Course Profile Current
Aboriginal Issues in Canada, Grade 11,
University/College Preparation, Public
Unit
4: Health and Wellness: Contemporary
Challenges
Time: 20 hours
Activity 1 | Activity 2
| Activity 3 | Activity 4
| Activity 5
Students
investigate how current issues in the areas of Aboriginal health and wellness
are reflections of living conditions in Aboriginal communities. These
conditions in turn are rooted in the historical relationships, which have
evolved between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Students explore how
traditional Aboriginal wellness concepts, such as, the Medicine Wheel, were
challenged by the disease and economic dislocations that followed European
contact. The unit includes an investigation of current statistical information
and news stories relating to birth rates, diet, use of alcohol, high
incarceration rate of Aboriginal people, and other community health issues and
their treatment. As traditional Aboriginal views and practices reinvigorate the
face of health care in Aboriginal communities, students have an opportunity to
examine the needs and opportunities presented by these challenges as modern
Aboriginal peoples strive to maintain wellness and health.
Strand(s): Identity,
Relationships, Sovereignty, Challenges
REV.01 -
describe the historical basis for the contemporary relationship between
Aboriginal peoples and Canadian society;
REV.02 -
describe the social, legal, and political environments in which Aboriginal
peoples and non-Aboriginal peoples are constructing new relationships;
REV.03 -
demonstrate an understanding of Aboriginal peoples’ strong relationship to the
land;
REV.05 -
demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships that characterize an
Aboriginal world view;
CHV.01 -
identify social, political, and economic issues currently being addressed by
Aboriginal individuals and communities in Canada;
CHV.03 -
identify the challenges facing Aboriginal youth in Canada and suggest how these
challenges can be addressed at a personal, community, and governmental level;
CHV.04 -
demonstrate an understanding of contemporary Aboriginal education and health
issues.
ID1.05 -
identify ways in which Aboriginal elders, healers, leaders, artists, and
writers promote cultural perspectives and identities;
ID3.02 -
describe how Aboriginal languages are kept alive through the observance of
customs, ceremonies, and healing practices;
SO3.02 -
explain how Aboriginal peoples are reviving customs and traditions (e.g.,
birthing centres, potlatches);
CH1.04 -
assess ways in which an Aboriginal world view has invigorated and transformed
health care and educational practices (e.g., holistic healing, medicines from
plants, Native language instruction);
CH2.04 -
describe the impacts and implications of provincial and federal health and
education policies on Aboriginal peoples (e.g., the AIDS awareness programs,
the Aboriginal Head Start Program);
CH3.02 -
assess the effectiveness of attempts to improve the relationships among
Aboriginal peoples, the Canadian government, and Canadian society as a whole;
CH3.04 -
describe how health and education issues relevant to the quality of life of
Aboriginal peoples on and off reserves (e.g., the prevalence of diabetes,
alcohol and substance abuse, teen pregnancy) are a mutual responsibility of
Aboriginal peoples and Canadian society.
|
Activity
1 |
Health
and Wellness |
150
minutes |
|
Activity
2 |
The
Impact of European Contact on Aboriginal Health |
150
minutes |
|
Activity
3 |
Current
Problems in Aboriginal Health |
300
minutes |
|
Activity
4 |
Focus
on An Issue: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome |
300
minutes |
|
Activity
5 |
Integrated
Healing: A New Vision, An Ancient Path |
300
minutes |
Time: 150 minutes
In this
activity, students explore a range of perspectives on the health and wellness
of Aboriginal peoples. Students investigate traditional concepts of health and
wellness through interpretations associated with the Medicine Wheel. They
examine current practices regarding personal diet and health care and determine
how and why healthy viewpoints and practices for Aboriginal peoples are
essential for community well-being.
Strand(s): Relationships, Sovereignty, Challenges
Overall
Expectations
REV.03 -
demonstrate an understanding of Aboriginal peoples’ strong relationship to the
land;
REV.05 -
demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships that characterize an
Aboriginal world view;
CHV.01 - identify
social, political, and economic issues currently being addressed by Aboriginal
individuals and communities in Canada;
CHV.03 -
identify the challenges facing Aboriginal youth in Canada and suggest how these
challenges can be addressed at a personal, community, and governmental level.
