First Peoples Studies

Vision Statement

Students will become more aware of First Peoples and their ways of knowing, their relationship with community and the land, and their history before and after European contact.

Background

In 2001, the ABE Social Sciences Working Committee determined that there were a number of Social Science courses with First Nations content and focus coming forward for articulation and recognized the need for more First Nations input. A working group was formed to gain input from First Nations educators in order to design a structure for First Nations goals and objectives within the Social Sciences and to come up with topics and specific learning outcomes for intermediate, advanced and provincial level First Nations Studies courses. After much discussion, the First Nations Working Group felt that First Nations Studies courses, or courses with First Nations content, needed to have their own articulation working committee in order to honour the holistic, multidisciplinary nature of First Nations Studies as an academic discipline. Courses in First Nations Studies may encompass the goals, content, and objectives of one or more disciplines such as the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and fine arts.

In 2002, the chairs of the First Nations working group made presentations to the Social Sciences Working Committee, the ABE Articulation Steering Committee and the Deans and Directors of Developmental Education, with all three groups passing motions supporting the establishment of a First Nations ABE Articulation Working Committee. Support was also obtained from the British Columbia First Nations Coordinators and the First Nations Articulation Committee at the post- secondary level.

In 2004, the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer approved the establishment of a First Nations ABE Articulation Working Committee. The committee met for the first time in March 2005 at the Native Education Centre.

In 2011, the First Nations ABE Articulation Working Committee was renamed the Indigenous Adult Basic Education Articulation Working Committee.

In 2020, the Indigenous ABE Articulation Working Committee recommended that the language in this section of the guidebook use the more inclusive and affirmative term First Peoples consistently instead of Indigenous or First Nation(s) or Aboriginal(s) with the exception of this background section. In addition, the Working Committee recommended changing its name to the First Peoples ABE Articulation Working Committee.

Overview

The First Peoples Adult Basic Education Articulation (FPABE) Working Committee has a primary mandate to review curriculum in ABE programming to ensure that knowledge of First Peoples and their ways of knowing, their relationship with community and the land, and their history before and after European contact is present in any First Peoples curriculum approved by this working committee. For curriculum submission in First Peoples studies, this is a straightforward process; however, the committee also receives curriculum that spans two articulation committees’ areas of responsibility.

Curriculum submitted for approval will include programs and courses where this committee has primary approval responsibility, i.e., First Peoples Studies at the ABE level. This curriculum will be reviewed against our primary mandate and use the broad learning objectives identified for First Peoples studies. Additionally, the FPABE committee will work with other subject-related working group articulation committees. The FPABE working group will review the curriculum against the committee’s primary purpose, while the relevant working group will review the curriculum against its specific content and skill objectives. For example, First Peoples English courses must be approved by both FPABE and English ABE Articulation before being submitted to the ABE Steering Committee for approval. Ethnobotany or First Peoples Science courses will be reviewed by FPABE and Science/Biology Articulation Committees.

The interest of the FPABE committee is to support the development of curriculum across ABE programming that is respectful of First Peoples and promotes success of learners. As such, the First Peoples ABE Articulation Working Committee provides a listing of learning outcomes, primarily applicable to First Peoples courses, but they may also be useful to the curriculum designer who is preparing materials that will proceed to other articulation committees.

Articulation Process

The FPABE Articulation Working Committee identifies two different pathways for curriculum submissions:

• Curricula focusing on First Peoples Studies articulated solely by the FPABE committee. This curriculum is community-collaborated, culturally relevant content-based curricula.
• Multiple articulations, where curriculum such as English, sciences, or math with a First Peoples focus, will require articulation through both the FPABE Committee and other articulation committee(s).

Refer to Appendix A for a flowchart describing the FPABE articulation process. It is recommended that courses be submitted using the course template available on the BCCAT website and that course submissions indicate which type of course it is (of the two bulleted types shown above).

It is also recommended that courses be submitted to committee members via email prior to the annual meeting date.

All courses will be reviewed according to the general vision, overview, goals, and learning objectives. Each course that is specifically First Peoples in focus will be articulated against the specific learning objectives for its level.

The FPABE committee shall follow protocol by requesting the host institution invite a First Peoples community representative, such as an Elder, to welcome and participate with the committee, in order to represent the host territory and its worldview.

Goal Statements

The committee:

• Provides support to all educators and students in BC for the development of culturally relevant curricula.
• Assists other working committees in course development outcomes by integrating First Peoples wisdom and knowledge to meet FPABE articulation committee standards.
• Considers the academic outcomes identified at the Fundamental through Provincial levels in other content areas (English, math, sciences) but focuses specifically on the goals identified by this articulation committee.
• Supports student achievement of course outcomes with a focus on local First Peoples content whenever possible.
• Requires that curriculum submitted will:
  • Be developed in respectful consultation with local First Peoples communities.
  • Display evidence of direct and experiential methods that reinforce First Peoples perspectives through use of First Peoples paradigms.
  • Demonstrate local First Peoples involvement in course development, such as fluent speakers, community resource persons, and culturally relevant materials.
  • Demonstrate creative ways to assess and evaluate achievement of students that encourage and acknowledge First Peoples ways of knowing.

Some Examples of Strategies for Integrating First Peoples Ways of Knowing

• Having elders teach
• Engagement in community and cultural activities
• Preparing and sharing traditional food (feasting)
• Participating in talking circles
• Land-based learning (e.g. field trips)
• Learning and practicing cultural protocols (e.g. acknowledgement of traditional territory)
• Storytelling and creating imagery
• Dramatization
• Project-based learning

Required Learning Outcomes of First Peoples Studies Courses

(For courses in First Peoples Fine Arts, please see the separate First Peoples Fine Arts Guidelines at the end of this section.)

