Running head: PHOTOVOICE ASSIGNMENT

Education 530S07 Photovoice Assignment: Exploring Aboriginal Diversity in the Classroom

Julie C. Degner (10076363)
University of Calgary

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Fig. 1 Bandelier National Monument

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Fig. 2 Mesa Verde National Park

Fig. 3 Chaco Canyon National Park

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Fig. 4 Aboriginal art

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The above pictures were taken on my family vacations in the past few years. The first
picture was taken at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, the second is at Mesa Verde
National Park in Colorado, and the third is at Chaco Canyon National Park, which is also in New
Mexico. All of the structures depicted in these images are of ancient cliff dwellings that the
Pueblo people built hundreds of years ago. Today they are preserved by the national park service
and are visited by hundreds of tourists each year. The fourth and final image is of the artwork
that my family has purchased from these various Aboriginal heritage sites. They are all
handmade by the Aboriginal people that continue to live in America today.
Before I visited these sites, I knew relatively little about Aboriginal culture. Although my
school had taught us the basic history surrounding Aboriginal people in Canada, the lessons had
taken place many years ago and I had quite honestly forgotten the majority of what was
discussed. However, upon visiting these fantastic sites, my perspective on them changed entirely.
I was amazed by the true resilience and intelligence of the Pueblo people from hundreds of years
ago; they were able to build their homes and entire village in a face of rock and lived extremely
fulfilling and complex lives without the use of any of our technology today. The Aboriginal art
that my family and I gathered on our various adventures from these places is now spread around
my home, and serves as a reminder to everyone who sees it that the Aboriginal culture continues
to live and thrive in the United States today, despite all of the obstacles that it has faced over
hundreds of years.
By taking part in this FNMI course, I am continuing to develop my knowledge of
Aboriginal people. In combination with my own personal experiences as described above, this
new-found knowledge is going to allow me to teach, discuss, and share aspects of various
Aboriginal cultures with my future students in a far more meaningful way than I ever thought

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possible. One course theme in particular that has connected with my experiences to greatly
further my knowledge is the history and diversity of FNMI peoples. As mentioned before, my
expertise in this area was severely limited prior to my personal experiences. However, upon
visiting these national parks, I became particularly interested in the diversity of the Aboriginal
groups in both Canada and the United States. More specifically, the Pueblo people that I read
about on my vacation had many practices and cultural aspects that were completely different
from what I remembered about the Aboriginal cultures in Canada. My FNMI course has further
reinforced this idea of diversity for me as our class discussed how assimilationist pressures
sought to undermine the cultural basis of Aboriginal authority and incorporate the indigenes into
society as productive citizens (Fleras & Elliott, 1992, p. 2). The dominant culture in North
America in the past completely ignored the wide range of Aboriginal cultures that existed in their
world, and instead blended them all together and insisted that they all assimilate into the white
culture. As Fleras and Elliott point out, the society of that time simply said: Their dying was
tragic, but could not be helped (1992, p. 3). As I gain a greater understanding of Aboriginal
diversity, I am informing my teaching practice by ensuring that my students will understand that
Aboriginals should not merely be looked at as one collective group, but as a collection of many
groups that definitely share some similarities, but also have many unique qualities that make
them different from one another.
Another course theme that informed my teaching practice was anti-racism. It was
brought forward in class how, A critical anti-racist education could provide a foundation to
forge alliances between diverse Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities (St. Denis, 2007,
p. 1070). By incorporating Aboriginal practices into class, students will begin to understand and
sympathize with Aboriginal identities. My own personal experiences have taught me to have a

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far greater appreciation for their cultures across North America, as I learned what they went
through in both the United States and Canada, and discovered what determined and ingenious
people they truly were and are to this day. I want to ensure that my students, too, will understand
from a very young age that Race matters because members of society have internalized racist
ideas about what skin colour tells about the value and worth of a person or a group of people
(St. Denis, 2007, p. 1071).
As an early childhood educator, an example of how I could incorporate an aspect of
Aboriginal culture into my classroom is through storytelling, which is a traditional Aboriginal
teaching tool (McKeough et al., 2008, p. 148). All the students can tell stories of their family
backgrounds and history so that all cultures are included. This would create a culturally
appropriate programmeand [would weave] students experiences from their environment
and culture into the curriculum (McKeough et al., 2008, p. 149). I also want to share my own
personal experiences with the kids so that they can have a greater appreciation for not only the
Aboriginal people in Canada, but in the United States as well, especially considering that
Aboriginal issues in the United States in recent years have not occupied centre stage to the same
dramatic degree they have in Canada (Fleras & Elliott, 1992, p. 128). This will, in turn, also
ensure that they understand that the aboriginal peoples of the United States have sought to keep
the integrity of their political agenda intact and separate from the dominant and often competing
concerns of other racial and other ethnic minorities (Fleras & Elliott, 1992, p. 129). Hopefully,
as a result of all this, my kids will see how valuable the various Aboriginal cultures are and will
work towards their increasing inclusionin the institutions of American life (Fleras & Elliott,
1992, p. 160).

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8
References

Fleras, A., & Elliott, J.L. (1992). The nations within: Aboriginal-state relations in Canada, the
United States, and New Zealand. Retrieved from
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/lib/ucalgary/reader.action?docID=10334953
McKeough, A., Bird, S., Tourigny, E., Romaine, A., Graham, S., Ottmann, J., & Jeary, J. (2008).
Storytelling as a foundation to literacy development for aboriginal children: Culturally
and developmentally appropriate practices. Canadian Psychology, 49(2), 148-154.
Retrieved from http://psychology.ucalgary.ca/lcdlab/publications/mckeoughetal.pdf
St. Denis, V. (2007). Aboriginal education and anti-racist education: Building alliances across
cultural and racial identity. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(4), 1068-1092. Retrieved
from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/docview/215374551/fulltextPDF/52B
A368C013D4015PQ/1?accountid=9838