Specific
Expectations
RE1.02 -
describe how an Aboriginal world view defines and promotes close relationships
(e.g., to the land, family, community, and culture);
SO1.02 -
describe how Aboriginal women and men maintain their traditions, customs, and
practices despite the external forces exerted by modern society;
SO3.02 -
explain how Aboriginal peoples are reviving customs and traditions (e.g.,
birthing centres, potlatches);
CH1.03 -
identify how Aboriginal youth are using their understanding of an Aboriginal
world view to meet contemporary challenges (e.g., through the Nishnawbe Aski
Nation Forum on Youth Suicide);
CH2.04 -
describe the impacts and implications of provincial and federal health and
education policies on Aboriginal peoples (e.g., the AIDS awareness programs,
the Aboriginal Head Start Program).
Students
have a personal sense of the meaning of health and wellness, but this can be
expanded to consider wider implications of health and wellness within a
community. Material studied in previous units deals in part with perceptions of
community and individual health. Media images and brainstorming about who and
what determines health and wellness standards can serve as a basis for
discussion. Thus, historical and geographical knowledge from the Grades 9 and
10 courses in Canadian and World Studies assists in the development of this
lesson sequence.
·
The
teacher should be familiar with Aboriginal teachings associated with the
Medicine Wheel.
·
The
teacher can explore concepts associated with physical, mental, social, and
spiritual health and wellness. These concepts can be categorized using concepts
associated with the Medicine Wheel.
·
Characteristics
of physical and mental health need to be examined before dealing with social
and spiritual issues. Links to spiritual beliefs that support health concepts
are made by students to support health concepts.
·
The
teacher should prepare a chart showing the four areas of the Medicine Wheel,
leaving space for student input.
·
The
teacher should provide a copy of Canada’s
Food Guide for each student.
1. Using a large circle on the board, students
identify the four components of holistic health and wellness: Physical, Mental,
Emotional, and Spiritual.
2. Students brainstorm positive characteristics
of physical and mental health.
3. In groups, in pairs, or through Socratic
question-and-answer methodology, students list factors that could inhibit
physical and mental growth and development.
4. Students brainstorm characteristics of stable
and unstable emotional behaviour associated with different age groups (e.g.,
3-year-old, 12-year-old, 17-year-old, parents).
5. Students explore how an individual’s
emotional behaviour is formed: within a family, in a community, with relations,
with friends, and at different ages.
6. Spiritual wellness is examined in the context
of mental, social and physical well-being. Students consider positive and negative
factors that contribute to spiritual understanding.
7. The role played by diet in health matters is
examined. Students study Canada’s Food
Guide and compare its recommendations to the economic realities and foods
available in isolated Aboriginal communities.
8. Students identify reasons why individuals and
communities can demonstrate both healthy and unhealthy characteristics.
·
Students
make organized notes on information researched and discussed.
·
A
brief quiz on information is used to assess knowledge and understanding.
·
Worksheets
are completed and evaluated.
·
Diagnostic
self-assessment by students using checklists is encouraged, as information
presented is sensitive.
·
Student
achievement in communication might be demonstrated in oral or written form.
·
Clear
written instructions could be provided if class brainstorming activities are
not appropriate.
·
Focused
individual activities should replace group interactions if appropriate for some
students.
Ryan,
Allan J. The Trickster Shift: Humour and
Irony in Contemporary Native Art. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1999.
Williamson,
Pam. First Nations People. Toronto:
Emond Montgomery Publishing Ltd., 1999.
Internet
For an
explanation of the Medicine Wheel:
– www.geocities.com/Rain Forest/ Canopy/1835/wheel/html
– www.sootribe.org/medicinewheel.html
Time: 150 minutes
Students
explore the impact of European contact on Aboriginal physical, mental, and
spiritual health. By tracing changes that occurred following the arrival of
Europeans, students examine the epidemics, the culture shock, and the economic
and environmental changes which had an impact on the social health and wellness
of Aboriginal communities. Students develop a web, which indicates the causal
connections among the environment, lifestyle changes, and emotional and
physical diseases.
Strand(s): Sovereignty, Relationships, Challenges
Overall
Expectations
REV.01 -
describe the historical basis for the contemporary relationship between
Aboriginal peoples and Canadian society;
CHV.03 -
identify the challenges facing Aboriginal youth in Canada and suggest how these
challenges can be addressed at a personal, community, and governmental level.