The goals of the curriculum are broadly applicable to all levels, fundamental through provincial. Participants in all First Peoples courses should be encouraged to acquire a range of skills and abilities. The skills and abilities listed here apply in general to all levels, fundamental through provincial, with the recognition that particular outcomes may be more or less applicable at each level.

Learners in any First Peoples Studies or Indigenous Studies course will be able to:

1. Identify and articulate past and present forces shaping First Peoples identity, such as culture, land, family, community, language, holistic perspectives, protocol, resistance, hegemony, values, worldview, knowledge, wisdom, and technology.
2. Identify the history, elements, and intergenerational effects of colonization and decolonization.
3. Recognize that while First Peoples share some common values and perspectives, they are also distinct, diverse, dynamic and evolving. For courses to be articulated solely by FPABE, the committee reserves the right to use Social Science learning outcomes as a standard.

Examples of Outcomes at the Fundamental Level of First Peoples Studies

Students will be able to:

1. Identify and articulate their cultural background and influences
2. Explore and express an appreciation for their personal history, qualities, abilities, beliefs, interests, dreams, skills, strengths, and values
3. Identify intrinsic and extrinsic educational barriers, develop coping strategies, and identify supports and support systems.

Examples of Outcomes at the Intermediate Level of First Peoples Studies

Students will be able to:

1. Practice appropriate protocol(s) of distinct First Peoples communities, such as recognizing the traditional territories.
2. Analyze how First Peoples are classified, such as language families and cultural groups of Canada.
3. Analyze the effects of contact and colonization on First Peoples, including the impact of certain policies such as the residential school system.
4. Examine challenges faced by specific First Peoples populations such as women, veterans, elders, and youth.
5. Explain the significance of languages and oral traditions in First Peoples cultures.
6. Compare and contrast traditional and contemporary methods and systems of governance.
7. Analyze key issues regarding Aboriginal rights and titles, such as the land question.
8. Investigate the traditional technologies within an area of study, such as ethnobotany.
9. Analyze the relationship of First Peoples communities with the natural and spiritual world.
10. Evaluate the challenges of economic development, while recognizing traditional relationships with the land, plants and animals.
11. Examine family structures and child rearing practices, including kinship roles and obligations within First Peoples communities.
12. Distinguish between gender roles in First Peoples contemporary and traditional culture.

Examples of Outcomes at the Advanced Level of First Peoples Studies

Students will be able to:

1. First Peoples Diversity
   • Demonstrate an awareness of First Peoples diversity within B.C.
   • Identify leaders and accomplishments of B.C. First Peoples
   • Discuss various ways of identifying First Peoples (Métis, First Nations, Aboriginal, Indigenous, Inuit, etc.)
   • Locate and name B.C. First Peoples and language families
   • Identify B.C. tribal associations
2. Values, Traditions, and Roles in Community & Family
   • Describe family and cultural background
   • Explore the clan system and other social structures
   • Read for meaning and clarify values regarding law and justice
   • Identify roles and responsibilities in community (chief, headman, healer, midwife, hunter, warrior, etc.)
   • Discuss roles and responsibilities in the family (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc.)
3. History of First Peoples in B.C.
   • Discuss the pre- and post-contact history of First Peoples living in B.C.
   • Explain the impacts of European contact and settlement.
4. Trade, Language, Culture, and Relationship with the Land
   • Identify the impact of fur trade, the gold rush, and resource extraction.
   • Locate inter-tribal trade routes in B.C.
   • Explain the importance and significance of social gatherings in First Peoples communities.
   • Compare coastal and interior lifestyles (seasonal rounds, settlements, housing, transportation, etc.

Examples of Outcomes at the Provincial Level of First Peoples Studies

Students will be able to:

1. Practice appropriate protocol(s) of distinct First Peoples communities, such as recognizing the traditional territories of host First Peoples.
2. Analyze how First Peoples peoples are classified, such as language families and cultural groups of Canada.
3. Analyze the effects of contact and colonization on First Peoples, including the impact of certain policies such as the residential school system.
4. Examine challenges faced by specific First Peoples populations such as women, veterans, elders, and youth.
5. Explain the significance of languages and oral traditions in First Peoples cultures.
6. Compare and contrast traditional and contemporary methods and systems of governance.
7. Analyze key issues regarding Aboriginal rights and titles, such as the land question.
8. Investigate the traditional technologies within an area of study, such as ethnobotany.
9. Analyze the relationship of First Peoples communities with the natural and spiritual world.
10. Evaluate the challenges of economic development, while recognizing traditional relationships with the land, plants and animals.
11. Examine family structures and child rearing practices, including kinship roles and obligations within First Peoples.
12. Distinguish between gender roles in First Peoples contemporary and traditional culture.

First Peoples Fine Arts Course Guidelines Goal Statements

Requires that curriculum submitted will:

1. Be developed in collaboration with the local First Peoples communities
2. Incorporate traditional and contemporary First Peoples arts and the traditional arts making processes
3. Acknowledge that art is a reflection of traditional and contemporary First Peoples culture and worldviews
4. Address ethical considerations and protocols related to the First Peoples arts.

Required Learning Outcomes

Learners in any First Peoples Fine Arts course will be able to:

1. Describe the connection between First Peoples artistic expression and past and present First Peoples identity, collectivity, and worldview
2. Recognize that while First Peoples art and culture share some common values and perspectives, they are also distinct, diverse, dynamic and evolving.