This article is based on our Memoir Pedagogy Reading Circles research. Using an interpretative sociological case study methodology, we facilitated two groups that read and discussed women's memoirs as living texts of society, culture, and history; we read the self and the social through the personal narratives of violence, survival, and…

The choices teachers make about both form and content in designing their courses shape students' perceptions of the connection between "real life" and the "classroom." The choice to begin a first-year law course with stories told by residential school survivors provides an example of how to bring "real life" into the…

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…

This article explores the development of culturally relevant teaching practices of non- Native teachers in First Nations communities. The findings were gathered from a qualitative study that asked First Nations and non-Native educators what they believed non-Native teachers needed to know about cultivating student success for First Nations…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the extent to which students with Aboriginal status receive disproportionate rates of office discipline referrals (ODRs) and more severe administrative consequences relative to students without Aboriginal status. The participants were 1,750 students in five rural British Columbia and Alberta…

This paper provides a historical review of the education system in Canada and its impact on Indigenous women. By doing so, I hope to address the inequities that surround current educational policies and practices. Also in this paper, I critically investigate the salient aspects of the educational experiences of the women in a contemporary context,…

As an Aboriginal educator, teaching Aboriginal students has, over time and very simply, become the author's focus, passion, and life's work. Her life's journey as an Aboriginal educator, through service to others, has been professionally and personally fulfilling, and is yet evolving. For instance, as her intertwined educational and life's journey…

Since the beginning of time, Aboriginal people have had a high regard for education. Euro-Canadian contact with Aboriginal peoples has and continues to have devastating effects. The encroachment on their traditional territory has affected the lands and resources forever. Generations of experience within the residential school system have greatly…

Child sexual abuse (CSA) lead to short-term sequelae and long-lasting pervasive outcomes. Research has started addressing CSA as a potential risk factor for later addictions, including pathological gambling. Among Aboriginal peoples, it is plausible that the legacy of residential schooling and other historical traumas have led to unresolved grief…

"Mamow-Sha-way-gi-kay-win": North-South Partnership for Children represents a coalition of individuals and organizations from southern Ontario who have partnered with First Nations Chiefs, community leaders, Elders, youth and community members from 30 remote northern communities. The collective goal of the Partnership is to learn from…

This study is shaped by an underlying theoretical assumption that literacy is a cultural practice, shaped by and shaping social factors such as culture, gender, politics, and economics. As a result, this article focuses on the literacy practices of two mothers who participated in the study. Because of their Aboriginal ancestry and the historical…

This report traces the development of initiatives in British Columbia, Canada to provide formal instruction for adults of Aboriginal heritage (also known as native or indigenous peoples), regardless of whether the learner completed secondary school. Activities in public as well as Aboriginal-governed institutions are described. Shorter sections…

Aboriginal communities in Canada are typically marginalized, have very low employment participation rates, and have limited economic infrastructure. The downturn in global economies further marginalized these communities. The University of Northern British Columbia's (UNBC) Continuing Studies department piloted an Aboriginal and Small Business…