Specific
Expectations
RE2.02 -
demonstrate an understanding of the interactions between Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal peoples in the past (e.g., in terms of the role and function of
the Indian Act) and how these interactions will influence future relationships;
SO3.03 -
identify the ways in which Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians are
attempting to resolve disputes over the past treatment of Aboriginal peoples
(e.g., in the ongoing dialogue regarding residential schools, through
negotiations about land title);
CH3.02 -
assess the effectiveness of attempts to improve the relationships among
Aboriginal peoples, the Canadian government, and Canadian society as a whole;
CH3.04 -
describe how health and education issues relevant to the quality of life of
Aboriginal peoples on and off reserves (e.g., the prevalence of diabetes,
alcohol and substance abuse, teen pregnancy) are a mutual responsibility of
Aboriginal peoples and Canadian society.
Students
should be familiar with the use of various graphic organizers, including charts
and webs. Students also need a general knowledge of the history of
Aboriginal-Canadian relations over the past five hundred years.
The
teacher should gather and prepare materials for the class beforehand: chart
paper, poster paper, and markers.
1. Review briefly the lifestyles of Aboriginal peoples
before European contact: governance, religion, work, and the education system.
List changes that occurred due to European contact (e.g., smallpox and other
diseases, conversions to Christianity, residential schools, the introduction of
elected band councils, new laws, change from subsistence to market economy,
etc.).
2. Students
create a graphic organizer, which illustrates the consequences when Aboriginal
and Canadian societies met and the resultant cultural disjunction.
|
Aboriginal Societies |
European Society |
Possible Culture Shock |
|
Subsistence economies |
Commercial economy |
|
|
Traditional religions |
Christianity |
|
|
Health
and disease |
New
diseases |
|
|
Sharing
values |
Competition
for resources |
|
|
Traditional
education |
New
language and writing |
|
3. Based on this graphic organizer, students
discuss the physical and emotional impacts of the arrival of the Europeans on
Aboriginal communities.
4. Organize students into small groups and apply
the results of the organizer by examining the impact of Europeans on a) the
Inuit, b) the Woodland peoples, c) West Coast cultures, d) the peoples of the
Plains, e) the Métis. Be sure students are aware that the contact occurred in
different historical periods, and that the focus should be, as much as
possible, on the impact on Aboriginal health.
5. Show the video, Last Days of Okak, to illustrate the effects of such European
diseases as Spanish influenza on Aboriginal communities across Canada. The
population chart, found in First Nations:
The Circle Unbroken - A Teacher’s Guide, gives students a dramatic example
of the impact of epidemics on Aboriginal peoples.
6. Show the video, Uranium, to illustrate the connections between environment and
health issues. Students create a web, illustrating relationships that exist
among changes in environment, lifestyle, society, and Aboriginal physical and
emotional problems.
7. Students create a poster illustrating the
relationship between some aspect of the environment and the physical, social,
and emotional health of Aboriginal communities.
·
Use
formative teacher assessments to guide students in developing an understanding
of the impact of European contact on Aboriginal communities.
·
Use
formative teacher checklist to assess student perceptions of the connections
between the environment and the health and wellness of Aboriginal communities.
·
Use
rubrics to assess student involvement during class discussions.
·
Use
a poster rubric to assess student understanding of the interconnectedness of
environment, lifestyle, economic shifts, and the development of disease. (See
Appendix A, Unit 4, Activity 2.)
·
The
teacher may provide a template to help structure responses for the web exercise
or the poster. Students may prefer a written response rather than the poster.
·
Group
tasks may be allotted according to student ability.
·
Students
who require enrichment could search other areas in the world (Brazil, New
Guinea, Indonesia) in which the destruction of the environment has had an
impact on the social, emotional, and physical health of the indigenous
communities.
Print
Fenton,
William. Contacts Between Iroquois
Herbalism and Colonial Medicine. Washington: Smithsonian Institute, 1941.
Grygier,
Pat Sandiford. A Long Way from Home: the
Tuberculosis Epidemic Among the Inuit. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University
Press, 1994.
Lacey, Laurie. Mi’cmac Indian Medicine: A Traditional Way of Health. Halifax:
Formac, 1977.
McKechnie,
Robert E. Strong Medicine: A History of
Healing on the Northwest B.C. Coast. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1975.
Ontario
Advisory Council on Senior Citizens. Denied
Too Long: The Needs and Concerns of Seniors Living in First Nations Communities
in Ontario. Toronto: Canadian Government Publishing Centre, 1993.
