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This course will explore the socio-political challenges of Indigenous communities which have been shaped by a historical colonial relationship within Canadian society. These influences shape the landscape of the contemporary social, cultural, political and economic issues which are experienced by the First Nations peoples in Canada. The course will focus on the exploration of these relationships and will be framed through an Indigenous paradigm specifically the Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot) and Kainai and a critical perspective. The course will examine policies and practices which were designed to disrupt the social cohesion and responsibilities of Indigenous cultures. It will examine the disruption through the principles and relational values that are essential for the social reconstruction of Indigenous communities. Students will have an opportunity to become familiar with different disciplines and introduced to concepts which form the frameworks of the connections between Eurocentric policies and practices which have shaped indigenous experiences, specifically applying a framework of colonization/de-colonization, structural and cultural colonization, and the philosophical, theoretical and research perspectives in relation to contemporary issues of indigenous communities. Concepts include; assimilation, colonization/de-colonization, marginalization, racism, ethnocentrism which shape the human experience. Students will explore these issues from an indigenous perspective linking the connections between history, meaning, identity, and community. This course is designed to give students knowledge on the role of the processes of social institutions and social organization of society and their influence on First Nations communities. The course will also provide the contextual and analytical frameworks for working with indigenous communities. It will provide the contemporary and historical contextual knowledge of First Nation challenges in rebuilding a generation of research and academic approaches which are required to reflect the contemporary realities of First Nation communities. Students are encouraged and expected to apply critical thinking in assignments and indigenous knowledge systems for the affirmation and revitalization of Indigenous communities. |