Myrna's Blog

Reflection – the journey this program has taken me and more specifically the course, has offered time to reflect within the course itself. It is not often that I paddle out in my kayak and look back to my past, it is not easy. What the course is offering as described in Open Learn, is having an “awareness of one’s own knowledge, assumptions, and past experiences.”

I am discovering the path my thoughts are taking me and the journey I am on offers the background and experiences that shape events that I have yet to even experience. My experiences and understanding are the foundation of the Problem of Practice I am focusing on to help build a better future for my three Inuvialuit daughters, to empower them and strengthen their minds while opening the minds of non-Inuvialuit to understand our history, from our voice.

From the models of reflection shared from Wilfrid Laurier University (n.d) it describes the third model of reflection, which I can relate to, “the compass”, looking inward, backward, outward, and forward. Inward brings out my feelings, backward looks at my past, outward looks at those around me including within this program, and forward is always about my daughters.

Technology is a very unique part of this journey and I continue to see the value that it plays in what I am trying to do, to reach an audience throughout the world that has access to the information from a small population in the Western Arctic Region of Canada, teaching from the first person who we are, where we come from and what our history has shaped us to become today, but most importantly to emphasize that we are still here today.

We are still here today, is a message to so many who attempted assimilation and control. It is a message for future generations to know the strength and the people before us that have given us the opportunity to be here today.

This is an emotional journey and through learning and technology I find value in what I am doing, making a difference and sharing my truth and worldview.

References

OpenLearn. (n.d.). Succeeding in post-graduate study: Session 2 – reflective thinking, reflective learning and academic writing. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=51386

Wilfrid Laurier University. (n.d.). Reflective writing. Write online. https://writeonline.ca/reflective-essay.php?content=section2

In moving forward with Podcasts and storytelling, with an Indigenous lens, I struggle from anger, frustration, sadness, hope, determination, resentfulness, thankfulness, and passion. My path, I believe, determines the impact I can and want to make for other Indigenous.

Listening to stories from Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, to Residential School experiences, and scrolling through the wide variety of Indigenous podcasts, illustrates the content and the people that share the need to tell stories, while listening to others stories. At times, I am doing so to justify feelings and emotions, and believe the podcasts offer knowledge, explanations, and experiences to those who do not know the history. The history of the land we are on, why people hang out outside of post offices and downtown buildings as lost souls, or how individuals choose one life over another life and choices having to be made to live traditionally or contemporary. These stories shared through podcasts are necessary to be told and heard.

This course and exploration on the topic and technology is an emotional journey for me and it is taking a toll mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I struggle to balance my life through this program and course, full time managing a business, raising my three beautiful and smart girls, being a wife, and taking moments to explore my artistic path that continues to drive me forward. I haven’t had a lot of time to explore literature related to podcasts and I’ve made the decision for now to spend less time learning about the technology and more time listening to podcasts with stories. It is the feelings, the understanding, and the emotions I get that are teaching me the value of storytelling through podcasts, for the future of Indigenous people. I have no quotes or references to offer at this time, only personal reflections.
– Myrna

A recent project that comes to mind in the organization that encompasses a large portion of my time is transitioning from using a variety of software programs to get all the daily office tasks completed, including quoting, developing work orders, time card tracking, payroll, accounting reports, inventory management, project management, making documents private, and using one program to do all these tasks.

The problem that needed to be solved was finding a software program to do all or a majority of what took multiple excels and multiple software programs to complete. The overall goals communicated were to find a software program that replaced multiple programs, spreadsheets, and processes. The team involved included the estimating, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, inventory, shipping and receiving, accountants, and shop personal. All individuals who lead or were responsible for the department needed to be involved in the process of evaluation, which required a tremendous amount of time and resources and stretched our team to the maximum. Additionally, we had hired an Engineer to lead the project; however, with limited options, the individual who was hired had little experience in Project Management, later this proved to be a serious roadblock. Our location also did not help with acquiring the skilled and experienced staff we needed to move to the next level.

Some of the changes in planning that could have helped with the barriers and challenges would have been to interview and research companies who have previously taken similar steps of change. Additionally, what may have helped is for key staff to have taken the time to participate in the training instead of having one individual..

The barriers came down to experience of the project lead, time, and having a member of the team not on board, who made it difficult as a team to progress forward. I would suggest overcoming the barriers by paying more of a wage for a project lead with the experience, drive, and education. Additionally, it may have been the best to replace a Manager who made it difficult for the rest of the team to move forward, continuously having to work through roadblocks caused by one individual who was not a team player.

Methods, upon reflection, that I can see myself using would be thinking of project management as a temporary endeavor with a definite beginning and end as described by Knolskape (2013) and establish that from the start. This would assist with also giving the details to the entire team, so all could see the start and the end and know that as a team, we are all responsible to get to the end together.

