Here comes our second webinar in our new partnership with the Robertson Program

Dr. Jean-Paul Restoule and I are excited to partner with The Robertson Program for Inquiry-based Teaching in Mathematics in Science for a new webinar series which begins on March 29th at 7pm (EST). Tickets are free and everyone is welcome.

About our guests this month

Marlo Beaucage is a member of the Red Rock Indian Band. She graduated in 2008 from Lakehead University, Native Teacher Education program with a Bachelor of Arts degree focusing on English and Ojibwe language. After teaching Ojibwe for five years in the provincial school system, Marlo began to teach within Aroland First Nation at Johnny Therriault School, where she taught Grades 1/2, 3/4, and 7/8. She is currently the Special Education Resource Teacher along with the Coordinator of Choose Life. Marlo also had the opportunity to collaborate and provide her classroom experience and story for Natural Curiosity 2nd Edition. Marlo has acquired Principal’s Qualifications and is currently pursuing a Master of Education with a focus in land-based education through Lakehead University in partnership with Biigtigong Nishnaabeg. Her research and thesis will focus on incorporating authentic land-based teachings that support student identity and Ojibwe language revitalization within the classroom and school setting, all while respecting community values and traditions.

Nancy O'Donnell is a member of Red Rock Indian Band and has been working in education for the past 26 years. She has a range of experiences teaching in Primary, Junior/Intermediate and Secondary divisions. Seven of her 26 years of teaching have been in First Nations in Northwestern Ontario; for the other 19 years, she has worked in the provincial school system. Nancy obtained her Honours in Biological Science degree from the University of Guelph, which led to her passion for teaching secondary school Biology. Nancy recently moved into a leadership position as the Indigenous Education Lead and is currently working for the Anishinabek Education System as an Education Coordinator. She recently obtained her Principal’s Qualifications and is completing a Master of Education with a land-based focus, through Lakehead University in partnership with the community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg. Nancy is committed to supporting education for Anishnaabek youth by recognizing the importance of language, culture and identity as key areas of education.

Webinar Description

Indigenous land-based teachings, when carried out in collaboration with community Elders or Knowledge Keepers, can provide rich learning experiences for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Educators in this session will be provided with ideas and connections in mathematics and science using Indigenous land-based experiences. Learn how to connect these activities to the current curriculum!

Click here to sign up to sign up!

Classroom Advocacy in the KPDSB

Last week a few tweets from educator Shannon Elliot (@mselliottKPDSB) caught my eye and I am grateful for her permission to share them in Listen & Learn.

On March 11, 2021 Premier Doug Ford accused NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa of jumping the line for his vaccine, and getting it in a community where he "doesn't belong."

This comment was false, as all Indigenous adults across Ontario qualify for the vaccine as part of Phase 1 and because Mamakwa was specifically invited to the community he received the vaccine in, in order to raise awareness and combat vaccine hesitancy.

Ms. Elliott highlighted the following quotation from that exchange the next day in her classroom:

"Indigenous People in Ontario are "happy as punch" As I've heard from numerous people, the Indigenous community has never been treated better."

- Premier Doug Ford, March 11, 2021

On Twitter, she shared images of her students conducting research prior to preparing responses to this comment, and then shared some of the hand written letters and videos they produced. Links to their work are here, here, and here.

I want to thank Ms. Elliot for sharing her students engagement and demonstrating a way to speak back to power - those tweets were a hopeful light in an awful month.

I was furious at Ford's comments - in February, a First Nation community that I have a longstanding relationship with had a horrible outbreak of COVID-19 and many of my friends and their children were sick, and it was a huge relief when the vaccines made it to their community.

I watched from afar as they worked hard to stop the virus in its tracks, locking down completely with no in or out travelling, while ensuring everyone in the community had access to food, medicine, and water. (In this particular community, they cannot drink the water from their taps.)

I also watched community members who lived in town sharing that they were being denied services from local businesses and health providers, just because they were associated with the community. One friend was unable to get a flu shot for her baby because the health clinic was "not serving people from Wabaseemoong at this time." It was so prevalent, The Ontario Human Rights Commission issued a statement.

