chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Yukon Land Claims and Kwanlin Dün First Nation

Kwanlin Dün First Nation has a membership of approximately 1,130. A large number of its members live in the Whitehorse area, with the balance dispersed throughout Canada, the United States of America, (predominantly Alaska) and abroad. Kwanlin Dün First Nation is based in and around Whitehorse; about 75 percent of the territory's population live within its Traditional Territory. The Kwanlin Dün people have cultural affiliations with the Northern and Southern Tutchone as well as the Tagish from Marsh Lake. The Kwanlin Dün First Nation Final and Self-Government Agreements came into effect on April 1, 2005 and include a land quantum of approximately 1,035 sq. km, of which 647 sq. km is Category A Land with surface and subsurface rights and 388 sq. km is Category B Land with surface rights only.

Because of the topics covered in this presentation I want share the land acknowledgment from the study I have cited on the left side of the screen. As we are on Kwanlin Dun land I have included to the right, an excerpt from the Yukon land claims regarding Kwanlin Dün First Nations land ownership. I want to draw your attention to the end of the land claims excerpt where it states (legally) that Kwanlin Dün First Nation does not have subsurface rights to Category B land. That means any minerals, mines anything under the surface does not belong to the people we claim this land belongs to.

This treaty history is not well understood by Canadians (Miller,

2009) and yet it has become fashionable, of late to ritually recognize the original inhabitants of this

land. More than an empty recitation of history, we claim a settler identity in an attempt to put the

colonial context for our life and our work at the forefront. We acknowledge the Treaty relationships

that allow us to be here and we recognize the possibility of relating to each other in good ways

(Asch, 2014). Nonetheless, even as we work to undo the legacy and ongoing reality of settler- colonialism, we acknowledge that we, Canadians and the Canadian state, are not in good relations with our Indigenous neighbours.

As settlers, we are beneficiaries of the colonial system that has dispossessed and continues to dispossess Indigenous peoples of their land, lives, and resources. Echoing Fine et al. (2008), we recognize that, “those of us who are not Indigenous have been profoundly shaped by our witnessing

of colonization, by our roles as accomplices, abettors, exploiters, romanticizers, pacifiers,

assimilators, includers, forgetters, and democratizers” (pp. 159–160). We understand both Canada- past and Canada-present to be an ongoing settler-colonial project (Starblanket & Hunt, 2020, p. 49)

and we recognize how our lives are very much bound up in this project.

Shauneen Pete

Shauneen Pete is a Nehiyaw (Cree) woman from Little Pine First Nation in Treaty 6 Territory. Dr. Pete has worked in education for over twenty years as a high school teacher, educational consultant, and professor. She has also served as both Vice-President and Interim President at First Nations University of Canada.

While teaching undergraduate education courses, Pete prepares educators for the complexity of student and community diversities. She Indigenizes her content through purposefully selected works from Indigenous scholars and grounds her teaching in the theoretical frameworks of Red Pedagogy, Critical Multiculturalism, and TribalCrit. Through her students’ time with her, she hopes they will reconsider their ideas and perspectives of the “good white teacher.”

Dr. Pete holds a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Saskatchewan and a PhD in Higher Education from the University of Arizona.

In her chapter of the book, Dr. Pete navigates personal and professional struggles, as well as tensions within her preservice undergraduate education class during the Idle No More movement.

For my presentation of this chapter, I set out to embody the work she shares rather than simply tell you about it.

What is one strategy the author uses to Indigenize her curricular practices?

A

Focusing only on historical Indigenous issues

B

Avoiding controversial topics in class discussion

C

Purposefully selecting readings by First Nations and Métis scholars

D

Relying solely on mainstream media for information

What does the author hope her students will reconsider?

A

Their current understanding of the good white teacher

B

The benefits of the teacher-centred instruction

C

The necessity of standardized curriculum

D

The importance of classroom management

Curriculum Activity

 

In a break out group using the assigned big idea create a unit title and 3 topics that could be covered in your unit.

• I would ask that you NOT look at the BC curriculum. Use the knowledge that you already have to come up with a fun unit title and what could be taught during that unit.

• Let the big idea guide you

• You don’t need to include competencies or content

• subtopics can be broad

EXAMPLE :

Big idea: Identity is explored, expressed, and impacted through arts experiences.

Arts, Grade 9

Unit plan title: This Paint Taste Funny

 

Subtopics

-       Food art ( drawing, photography)

-       Cultural practices around eating food ( using hands, gender separation)

-       Sharing (what can be shared, why do we share?)

Big Idea :

Demographic changes in North America created shifts in economic and political power

Unit Title

Subtopics

Group 1 - grade 4 social studies

Big Idea :

Adopting healthy personal practices and safety strategies protects ourselves and others.