Royal
Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Path to
Healing. Ottawa: Supply and Services, 1993.
Speck,
Dara Culhane. An Error in Judgement: The
Politics of Medical Care in an Indian/White Community. Vancouver:
Talonbooks, 1987.
The Story of Indian and Inuit Nurses
of Canada. 47
Clarence St., Ottawa: The Indian and Inuit Nurses of Canada, 1985.
Summary of Findings Report, Ontario
Aboriginal Health Policy. Toronto: Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres, 1992.
Young,
T. Kue. Health and Change in the
Subarctic. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988.
Young, T.
Kue. Health Care of Native Americans.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995.
Video
The Last Days of Okak. NFB, 1985, 23 min.
Uranium. NFB, 1990, 47 min.
Conversion. NFB, 50 min.
Time: 300 minutes
In this
activity, students examine reports of the current state of Aboriginal health as
reflected in news stories and statistics on selected health issues. Students
find, extract, and present statistics in ways that clarify the particular
health problems in Aboriginal communities. With careful teacher support and
guidance, students research important health issues that are meaningful to
their lives.
Strand(s): Challenges, Relationships, Identity
Overall
Expectations
REV.02 -
describe the social, legal, and political environments in which Aboriginal
peoples and non-Aboriginal peoples are constructing new relationships;
REV.03 -
demonstrate an understanding of Aboriginal peoples’ strong relationship to the
land;
CHV.01 -
identify social, political, and economic issues currently being addressed by
Aboriginal individuals and communities in Canada;
CHV.04 -
demonstrate an understanding of contemporary Aboriginal education and health
issues.
Specific
Expectations
ID1.05 -
identify ways in which Aboriginal elders, healers, leaders, artists, and
writers promote cultural perspectives and identities;
ID2.04 -
evaluate the ways in which the identities of contemporary Aboriginal people are
influenced by media, literature, and popular culture;
ID3.04 -
demonstrate an understanding of the different perspectives of Aboriginal issues
reflected in the media coverage from within Aboriginal communities and from
mainstream society;
SO3.01 -
describe the impact of the concept of Aboriginal self-government on nation
building.
Students
require a degree of computer skill to use search engines, locate websites, and
extract information. The teacher may need to review common statistical
expressions (e.g., occurrences per thousand). Further, the teacher may need to
review skills required to convert raw numerical data into graphs, pie charts,
or other visual formats, which make information more easily accessible and
increase its impact. In classroom situations without computer access, students should
read news stories associated with Aboriginal health issues to get a sense of
the dimension and breadth of health concerns in Aboriginal and remote
communities, as well as in urban centres.
It is
critical that the teacher locates and previews current news stories and
especially statistical sources in advance. Much of the information is sensitive
and may cause an emotional reaction with some students. Media stories may be
balanced with references from Aboriginal newspapers and the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples. Generally, information from statistical sources available
from computer databases is more current than books. Teachers are advised to
assign health issues for which adequate information is available.
The
teacher needs to be fully aware that dealing with such emotion-laden topics may
prove difficult and depressing for some students. Nonetheless, it is
fundamental that students investigate health problems that have reached crisis
proportions in some Aboriginal communities.
1. In small work groups, students examine a
selected health problem of concern to Aboriginal communities in Canada.
Depending on local interest, the skill of the group, or the nature of the
chosen problem, students may choose to find and analyse statistics or research
and report on news stories. Suggested topics include: diabetes, life
expectancy, suicide, obesity, infant malnutrition, AIDS, depression, family
violence, teen pregnancy, tuberculosis, STDs, smoking, poisoning (lead and
mercury), alcohol abuse, drug abuse (including gasoline and solvent sniffing).
2. If possible, students compare the dimension
of the problem in Aboriginal communities with Canadian society as a whole.
3. Students prepare graphs, charts, or
multimedia presentations and orally present and explain them to the class.
4. Following the presentations, students
individually and then as a class rank order the problems they have been
discussing. Each student then writes a written response in his/her journal to
identify what he/she considers the most pressing problem, and describes
possible solutions to the problem. Those students who wish could share their
responses with the class.
·
Assessment
of the student group work should be by means of formative and anecdotal
comments by the teacher, as students encounter different problems depending on
the topic they have chosen.
·
The
report may likewise take a variety of forms, and the teacher should make the
expectations clear. A generalized rubric for oral presentations would be of
considerable use. If it is more suitable (or most reports are in a written
format), teachers may evaluate the written material using a marking scheme.
