Indigenous Expressive Arts And Culture Program Analysis

Although a great display of resiliency has been demonstrated by the Indigenous peoples of Canada since the early days of colonization, efforts still remain prevalent in restoring traditional cultural practices. This paper will provide a background behind The Indigenous Expressive Arts and Culture Program, a program aimed at teaching elementary school students about Indigenous cultural practices. This background will include specific issues, Canada’s history with the Indigenous community, a look in to the concept of culture, different practices and finally the context of the program. The Indigenous Expressive Arts and Culture Program would serve as a valuable resource in aiding the teaching of Canadian indigenous history of art, dance and
The idea of culture is much more than just the art, the songs, and the dances. It is the societal bond that it forms, the connectedness it provides between an individual, their creator and the rest of their community (Gray, 2013). Culture provides commonality within those in the community, it is a way of understanding their shared morals and values (Gray, 2013).
Context
The program would be in partnership with the Vancouver school district, nonetheless, there are hopes to be able to expand the partnerships across all of British Columbia. The program within Vancouver will have a broad focus on indigenous peoples of Canada as a whole and their diversity in cultural activities, however it will have a focus where possible on Coast Salish nations to acknowledge the land and the people that live on the land. When it comes to expansion, different communities would have a focus on involving local organizations within the program, to ensure the voices and culture within that community are being heard. Along with this partnership, each activity will be facilitated by an Indigenous members within the
These were primarily regarding the teacher’s inability to administer proper education to their students when teaching lessons about indigenous issues. Some of his examples included in his article included the educators having a lack of knowledge on the subjects, lack of support and resources within the educational system and unfortunate racist values that may come up through the teachers, administration, parents as well as the students (Kanu 2005, as cited in Deer 2013). Furthermore, statistics show that four in ten aboriginal children participate in cultural activities (Statistics Canada, 2010). “aboriginal adults feel cultural activities like dancing and creating art are strongly associated with positive emotions, identity and aspirations (Statstics Canada, 2010). Growing population DONNO WHAT IM DOING HERE HALP
Conclusion of the Background
The Indigenous Expressive Arts and Culture Program would aim to serve as a valuable resource in the teaching of Canadian indigenous history of art, dance and music. It will provide the younger generation of students with insight into indigenous culture as well as teach them the importance of maintaining, learning, and participating in cultural practices. Ideally, this will contribute to a shift in perceptions surrounding indigenous issues and will aid in the efforts