References:

Knolskape (2013). Introduction to Project Management. [YouTube Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOU1YP5NZVA

As I reflected on the readings, my thoughts changed direction. I recognize leadership is less about age, gender, geography, or commitment, but more about the unspoken characteristics that draws a person in. Leaders I respect have attributes that builds connections, are community driven, uses storytelling, recognizes their responsibility, and offers humility. Those attributes are supported below from personal experiences and the readings.

First, connecting, as referenced by Wright et als. (2010), is a valuable attribute. It creates a community or a team among people (pg 2, para 5), for digital and in-person learning. In my experience, I am most engaged, when I can connect, and feel it is the same for others as connection makes people feel valued.

Second, a leader who is community driven, leads for the greater good of people versus individual wants (Wright et al, 2010). This stands out to me, as I have witnessed and experienced both those who lead for a community versus those who lead for oneself. My uncle Boogie (Randal) Pokiak, a born leader, was never concerned with a title, or about what he wore or what he had. He was more concerned with what others had, which included knowledge. He shared his knowledge with his community and was valued for what he knew. He was a man of words and wisdom and though he never sought leadership, he naturally connected people from past, present, and future. His knowledge continues to be passed on through digital technology and his wisdom continues to empower communities. Uncle Boogie’s voice, character, humour, humility, and stories will continue to be heard, with the power of digital technology.

The third attribute of a leader, in my mind, is one who is a storyteller, particularly of traditional knowledge. This attribute is a natural gift. Story’s can bring lessons to life and provide teachable moments, while engaging an audience. Stories can be told in person, over the phone, in books, and adapted to be shared through digital technology. My most memorable lectures are those that offer meaning, connection, and reflection on our own lives, experiences, hopes, and dreams. With digital technology, storytelling comes to life with digital art, tools leaders can draw upon to connect with their audience.

The fourth attribute is a leader who understands their responsibility. Responsibility, through generations, is instilling the gifts given, passing on traditional knowledge to the next generation. Reflecting on traditional knowledge I have been provided, I feel a deep responsibility as a bridge from the past to the future. This same value was highlighted in the results of the study by Julien et als. (pg. 7, para 10) who shared, one who sits in the middle of a circle, has a responsibility to past and future generations. A leader’s responsibility is heavy and entrusted by our ancestors. Digital technology is transforming leadership, as Castelli (2016, para 4) highlighted, known as transformational leadership. Digital technology can be used to support one’s responsibilities, engaging future generations and honouring past generations.

A final attribute, one that I have recently come to appreciate, is humility. Humility is a value that I have personally come to appreciate when faced leadership downfalls or accepting mistakes so meaningful change can occur, as Castelli (2016) explained. Humility can be humbling, offering reflection and self-awareness. Ukleja (2016) is quoted, “Contrary to popular belief, humility is not ‘thinking less of yourself’ – it’s ‘thinking of yourself less’” (para 2.) and this to me is a powerful reminder of what great leaders do. I first heard a leader, Paul Andrew (2021), an elder, talk about humility on reflection of his vision for the young generation before him and that left me with a powerful message. This attribute I saw in him made me realize accepting humility, which is embracing successes and failures as Ukleja describes, ultimately offers lessons and opportunity for future generations to succeed. Digital learning does not eliminate humility, instead it offers another path for a leader to do great things humbly and with humility for the benefit of future generations.

Overall, I believe digital learning supports change from traditional schooling to digital learning. Building connections, being community driven, storytelling, being responsible and accepting humility are attributes of leaders, in person or in digital learning environments. Digital resources can reach a greater audience and age, gender, and geographic region are no longer limits. As Sheninger (2014) highlights, transforming leadership into the digital age, with goals to engage and achieve, offers opportunities for learning to advance, bringing together people around the world.

References:

Andrew, Paul. (2021). Strong People Strong Communities. [Event Speech].

Castelli, P. A., (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance. The Journal of Management Development. 35(2), 217-236. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1767544220?accountid=8056&parentSessionId=qp2mnPynHshjnIIWuxX6O1lommJ9LMbDvLOYv2OmhRk%3D

Julian, M. Wright, B., and Zinni, D.M. (2010). Stories from the circle: Leadership lessons learned from aboriginal leaders. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(1), 114-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LEAQUA.2009.10.009  [retrieve from RRU library]

Pokiak, R. (Lifetime of Inuvialuit Traditional Knowledge).

