Resting Lightly on Mother Earth: The Aboriginal Experience in Urban Educational Settings

Angela Ward, Rita Bouvier

Brush Education, Jan 1, 2001 - Social Science - 196 pages

In this book, the voices of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants are heard as they chronicle their survival in mainstream school systems. The authors describe and analyze the experiences of Aboriginal students, teachers, and pre-service teachers struggling to find a place in urban society. Some voices are resistant, others angry, many questioning, as they enter into tentative coalitions with other urban teachers who pursue social justice for Indigenous peoples. The editors open the book with a wide-ranging look at the contexts of urban Aboriginal education, and explore the themes of the book — identity, disconnection from the land, spirituality, the effects of a colonial legacy — from their own Aboriginal and mainstream perspectives.

A strength of the book is the diversity of backgrounds and experiences the authors bring. The writers are Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, from Canada, the United States and Australia. They have taught and worked in elementary and secondary schools, universities and teacher education programs. All have direct experience working in urban educational settings, and all bring passionate advocacy to their writing. Resting Lightly on Mother Earth is intended for both Indigenous and mainstream educators; it is particularly suitable for teachers and administrators in urban systems, teacher educators, and graduate and undergraduate education students.

Contents

• Introduction: 5
• Section I Intercultural Perspectives: 18
• 1 Magpie babies Urban Aboriginal students identity and inequality in education Carol Reid: 19
• 2 Changing perspectives on intercultural classrooms Angela Ward: 37
• Section II Surviving the City Stories of Identity Lost and Regained: 48
• 3 Good community schools are sites of community activism Rita Bouvier: 49
• 4 On the margins of the middle Aboriginal girls in an urban middle school Heather Blair: 63
• 5 No friends barely A voice from the edge of Indian identity Carol Leroy: 83
• 6 Getting to know us Linda WatsonEllam: 93
• 7 Coyote Experiences as a district consultant Shauneen PeteWillett: 105
• Section III Rebuilding Culture Teacher Education with Urban Aboriginal Peoples: 116
• 8 To teach from the soul Bente Huntley: 119
• 9 Voices given to us Contextual theatre in an urban Native teacher education program Lon Borgerson with preservice teachers: 137
• Section IV Touching Earth in the City: 155
• 10 Stories of the people Success in urban settings the inner strength of Indianness Dottie King Bill Walters and Sharon Wells: 157
• Closing reflections Rita Bouvier and Angela Ward: 169

About the author

Angela Ward, PhD, is Professor Emerita in the School of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. Born in England, Dr. Ward has spent most of her adult life working with Aboriginal peoples in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Rita Bouvier is a freelance researcher and community-learning facilitator working with various public institutions and private sector organizations. After retiring from the administrative staff of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation in 2006, Rita served as a coordinator with the Canadian Council on Learning-Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre partnership at the University of Saskatchewan.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Resting Lightly on Mother Earth: The Aboriginal Experience in Urban Educational Settings
• Editors: Angela Ward, Rita Bouvier
• Publisher: Brush Education, 2001
• ISBN: 1550592211, 9781550592214
• Length: 196 pages
• Subjects: Education / Inclusive Education; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Native American Studies