This paper explores the professional experience of an Anishnabe educator working in various organisations teaching Indigenous knowledge issues in both Aboriginal and primarily non-Aboriginal settings. The reflections span a number of years of teaching Aboriginal worldview and knowledge issues courses and include formal evaluations from both…

This paper will discuss some personal philosophies and rationales in approaching and delivering Indigenous Australian studies--approaches that have been influenced and informed by experienced and knowledgeable educators both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. It doesn't aim or pretend to be unique or innovative in its arguments or approach; instead,…

In this paper, the author describes the reactions and review of two reporters who attended the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in 2004. One reporter, Marc Fisher, said "The museum feels like a trade show in which each group of Indians gets space to sell its founding myth and favorite anecdotes of survival." Another,…

New Zealand has had free, state, secular education since 1877, but just what is meant by secularism is changing. Since the 1980s the growth of Maori education initiatives has mushroomed and these place emphasis on Maori values and beliefs, including spirituality. In addition, in 1999 a definition and statement on spirituality appeared in the…

There is a growing recognition of the need to change current dietary patterns and of the value of traditional foodways. The Center for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment, based at McGill University in Montreal, is a research and education resource for Indigenous Peoples created by Canada's Aboriginal Leaders to support traditional…

This article explores the impact of worldview on a people's approach to dealing with conflict and compare the worldviews underlying specific Western and Indigenous approaches to dealing with conflict. It suggests that power imbalances in conflict resolution research and practice perpetuate colonization through ontological violence, marginalizing…

The past two decades has witnessed the mushrooming of Islamic schools in Europe, the United States and South Africa. Initially, these schools were concerned essentially with providing an Islamic ethos for learners. More recently, however, they have begun to focus on the process of Islamization. The Islamization project was initiated in the United…

This article reports how students at Seattle's public Alternative School #1 carved a long lasting connection with the native Haida people of Alaska. These students created a 40-foot canoe with the guidance of Robert Peele, an artist and a descendant of Haida royalty, whose ancestors once carved a 63-foot canoe now on display at the American Museum…

This volume of transformed research utilizes an activist approach to examine the notion that nothing is apolitical. Research projects themselves are critically examined for power orientations, even as they are used to address curricular problems and educational or societal issues. Philosophical perspectives that have facilitated an understanding…

Thinking about the museum's engagement in educational programmes is increasingly adopting a more critical perspective on the implications of a programme in authorizing and defining particular knowledge. While objects are still invoked to define history and culture and to underscore their authority, the museum's claim to educational purposes is…

Pragmatism has been rediscovered in recent years and presented as emblematic of modern thinking. At the center of this worldwide interest in late-nineteenth century Pragmatism stood, first, a rejection of the traditional dualistic construction of the world in philosophy and psychology; second, a distinguishing of the findings of learning theory…

Indigenous communities are beginning to realize the potential benefits digital technologies can offer with regard to the documentation and preservation of their histories and cultures. However, they are also coming to understand the opportunities for knowledge misuse and misappropriation of their knowledge which may accompany digitization. In this…

In the past few years, transnational corporations and university researchers received patents for traditional medicines and for food and textile plants used by indigenous peoples without returning any benefits to those peoples. In light of U.S. and Canadian government claims that traditional knowledge is not intellectual property, indigenous…

A three-phase research project included a literature review on Canadian Aborigine literacy, interviews and focus groups, and a symposium and follow-up workshops. Findings were as follows: (1) Aboriginal literacy has a distinct, culturally appropriate holistic perspective; (2) no single educational practice is best; (3) funding tied to…

Discusses common issues in indigenous education worldwide: indigenous peoples' struggle for control of their education, which is inevitably situated in larger indigenous struggles for self-determination and social justice; revitalization and transmission of indigenous cultures and languages; problems of defining "indigenous;" and the legitimacy of…