The key variable in this activity is
the degree to which students need to have the statistics simplified. Teachers
can assign data that require very little manipulation before being converted
into a chart or graph. Likewise, teachers need to be aware of which news
stories are easier to research. Templates for the construction of graphs or
charts can be made available to students. For those students who find oral
presentations too stressful, a written response or analysis may be accepted.
Students may decide to choose (or to avoid) health problems with which they are
personally familiar, and the teacher needs to be sensitive to those choices.
The range of enrichment assignments is wide, and the teacher may prefer to let
students exercise greater choice in defining the problem and finding their own
sources for relevant information.
Print
Beat
Heart, with Molly Larkin. The Wind is My
Mother. New York: Berkeley Books, 1996.
Morriseau,
Calvin. Into the Daylight: A Wholistic
Approach to Healing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999.
Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples. Ottawa:
Ministry of Supply and Services Canada, Volume 3, 1996.
Internet
Internet
search on Aboriginal issues should begin with Bill’s Aboriginal Links. Also
see:
First
Nations and Inuit Health Services
Native
Nations of North America (see Health)
Assembly
of First Nations (see Health)
Turtle
Island Native Network (see Healing and Wellness)
Mainline news sources:
www.theglobeandmail.com
www.macleans.ca
Windspeaker – Selected news stories
Statistics:
Statistics
Canada: Aboriginal Populations
– www.statccn.ca/Daily/English/980113/d980113.htm#ART2
Video
“The
Innu: Another Cry For Help,” CBC News in
Review, February 2001.
Time: 300 minutes
Students
view video resources, discuss information in small groups, and participate in a
drama production related to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Following this period of
awareness building, information analysis, and sensitization, students, in small
groups, prepare a short written submission that identifies Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome as an issue of grave significance to Aboriginal youth. This paper
should include a description of a potential ad campaign that would seek to
raise awareness among Aboriginal youth of the devastating impact of alcohol
consumption on the unborn. Students also develop a product relevant to the
described advertising campaign (e.g., Aboriginal health services pamphlet;
Aboriginal mid-wives’ maternity clinic information board notice, video, or
radio commercial; article for submission to Aboriginal Youth Network website;
article for Aboriginal newspaper; Aboriginal student group poster).
Strand(s): Challenges
Overall
Expectations
CHV.03 -
identify the challenges facing Aboriginal youth in Canada and suggest how these
challenges can be addressed at a personal, community, and governmental level;
CHV.04 -
demonstrate an understanding of contemporary Aboriginal education and health
issues.
Specific
Expectations
CH3.04 -
demonstrate how health and education issues relevant to the quality of life of
Aboriginal peoples on and off reserves (e.g., the prevalence of diabetes,
alcohol and substance abuse, teen pregnancy) are a mutual responsibility of
Aboriginal peoples and Canadian society.
Students
should have some experience with self-evaluation before they attempt to assign
meaningful grades to themselves. The teacher should attempt to determine
students’ prior knowledge and comfort with this type of assessment before
implementing it.
·
The
introductory elements of this activity suggest the use of classroom discussion.
The teacher should read over the questions suggested for use in Strategy 1 and
reflect on possible responses to potential student answers. The content is
emotion-laden. Teachers need to be sensitive to the impact that this topic may
have on students.
·
In
respect to the use of questioning as a teaching methodology, it is important to
remember that students’ answers rarely rise to a higher level of thought than
the teacher’s question requires.
·
The
teacher must be well informed in regards to this topic prior to introducing the
activity. See Resources for materials that provide necessary background
information.
·
Students
make an entry in a reflection response journal for assessment. To be meaningful
and effective, it is important that students develop the habit of structured
self-assessment of journal entries at the course outset.
1. Prompted by teacher questions, the issue of
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is introduced, by having students review and discuss the
statistical information from the previous activity. They identify issues they
believe are of particular relevance to youth and record them on the overhead,
board,
chart paper, etc.
2. Inform
students that for the next several periods, the class examines an issue in an
in-depth and detailed fashion. The issue is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Fetal
Alcohol Effect and the impact on Aboriginal peoples and communities. If
students did not identify this issue in Strategy 1, discussion should take
place as to why this issue was not recognized as being significant.
3. Provide students with an advance organizer
that identifies the direction inquiry into this issue will take over the next
three to four periods (an approximation, based on 70- to 80-minute periods).