Unit Title

Subtopics

Group 2 - grade 2 physical and health education

Big Idea :

Daily and seasonal changes affect all living things.

Unit Title

Subtopics

Group 3 - Kindergarten, Science

Big Idea :

Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens

Unit Title

Subtopics

Group 4 - grade 7, English language arts

Drag and Drop Theory Review

Social Constructivism

Social Constructionism

Positivism

Evidence-based practice relies on measurable outcomes.

Categories like “normal” or “intelligent” are socially created.

The teacher scaffolds learning within the learner’s Zone of Proximal Development.

Language plays a central role in shaping what we consider reality.

Truth exists independently of culture or perspective.

Learning occurs through interaction and dialogue with others.

Knowledge is objective and can be measured through observable data.

Meaning is co-created through social interaction.

Social Constructivism (Vygotskian Lens)

Core Idea:

Learning happens socially. Knowledge is built through interaction.

Social Constructionism

Core Idea:

Reality itself is socially constructed through language, culture, and power.

it’s not just:

We learn socially.

It’s:

What we call “truth” is socially produced.

Positivism

Core Idea:

Knowledge is objective, measurable, and observable.

Truth exists independent of culture.

Red Pedagogy

Sandy Grande

1. Who benefits from schooling?

2. Whose knowledge is legitimized?

3. How does education uphold or challenge settler colonial structures?

1. Education is never neutral

2. Settler schooling reproduces colonial power structures

3. Indigenous knowledge must be centered

4. Liberation must include land, sovereignty, and material conditions — not just representation

Red Pedagogy is an Indigenous-centered framework for education that critiques colonial schooling and calls for education to support Indigenous sovereignty, resurgence, and decolonization. It positions schooling as a political site and challenges capitalism, settler colonialism, and white supremacy embedded in education systems.

Rather than simply including Indigenous content red pedagogy ask us to consider : Who benefits from schooling?

Whose knowledge is legitimized?

How does education uphold or challenge settler colonial structures?

Draws from Marxism, Indigenous sovereignty movements, and critical theory.

Connects education to land, capitalism, and settler colonial power.

Critical multiculturalism

https://usurj.journals.usask.ca/article/view/469

Christine Sleeter – Focuses on anti-racist teacher education and structural inequities.

Peter McLaren – Connects multiculturalism to critical pedagogy and Marxist analysis. ( connected to Paulo Freire and critical pedagogy.

It asks:

• Who holds power in curriculum and schooling?

• How does racism operate structurally?

• How are race, class, and gender embedded in institutions?

Critical Multiculturalism goes beyond celebrating diversity (food, festivals, heroes) and instead examines power, privilege, racism, and structural inequality within schooling and society.

It critiques “soft multiculturalism” that focuses on inclusion without addressing systemic oppression.

Multiculturalism without power analysis is superficial.

Teachers must examine their own positionality and privilege.

Curriculum must confront racism and systemic inequality directly.

Education should work toward social transformation, not just inclusion. system and policy change

Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit)

Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy

• Builds on Critical Race Theory but centers Indigenous political status and sovereignty.

1. Colonization is endemic to society.

2. Canadian policies toward Indigenous peoples are rooted in imperialism and white supremacy.

3. Indigenous peoples occupy both political and racialized identities.

4. Stories and lived experiences are legitimate theory and data.

5. Tribal sovereignty and self-determination are central.

Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) adapts Critical Race Theory (CRT) to focus specifically on Indigenous peoples and settler colonialism.

It argues that colonization is endemic to society, not just racism.
For Indigenous peoples, the central issue is not only race it is sovereignty and land.

CRT how racism is embedded in U.S. laws, institutions, and systems, rather than just individual prejudice, viewing race as a social construct that perpetuates inequality.

What does Brayboy (2005) state are the roots of policies towards Indigenous peoples?

A

Philanthropy, Cultural preservation, and land stewardship

B

Democracy, self-governance and economic equality

C

Education, healthcare and social welfare

D

Imperialism, white supremacy and a desire for material gain

What is one of the deep structures of colonialist consciousness identified by Grande (2004)

A

Emphasis on the local and personal Knoweldge

B

Subscription to collective responsibility

C

Belief in progress as change and change as progress

D

Belief in human beings as part of nature

What theoretical framework posits that colonialism play a prominent role in domination for Indigenous Peoples?

A

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

B

Critical Multiculturalism

C

Tribal Critical Theory

D

Red Pedagogy

What does the Author state is the root of Canadian policies towards First Nations Peoples?

A

Mutual respect and partnership

B

Cultural exchange and understanding

C

White supremacy and goals of assimilation

D

Economic development and resource sharing

When you hear "budget bills" what comes to mind?