Sheninger, E. (2014). Pillars of digital leadership. International Centre for Leadership in Education. http://leadered.com/pillars-of-digital-leadership/

Ukleja, M. (2016). 6 Attributes of healthy humility. [Success Blog Post]. November 25, 2016. https://www.success.com/6-attributes-of-healthy-humility/

By Corie Houldsworth & Myrna Pokiak

Royal Roads University

LRNT 524: Innovation, Design and Learning Environments

Submitted to Lisa Gedak & Leeann Waddington

January 2, 2022

Introduction

Integration of Indigenous ways of knowing in a learning context was the focus of our design thinking challenge. We used the process described by the d.School Design Thinking Process, part of the course materials for LRNT 524. We challenged ourselves to radically reimagine the design of digital learning environments (DLEs) for Indigenous learners and realize the potential of critical instructional design in practice by closing the education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Closing the education gap has been shown to have benefits for improved earnings potentials as well as reduced cultural dissonance (Howe, 2011). Our solutions, which we have termed revolution instead, includes three main points that we propose to test: access, story mining and preservation, and acceptance of oral traditions in academia. 

Revolution One: Access

Access and reliable high speed internet is crucial for Indigenous learners to benefit from  DLEs. Without reliable access, there will continue to be a lack of Indigenous users for a DLE. As Anthony & Keating highlighted, Australia has seen some progress and has shown how urban versus rural access is not simply a matter of physical access, “what is a positive force for non-Indigenous urban communities must also be good for remote Indigenous communities” (2013, p. 5, para 3). The cultural differences between people who live in urban versus rural settings must be taken into account when attempting to design DLEs.

In comparing internet access across Canada, it is valuable to view the Indigenous populations, with the highest percentage of Indigenous versus non-Indigenous (Figure 1), and compare with internet access across the same geographic regions (Figure 2). This comparison shows a true visual of limitations for regions with the highest Indigenous populations per capita across Canada and the inequality that continues to exist.

Figure 1 

Percentage of the Indigenous population by Province/Territory

 

Note. The data are from Indigenous Services Canada, Government of Canada. (2020). 

Figure 2 

Internet Service in Canada

Note. The data are from Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Government of Canada (2019). 

Radical ways to meet user’s needs for Access 

1. Tie regulatory approvals to funding for broadband. Resource exploration companies need not be internet network builders, but must be viewed as necessary partners in the development of remote communities for development of DLEs if they intend to continue to exploit these remote areas for resources such as oil and gas, diamonds, or uranium. 
2. The Government of Canada must honor the 94 Calls to Action (TRC, 2015) and hold itself accountable, considering the mass deconstruction of Indigenous society through stolen unceded land (McIntosh, 2020), water, and resources. One example to achieve the sixth to 12th Calls to Action, would be the investment in internet access throughout Canada and implement swiftly to bridge the gap that currently limits users, particularly in rural Indigenous regions as illustrated in Figure 2. 

Revolution Two: Mining the Elder Populations for their Stories

Judy Iseke and Sylvia Moore have worked to develop Métis storytelling as pedagogy and research practice (Iseke & Moore, 2013). Elders need not have access to technology themselves. This can be provided for them so that their learnings can be captured and used later, as Iseke and Moore did in their Presenting ourselves to/in the Museum project (Iseke & Moore, 2011). 

Radical ways to meet user’s needs for Mining the Elder Populations for their Stories 

1. Implementation of a technology space in Indigenous elders’ facilities to connect with learners throughout the world, would provide access to wisdom and elders knowledge. This would improve mental health strengths for elders and provide access for learners to connect with elders’ and knowledge through DLEs. Imagining access that is attained through oral history and connecting with elders who are natural storytellers, the technology space would encourage dialogue and offer opportunities for interviews, documentation, preservation, and teaching. A respected Inuvialuit elder, Randall Pokiak described the role of elders best in his last documented film about the current pandemic, “the elders’ responsibility is, we’ll protect you, we’ll teach you how.” (Code, 2020, 11:40 to 13:23). Elders crave to share their knowledge. In DLEs and underutilized elders facilities, the link between sharing elders’ wisdom with learners becomes possible.

Revolution Three: Working on Acceptance and Academy for Oral Traditions

Euro-centric educational models are not the only acceptable means of teaching. Oral traditions and their associated cultures of learning are valid alternatives (Iseke, 2013). Indigenous teaching traditions being studied by the Gabriel Dumont Institute and the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) (SUNTEP, 2013) are involving elders in education and focusing on supporting elders “to build relations and to create ethical space where learning and sharing can occur.” (Goulet et. al., 2009, p. 2).