The organizer should include the sequentially organized topics: (i) What are FAS and FAE; (ii) Furthering our Understanding through
Discussion; (iii) Achieving Empathy
through Drama; (iv) Communicating our
Concern.
4. What are FAS and FAE? Students should be given a short period of time to reflect on and share
their knowledge of this topic and to learn from their peers. Students form
groups of four. Ask them to discuss questions, basing their responses on the
group’s current knowledge about FAS and FAE. Some questions that could be used
for this exercise are:
·
With
explicit reference to information conveyed by the names of these disorders
alone (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect) describe what these
disorders are and who they affect.
·
What
is the impact of FAS/FAE on infant mortality? on teenage suicide? on longevity?
·
Why
do you think that some researchers have suggested that FAS and FAE (Fetal Alcohol
Effects) may be underreported and under-acknowledged within some Aboriginal
communities?
·
Why
do you think that the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples described the pain
of FAS as being “particularly acute” to Aboriginal peoples?
·
What
is preventive medicine and how is it different from the more conventional
‘treatment’ orientation to health care? How would the concept of preventive
medicine apply to dealing with the issue of FAS?
It
may be helpful to assign roles to students within the group (e.g., recorder,
encourager, presenter, idea-giver, etc.). After giving student groups 15
minutes to note ideas, stop the process and invite responses. Discussion is
appropriate. Encourage responses that begin with reliable data and that make
reasoned inferences and conclusions. Students should recognize that this
represents their current knowledge about the topic of FAS/FAE.
5. Students watch the film, David with FAS. Students should make a reflection entry in their
journals. This video portrays a 21-year-old victim of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
and his adoptive mother, Mary, as they struggle with the consequences of the
syndrome. The focus for the reflection response should be how the video may
have changed their understandings of FAS.
6. Furthering
our Understanding through Discussion. Students form pairs. Each student
gets a selection of information cards on FAS, developed from suggested
resources (see Resources). Students take ten minutes to study the information
on their cards. Then, they relate to their partner, in their own words, the
facts and knowledge from their group of cards. Sample information bullets to be
included on cards are:
·
Alcohol
consumed by a pregnant woman affects the brain and central nervous system of
the fetus; children with FAS often cannot learn as easily as other children.
·
FAS
children frequently have facial abnormalities.
·
Alcohol
in the womb affects the development of the fetus’ auditory (hearing)
structures. Many FAS children have elevated numbers of ear infections and often
endure hearing loss.
·
Skeletal
abnormalities are common among FAS children. Microencephaly, club foot, chest
cage malformations, and spine problems have been noted.
·
Behavioural
problems are often seen in FAS children; hyperactivity, eating disorders, body
rocking, anxiety, and difficulties with peers have all been recorded in medical
reports.
·
Children
are uniquely honoured in the traditions of Aboriginal cultures. It is said in
some traditions that they are gifts from the spirit world, and thus have to be
treated very gently or they will become unhappy with this world and will leave
it for a friendlier place.
7. Achieving Empathy through Drama. One of the benefits of drama as a pedagogical
tool is that through movement and speech the participant is able to connect actions
to feelings. While time is a limiting factor, it is a good idea to have
students do brief warm-ups. See Resources for texts that can provide ideas.
(See Appendix C, Unit 4, Activity 4 – Nine Months Can Be Forever.) This
resource can be used in various ways. Students can take roles and simply read
the play aloud. The teacher should facilitate the use of the play in a more
dramatic, “in-role” manner by students whenever possible. Another possibility
is having students write a short one-act drama on this topic prior to the
lesson and using it. Drama can be an especially rewarding activity for
educators working with Native students. Drama as a teaching methodology
respects Aboriginal education perspectives insofar as the power of the spoken
word is recognized and honoured. “Language”, Aboriginal educator Gregory Cajete
comments in his book, Look to the
Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education, “is an expression of the
spirit because it contains the power to move people and to express human
thought and feeling.”
Following
the play, the teacher might encourage discussions by having students complete
the following:
a) I felt strongly about...
b) The things I would like to change are...
c) The play taught me...
(See
Appendix B, Unit 4, Activity 4, for Advance Organizer.)