1

Taxes

2

Jobs

3

Economic Growth

4

Environmental Policy

5

Education

6

Indigenous Rights

Jobs and Growth Act / Bill-C45 / ( Omnibus Budget Bill)

Combined 70 different bills in Bill-C38 (allegedly relating to the 2012 budget) as well as 60 different bills in Bill-C45. This ranged from pipeline management to canabis legalization to the criminal code amendments.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/2012_31.pdf ( Full document )

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2012_31/index.html ( content break down)

This document is over 500 pages and set out to amend environmental law, Indigenous land governance and water protection.

While reading the bill ( the 500 page document) the first thing that strikes me is the intentional misuse of the term omnibus, the intentional length and the intentional placement of certain terminology and policy changes.

While watching a documentary about Idle no more this exact same thought process is what lead to the Idle no more movement. The title of the act, the jobs and growth act the dense legal ease is made this way to dissuade people from investigating it.

In relation to Idle No More we will take a look at the amendments to four different areas out of the 130 different bills that exist within this Omnibus "Budget Bill"

Changes

it became easier to approve the surrender or leasing of reserve land.

Indian Act

The law narrowed what counted as protected.

Fisheries Act

Navigable Waters Protection Act → Navigation Protection Act

Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

Only waterways listed in a schedule were automatically protected.

Thousands of lakes and rivers were removed from automatic protection.

Fewer projects required federal environmental review.

The government:

• Narrowed what counted as a “designated project”

• Gave the Minister power to terminate environmental assessments

Indian Act changes :

easier to approve surrender of reserve land.

If a vote was held and only a small number of people showed up,

As long as a majority of those who voted said “yes,”

The decision could still go through.

The Minister could call a second vote if turnout was low.

The federal government still had final approval.

Fisheries act changes:

Instead of protecting all fish habitat,
the law now protected certain fish in certain contexts.

This reduced the scope of environmental protection.

Navigation Protection act changes:

The law shifted from protecting water itself
to protecting boat travel on certain major waterways.

Smaller rivers and lakes lost automatic federal review.

Environmental assessment act changes:

Less environmental oversight.
Faster approvals.
More ministerial discretion.

This is a documentary about Idle no more that I would recommend you watch. its in two parts on YouTube.

The People of the Kattawapiskak River documentary release October 2012

Jobs and Growth act (2012) Bill C-45

Mid November 2012

Kattawapiskak Housing crisis 2011

Idle no more gains National movement by December 10th 2012

So during this time there is preexisting deep tension between Indigenous communities and the conservative government. The release of this film, the people of the Kattawapiskak River in October of 2012 which covers the 2011 housing crisis of Kattawapiskak ( a significant mention here is that I use the name Kattawapiskak which is more closely related to the cree pronunciation and spelling however on official maps and when you google this place it comes. up as the anglozised version Attawapiskat

The people of the Kattawapiskak River

documentary exposes the housing crisis faced by 1,700 Cree in Northern Ontario, a situation that led Attawapiskat’s band chief, Theresa Spence, to ask the Canadian Red Cross for help. With the Idle No More movement making front page headlines, this film provides background and context for one aspect of the growing crisis.

Sylvia McAdam Saysewahum

https://idlenomore.ca/about-the-movement/

Jessica Gordon

Nina Wilson

Sheelah McLean

They began by:

Organizing teach-ins (community learning gatherings)

Explaining Bill C-45 in accessible language

Raising awareness about treaty rights and environmental protections

Their goal was not just protest — it was education first.

They wanted people to understand:

How legislation affects Indigenous sovereignty

How treaties are nation-to-nation agreements

How environmental protection is tied to Indigenous rights

Idle No More emerged as an act of resistance to what?

A

University Indigenization policies

B

Provincial education reform

C

Proposed federal Omnibus Bill

D

Municipal tax increases

Who are identified as the founders of the Idle no more movement ?

A

Sylvia McAdams, Nina Wilson, Jess Gordon, Sheila McLean

B

Grande, Brayboy, Howard, Gay

C

Chief Theresa Spence, Chelsea Vowel, Russ Diabo

D

The author and her daugher

Assumption , Ignorance , Acquiescence

The "assumption of rightness" is the unconscious belief that one's own worldview is the "correct" one, while others are deficient, substandard, or "culturally deprived". ( Gary Howard 2006)

Luxury of Ignorance - "we don't have to understand because it is not us"

This ideology comes into play in our world and what our identities allow us, encourage us and support us being exposed. This can of course also show up in the classroom.

Gary also uses the term luxury of ignorance relating to the notion that the dominant culture does not have to worry themselves or try to understand the experiences of the not dominant/ minority classes

I use Howards theory here to encourage us to look how we view public events differently. Not because of political alignment but because of culture and race. While Idle no more started as a grassroots movement which is well documented now there were documentation of the movement as being hostile, confrontational, and violent. These protests that were scrutinized were the flash mobs that took place across the country.

Theresa Spence

Hunger strike starts Dec. 11 2012

ends January 24 2013

“We feel there has been a global assault on Indigenous sovereignty,” Marama Davidson

"She’s my role model" Daughter of cheif space Thaislisia Linklater

Theresa Spence was the Chief of Kattawapiskak and her hunger strike was a pivotal component to the Idle no more movement. It created discourse and made clear the distain towards Indigenous Peoples fight for Independence.

It also revealed the power of unity within Generational, and community ties.

And that “hunger strike”? We all now know that it consists of fish broth, herbal tea, and whatever else Spence consumes in her teepee on Victoria Island, in the comfort of an SUV, or in her hotel room. ( Stephen Taylor)

“To sit back, wait for the government to give me handouts,” he told Tuesday’s gathering. “Maybe be on welfare, maybe drink, maybe take up drugs.”

He later added: "The best way to get our land back, is to buy it back. Just like every other Canadian." (Sen. Patrick Brazeau)

inevitable puffery and horse manure, "tempting to see... as one of intimidation, if not terrorism" because it held the state "hostage to vaguely articulated demands". ( Christie Blatchford)

" Fat"

" Pig "

" Not a real hunger strike "

Youth + Media

Part of the power of this movement was the use of social media and the empowerment of youth

Who said ...

The children now love luxury, they have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize over their teachers.

A

John Dewey

B

Socrates

C

Dalai lama

D

Taiaiake Alfred

How can our upset with young people become problematic, where does it come from ?

Slide heading

Slide text

How did mainstream media generally portray the Idle No More events and Chief Spence?

A

As a minor local issue with no significant leader

B

As well-organized and Chief Spence as a strong leader

C

As a peaceful dialogue and Chief Spence as a Negotiator

D

As disorganized and Chief Spence as a fat pig

What does Gary Howard (2006) refer to when dominant groups do not consider their beliefs determined by cultural conditioning?

A

Cognitive dissonance

B

Epistemic privilege

C

Cultural relativism

D

The luxury of ignorance

Chief Theresa Spence engaged in a hunger strike for how long?

A

6 weeks

B

2 months

C

3 days

D

1 week

What did photos on Twitter and Facebook reveal about the Idle No More protests, contrary to mainstream media?

A

Violent confrontations with authorities

B

Small, isolated groups with no clear message

C

Intergeneration groups of Indigenous peoples and allies joining in an organized manner

D

Primarily online activism with no physical presence

What concept did Christie Blanchford equate Chief Spences actions to?

A

Peaceful protest

B

Peaceful activism

C

Terrorism

D

Civil Disobedience

Tension

Teaching Culture

Cultural responsive education

The good "White teacher"

Tension

Within Shaunne Pete's classes one of the issues she faces when bringing up Indigenous content is push back from students and the students just ask her to show them how to teach. 

I know I have been guilty of using this language at times and I wonder when I had this mindset what lessons and teachings I missed out on because there is this western focus within education with being able to teach rather than knowing who we are teaching and what we are teaching about. 

This is again why Shaunne's framework is grounded in practices like Red pedagogy that are in real time, essence based verse methodologies. 

These tensions, teaching culture, the good white teacher, cultural responsive culture are what Shaunne Pete struggles to navigate with her students and within the education system. 

è take the time to share your own points of tension that might be built by colonialist views, mindset and thinking. this is not negative it is a chance to reflect on ideals, values, identity and to really consider which ones are worth keeping. consider using a two eyed seeing approach which values, practices and actions are worth keeping/

The study I reference earlier and others of a similar nature which will be in my reference list encourage white teachers to consider practices that we might have grown up with that felt okay.

è Do we continue to put an emphasis on classroom management, obedience, quiet in the hallways, Christmas holiday?

What was a common resistance expressed by the author's students education students regarding Indigenous issues?

A

We need more theory

B

Just teach us how to teach

C

We already know everything

D

This is too easy

What does the term "colorblindness " operate to deny?

A

The need for diverse teaching strategies

B

The Institutional and systemic nature of dominance

C

The existence of different cultures

D

The importance of individual effort

What is one of the tensions the author focused on in her self-study?

A

The tension of standardized testing

B

The tension of parental involvement

C

The tension of the identity of a good (white) teacher

D

the tension of technological integration in classrooms

What do you think of when you hear "social justice"

What funds of knowledge could be present in a conversation about Idle No More in a classroom?

Funds of knowledge means students bring lived, familial, cultural knowledge into the classroom.

Treaty knowledge

Family political stories

Land-based knowledge

Media literacy

Community activism

Language

Demographic changes in North America created shifts in economic and political power

Adopting healthy personal practices and safety strategies protects ourselves and others.

Daily and seasonal changes affect all living things.

Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens

How could we make these big ideas about social justice?