through border control twice - the 2nd time in a side little room. But after they realised I was just a crazy teacher from Lightning Ridge they let me straight through and it was wonderful to learn lots of new things in Toronto about Aboriginal and First Nation Canadians.

One of the best things about my stay in Toronto, was being able to attend a guest speaker session at the Toronto District School Board's (TDSB) Aboriginal Education Centre (AEC). The speaker they  invited me to attend was Dr Pamela Palmater who presented on the current state of Canadian-First Nations relations. This was a really insightful session, and a big 'eye opener' to the horrible history that Canadian First Nations have endured and the lasting impacts of this.

Some powerful points that Dr Palmater delivered in regards to First Nations people and education in Canada were:

• First Nations poverty is continuing to get worse and not better, even while Canada is getting richer.
• First Nations educational funding is so low that it can be classed as discriminatory.
• $3.3 Billion dollar deficit in First Nations education
• Allies not Saviours - indigenous people need allies so they can lead the change. This needs to be supported by a wider community of non-indigenous Canadians.
• There cannot be true 'reconciliation' until all of the truth is out there about the history of First Nations people and poor treatment in Residential Schools, Skinning campaigns and 'Starlight Tours'
• Laws exist that provide 'legislative extinction' of First Nation Canadians - where your rights to being 'Indian' expire according to a bill (hers is in 75 years). This allows the government to take back treaty rights and all that it encompasses. 

Dr Pamela Palmater presented such an engaging workshop and I am eager to read more of her work. She has published a number of items - first on my reading list is: Beyond Blood: Rethinking Aboriginal Identity and Belonging. Her website is definitely worth checking out too:
Indigenous Nationhood

Another great day in Toronto, was my visit to OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) which is a part of the University of Toronto. This is a large library dedicated solely to Education resources! When I went to Uni, the Education library was a small section of our campus library, here the library is floors and has its own subway stop!

The librarians at OISE were so helpful and it was great to spend the day immersing myself in quality education research. One of the great finds of the day was the following article:

Monroe, E., Borden, L., Orr, A., Toney, D. & Meader, J. (2013). Decolonising Aboriginal Education in the 21st Century. McGill Journal of Education, 48(2), 317-338.

This has been the first piece of literature that really integrates both aspects of my research - Aboriginal Education and Technology. It is a quality read - and I particularly like how it identifies links between 21st Century pedagogy and traditional learning of Aboriginal people. Makes it seem not so new after-all!