The racism online bubbled to the surface too. Tania Cameron, an Anishnaabe woman and advocate, called attention to the racism she saw on Facebook and asked people to "rise above the hate" and was met with numerous calls from the OPP asking her take down her criticism of the racist posts.

Ford flippantly said Indigenous people are "happy as punch" as a retort after lying so blatantly. As all this was happening I sat around feeling angry and helpless. Ms. Elliott's students did their research and then did something about it.

New webinar March 29th! Part 2 in Indigenous ways of knowing in Math and Science

Learn more and sign up here

Indigenous land-based teachings, when carried out in collaboration with community Elders or Knowledge Keepers, can provide rich learning experiences for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Educators in this session will be provided with ideas and connections in mathematics and science using Indigenous land-based experiences. Learn how to connect these activities to the current curriculum.

This event will take place on March 29th at 7pm EST and is free to all who sign up.

About the Speakers:

Marlo Beaucage is a member of the Red Rock Indian Band. She graduated in 2008 from Lakehead University, Native Teacher Education program with a Bachelor of Arts degree focusing on English and Ojibwe language. After teaching Ojibwe for five years in the provincial school system, Marlo began to teach within Aroland First Nation at Johnny Therriault School, where she taught Grades 1/2, 3/4, and 7/8. She is currently the Special Education Resource Teacher along with the Coordinator of Choose Life. Marlo also had the opportunity to collaborate and provide her classroom experience and story for Natural Curiosity 2nd Edition. Marlo has acquired Principal’s Qualifications and is currently pursuing a Master of Education with a focus in land-based education through Lakehead University in partnership with Biigtigong Nishnaabeg. Her research and thesis will focus on incorporating authentic land-based teachings that support student identity and Ojibwe language revitalization within the classroom and school setting, all while respecting community values and traditions.

Nancy O'Donnell is a member of Red Rock Indian Band and has been working in education for the past 26 years. She has a range of experiences teaching in Primary, Junior/Intermediate and Secondary divisions. Seven of her 26 years of teaching have been in First Nations in Northwestern Ontario; for the other 19 years, she has worked in the provincial school system. Nancy obtained her Honours in Biological Science degree from the University of Guelph, which led to her passion for teaching secondary school Biology. Nancy recently moved into a leadership position as the Indigenous Education Lead and is currently working for the Anishinabek Education System as an Education Coordinator. She recently obtained her Principal’s Qualifications and is completing a Master of Education with a land-based focus, through Lakehead University in partnership with the community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg. Nancy is committed to supporting education for Anishnaabek youth by recognizing the importance of language, culture and identity as key areas of education.

About the Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Math and Science Series:

The Robertson Program and Kikinoo'amaadawin are partnering to produce a free webinar series highlighting Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Math and Science. These webinars showcase the ways Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing in their math and science classrooms.

In 2019, Dr. Restoule and Dr. Nardozi released the Kikinoo’amaadawin Webinar Series, which focused generally on ways to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing in the classroom. Together with the Robertson Program, this special series will focus specifically on the ways Indigenous cultures and traditions are embedded in math and science concepts. Our goal is to teach educators about the many ways to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing into education.

Indigenous Languages in Canada

If you are interested in learning more about the history, structure, and current vitality of Indigenous languages, the Canadian Language Museum (located in Toronto) has a new booklet available which you can read online by clicking here.

If you have junior, intermediate, or senior students, they may enjoy learning from the museum's list of language apps and websites for Indigenous Languages from all across Turtle Island!

Anishinaabemowin at the TDSB

Are you an educator in the Toronto District School Board? Did you know that there are Anishinaabemowin classes available to all TDSB Virtual School students at the high school level which can be counted towards the mandatory language credit?

Help spread the word about:

- LNOAO1 (grade 9, Ojibwe)
- LNOBO1 (grade 10 Ojibwe)
- LNOCO1 (grade 11, Ojibwe)

These courses are taught by Lena Recollet who advocated for them to be included in the Virtual School and is now advocating to increase their enrollment.
You do not need to be Indigenous to take these courses.