We agree with Morris when he says that instructional design should “give platforms for those voices most usually suppressed or oppressed” (2018, para.7). Part of this work involves repatriating indigenous artifacts from their various colonial holdings around the world (NBC, 2021).  Elders can develop rich DLEs to teach the artifacts’ history in context, as is being done in the Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait (Inuvialuit Living History) project (CBC, 2020). Combined with Indigenous Digital Storytelling as described by Iseke & Moore “to teach youth their cultural traditions and the Western skills that will enable them to work in the wider world” (2011, p. 21), an alternative to the currently practiced Eurocentric model of written word and culturally appropriated teaching can be developed that is authentic, decolonized, and comes directly from the people who own it, rather than filtered through a western academic lens. 

Radical ways to meet user’s needs to work on Acceptance and Academy for Oral Traditions 

1. Development of Indigenous resource websites, based on regions and representing all Indigenous groups, similarly to the Inuvialuit Digital Library (2014), collaboration between the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre and the University of Alberta. The creation of a National Indigenous website with links to each Indigenous region, would allow direct digital access to documented stories, visuals, and information from Indigenous perspectives, essentially taking the Native Land (2021) website one step further so when an Indigenous group is visited, links to websites like the Inuvialuit Digital Library become available.
2. Repatriate artifacts such as the MacFarlane Collection that is currently housed in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC (CBC, 2020) and provide resources to develop culturally appropriate learning resources.

Conclusion

This design thinking challenge was a good opportunity to stretch our thoughts on possibilities to close the education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners and how that can happen. We were able to use the process to dig deep into what learners need to successfully participate in DLEs and build solutions to close the gap. We feel that reliable access, story mining and preservation, and radical acceptance of oral traditions are possible solutions for Indigenous learners who are survivors and as Wilson-Fontain put it, “thrivers” (Monkman, 2019).

References

Anthony, S. G., & Keating, M. S. (2013). The difficulties of online learning for Indigenous Australian students living in remote communities–it’s an issue of access. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 16(2).

Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Stuff The British Stole. (n.d.). [Collection]. Retrieved January 1, 2022, from https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/stuff-the-british-stole/

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (2020, August 10). “All his wisdom will be missed”: Lifelong Inuvialuit advocate dies at 71. CBC News. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/randal-boogie-pokiak-inuvialuit-obituary-1.5680097

Code, Allan. (2020). Pandemic – at the end of the world. [National Film Board of Canada]. https://www.nfb.ca/film/pandemic-at-the-end-of-the-world/

Goulet,  L., Pelletier, J., Pete, S., Racette, C., Longman, S. Goodwill, K., & Fayant, R.  (2009). Asokan  (The  Bridge)  Teachers’  Work  with  Elders.  Saskatoon:  Dr.  Stirling  MacDowell Foundation for Research Into Teaching Inc., Project #188.

Hotte, N., Nelson, H., Hawkins, T., Wyatt, S., & Kozak, R. (2018). Maintaining accountability between levels of governance in Indigenous economic development: Examples from British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Public Administration, 61(4), 523–549. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12287

Howe, E. C. (2011). Mishchet aen kishkayhtamihk nawut ki wiichiihtonaan: Bridging the aboriginal education gap in Saskatchewan. Gabriel Dumont Institute.

Indigenous Services Canada, Government of Canada. (2020). Annual Report to Parliament 2020. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1602010609492/1602010631711 

Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Government of Canada (2019). High Speed Internet Access for All: Canada’s Connectivity Strategy. https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/139.nsf/eng/h_00002.html 

Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Center and University of Alberta. (2014). Inuvialuit Digital Library. https://inuvialuitdigitallibrary.ca/collections 

Iseke, J., & Moore, S. (2011). Community-based Indigenous Digital Storytelling with Elders and Youth. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 35(4), 19–38.

McIntosh, Emma (2020). What it means when we say Indigenous land is ‘unceded’. Jan 24, 2020 Podcast. Canada’s National Observer.  https://www.nationalobserver.com/2020/01/24/analysis/what-we-mean-when-we-say-indigenous-land-unceded 

Monkman, Leonard. (2019). From survivors to ‘thrivers’: former residential school students connect with culture and each other. CBC News. Retrieved January 1, 2022 from https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/residential-school-survivors-thrivers-1.5296107 

Morris, S. M. (2018). Critical Instructional Design. In An Urgency of Teachers. Pressbooks. 

Europe returns looted African treasures as it reckons with colonial past. (n.d.). NBC News. Retrieved January 1, 2022, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/europe-returns-looted-benin-bronzes-africa-reckons-legacy-empire-rcna3986

Native Land. (2020). Native Land Digital. WordPress. https://native-land.ca/ 

SUNTEP (Saskatoon, Sask.), & Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research (Eds.). (2013). “Be bold! Move forward!”: Measuring success. Gabriel Dumont Institute.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). Truth and Reconciliation of Canada: Calls to Action. https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf