Author: Elisabeth Bigwin
Source: reprinted with permission
This summary and discussion is based on research that I have conducted, and on my work as a teacher in a First Nations community and as an Education Advisor to six First Nations groups. This work by no means represents a political position nor is it representative of all First Nations people.
Philosophy of Education
- Prepares for life from a holistic viewpoint
- Incorporates the principles of wholeness, integration, respect for the spiritual and natural world, and balance
- Reflects values of self reliance, respect for personal freedom, generosity, respect for nature and wisdom
- Education should prepare children to gain the necessary skills for successful living and to contribute to the community
- Education should reinforce the student’s cultural identity
Role of Culture
- Students function more successfully when cultural values are reinforced and where there is a strong self-identity
- The approach to education must become more culturally appropriate; teaching methods should be more conceptual and less analytical; dialogue with less lecturing; creative thinking with less memory work; hands-on experiential methods as opposed to just book learning
- Each language and culture group is unique so educators need to understand the local culture group (i.e. northern Ojibway needs are defined very differently from southern Ojibway)
Language
We talk about the importance of language but I wonder if we fully understand the intrinsic value. In the Native languages, many words represent concepts and, therefore, word for word translation is impossible. (Tafoya, 1995; Cordero, 1995; Leavitt, 1995) Tafoya’s example of using the eagle story illustrates this idea. “In the Sahaptin language, Xaiyama means a golden eagle; there is a different word for the bald eagle, but with Xaiyama the yai suffix denotes what we call legend language. So it is the idea of the concept, the abstraction, the spirit of the eagle rather than the eagle itself” (page 24). This distinction is difficult to understand. Ojibway is much the same. More than word for word translation is required to extract meaning. There are limitations to communicating in English where the structure does not allow for the expression of certain ideas.
Cordero talks about the Native languages as being to critical to overall educational success. “The ability to preserve Native cultures depends on native students using native languages, because these languages, as complex as they are, convey complex cultural meanings. The use—of metaphor, affixes, suffixes and prefixes in Native languages is part of the cultural definition of being human” (page 34). Leavitt discusses differences between Native languages and English. In Native languages, a shape is not described in an isolated way, as is the case when we teach geometry, for example, in an English language setting. In the Native languages, description of shapes is always applied as the property of an object. The actual word would be the noun with an added part used to depict the idea. There would not be a separate word used such as “square”. Natural phenomena too are not translatable word for word. The speaker sees words such as “wind” and “moon” as actions. All this implies that there is a different way of knowing in the Native world. Approaches to knowledge and teaching where Native students are involved means understanding these differences.
Sacred Circle
To “know” through an aboriginal worldview is to develop a fundamental understanding of the Sacred Circle, through which we learn the reality of our being. For all life moves in a circle, in recurring patterns such as that of the seasons and cycles of birth to death. The Sacred Circle symbol represents the four directions, which in turn represent the four races, the four aspects of humanness, the four cycles of life, the four elements and the four seasons. When applied to education, the Sacred Circle provides a framework through which we move to a sense of wholeness, interdependence and balance. Once upon a time, educational goals for youth were meant to perpetuate the knowledge that would ensure economic, spiritual and cultural continuance. Knowledge was of itself and sacred. The passing down of knowledge from generation to generation through the elders was driven by this circle. Are we able to return to this? To know and respect that all living things are connected is to understand the importance of finding one’s place. This great respect for all things living is because human survival depends on other life forms.
Ceremony
Understanding of and respect for ceremony is key to our well-being as a people, for it is through participation in our ceremonies that we connect with each other and with all that the Creator has granted. Each Native group practices their own rituals such as the sweet grass and pipe ceremonies used in formal meeting forums and in times of mourning. Through this sharing one becomes part of it and experiences something for which there are no words.
Orality
Once we were a society richly based in oral tradition where the rhythm of the voice allowed us to become emotionally connected to the meaning. The elders were needed to tell us of our ways. The language was a life unto itself, and when we lose the language we lose our thought processes as well. From a contemporary standpoint, we have had to reconstruct what oral tradition means to our culture. Graveline (1998) discusses that thought patterns, prior to colonization, were an unconscious part of our being patterned through stories and rituals. As we translate this consciousness into words, into another language, we are formulating a modern form of communication where some of the meaning is lost.
References
Cordero, Carlos (1995). “A Working and Evolving Definition of Culture.” In Canadian Journal of Native Education. Vol.21 Supplement.
Graveline, Fyre Jean (1998). Circle Works. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing
Leavitt, Robert (1995). “Language and Cultural Content in Native Education.” In The Circle Unfolds. Marie Battiste and Jean Barman, eds., Vancouver: UBC Press.
Tafoya, T. (1995). “Finding Harmony.” In Canadian Journal of Native Education. Vol.21.
**Personal Information that could be added to information sheet in the Programming Working Group binder.
Notes from the author
My work as an educator in a First Nations school and in the provincial education system has afforded me varied roles and perspectives. As a person of Native ancestry I have known confusion in these systems. One of my current areas of focus is building relations between the First Nations communities that are members of the Ogemawahj Tribal Council and the district school boards. I see that there is a continuing need for progress to be made in terms of education of our Native children. I see part of my role as being an advocate for a heightened awareness of what it means to be “different”; as a link between different lifeways. As I weave my way through the systems that have become my work experience, I hope to draw a path that may ease the way for others.