In this theoretical article, I examine various conceptions of focused listening--including those held by specific First Nations communities--to determine how each conception might offer insights for listening while conducting cross-cultural music education research. First, I discuss the notion of "Big Ears," as it is understood by the…

This article looks at how colonialism has contributed to the racialized history of Indigenous people by unethical diagnostic implementations of categories and classifications, while overlooking exceptionalities when assessing Indigenous people. By understanding how settler-colonial assessments and/or diagnostic tests have been developed and…

In 1867, Canada's federal government became responsible for the education of Indigenous peoples: Status Indians and some Métis would attend schools on reserves; non-Status Indians and some Métis would attend provincial schools. The system set the stage for decades of broken promises and misguided experiments that are only now being rectified in…

Students in social studies classrooms are faced with a barrage of images, many of which represent historical trauma and violence. Although photographs can be used as pedagogical tools to represent experiences of injustice and elicit deeper understanding, they also activate affective and unrelated responses in students. In this case study, I…

The impact of Residential Schools on Indigenous People has left a long-lasting crippling effect on the subsequent generations of Indigenous youth. The resultant intergenerational loss of identity and self-value has cost the Indigenous People and their communities immensely. Aboriginal People based their education system on the real world around…

"Power through Testimony" documents how survivors are remembering and reframing our understanding of residential schools in the wake of the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a forum for survivors, families, and communities to share their memories and stories with the…

How can creating a simple stick figure comic help us tell -- and deeply listen to -- true stories of social injustice and practice anti-oppression strategies? More specifically, how can creating a series of stick-figure comics help learners enhance their understanding of the Indigenous Peoples' testimonies in the Truth and Reconciliation Report…

In this paper, I discuss one photograph from a youth who participated in a 12-week arts based educational program I facilitated for Indigenous Young Adults at the Native Youth Drop-In centre in Toronto, Canada. By being able to communicate through their artwork, the youth shifted away from thinking of themselves as victims, and exuded a sense of…

There is a correlation between the Levels of student achievement in formal Western schools and the levels of involvement that their parents have in this education. Many First Nations students have low levels of achievement, which can be attributed to a lack of parental involvement. The negative perception of school left behind from residential…

Canada's Aboriginal people connect history to their loss of identity, grounded in Nation based languages and beliefs. Recovering from colonization requires healing wounds that festered during residential school and the 60's scoop. Treating family violence and addictions is more than an individual reality for many of today's Aboriginals. It is a…

The Indian residential school system in Canada was established to assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream society by removing the "Indian within them." In the past 20 years survivors of the schools have come forward with stories of physical and sexual abuse perpetrated against them by staff. However, what is significantly less…

Education is stated as the number one priority of the Government of Nunavut's "Sivumiut Abluqta" mandate. The Nunavut education system is seen by many as failing to provide Inuit with the promise of supporting Inuit economic and social well-being. Today in Nunavut, there is a growing awareness of the effects of past colonialist polices…