8. Communicating
our Concern. Students develop a one-page written submission titled “FAS and
its Impact on Aboriginal Peoples.” This submission describes why FAS and FAE
represent significant challenges for Aboriginal youth in Canada. It also
briefly outlines a community and governmental advertising campaign that seeks
to raise awareness among Aboriginal youth of the problem of FAS/FAE. Students
develop a product to support the advertising campaign (e.g., Aboriginal health
services pamphlet; Aboriginal mid-wives’ maternity clinic information board
notice, video, or radio commercial; article for submission to Aboriginal Youth
Network website; article for Aboriginal newspaper). Collect real-world
exemplars that can be shared with students before they start to develop the
final product. Integrated Healing Programs at Ontario Native Women’s
Association (ONWA) chapters and programs at urban Friendship Centres might have
useful samples.
·
The
teacher should make anecdotal reports relating to student contributions and
observed learning skills during their group sharing and interaction in Strategy
4. Formative feedback should be provided to students so that they can improve
on the quality of their future cooperative learning interactions.
·
After
viewing the video, students self-assess their reflection response journal entry
(see Planning Notes for caution in use of reflection response journal in
assessment).
·
A
peer assessment would be appropriate for students after Strategy 6.
·
The
final written submission/advertising campaign product is evaluated using a
teacher-developed rubric.
·
For
the final writing assignment submission (one page) some students may benefit
from having the assignment carefully structured (e.g., half page for
description of why the issue is important, half page describing advertising
campaign). If necessary, provide the student with the number of paragraphs
expected and write out topic sentences for each paragraph.
·
Students
use a proofreading checklist to focus their attention on the task of editing
the submitted work.
·
Insist
on proofreading by the student and a peer before work is handed in.
·
In
some instances it may be necessary to accept answers that have been dictated to
a scribe.
·
For
students who require enrichment, consider a more evaluative emphasis on the
overall impact of the product in the assignment as opposed to the format and
content criteria. When impact criteria are emphasized in assessment, and form
and process downplayed, students are encouraged to focus on creative ways to
achieve the desired impact. This may mean modifying the assessment rubric.
Print
Courtney,
R. Re-play: Studies in Human Drama in
Education. Toronto: OISE Press, 1982.
Ministry
of Education. Dramatic Arts Grade 9
Course Profile. Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 1999.
Report of the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples.
Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, Volume 3, chapter 3, 1996.
Seaward,
C.A. and W. Barber. “Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Characteristics, Prevention,
Treatment and Long-Term Outlook.” B.C.
Journal of Special Education, V. 15, No. 2, 1991, pp.164-176.
Internet
–
www.taconic.net/seminars/fas.oz.html
–
www.alcholism.about.com/msubfas.htm
– www.specialized.Aboutcom/msubfas.htm
Video
David with FAS. National Film Board of Canada, 44 min.
C9196039/E9903
Time: 300 minutes
Students
examine ways in which traditional Aboriginal approaches to health and wellness
are being fused with and invigorating more conventional “Western” approaches to
medicine. Students investigate a health services career and, through the
development of a career presentation board, describe how practice in that field
might be enhanced through the inclusion of elements of Aboriginal world views
relevant to the promotion and improvement of health and wellness.
Strand(s): Identity, Sovereignty, Challenges
Specific
Expectations
ID1.05 -
identify ways in which Aboriginal elders, healers, leaders, artists, and
writers promote cultural perspectives and identity;
ID3.02 -
describe how Aboriginal languages are kept alive through the observance of
customs, ceremonies, and healing practices;
SO1.02 -
describe how Aboriginal women and men maintain their traditions, customs, and
practices despite the external forces exerted by modern society;
SO3.02 -
explain how Aboriginal peoples are reviving customs and traditions (e.g.,
birthing centres, potlaches);
CH1.04 - assess ways in which an Aboriginal
world view has invigorated and transformed health care and educational
practices (e.g., holistic healing, medicines from plants);
CH2.04 -
describe the impacts and implications of provincial and federal health and
education policies on Aboriginal peoples (e.g., AIDS awareness programs).
It would
be useful if students had a basic knowledge of the facts surrounding historical
contact between the various Aboriginal cultures in Canada and the European
peoples. It is important that they have some understanding that the
post-contact Aboriginal population crash was largely a result of the unequal
exchange of diseases between European and Aboriginal peoples. It would be useful
to review statistical evidence introduced in previous activities.
If
possible, contact an Aboriginal health care worker to come into the classroom
and discuss his/her career with students. When contacting community members,
always provide detailed information on what is being studied and how you
envision them supporting the student’s achievement of expectations. For
example: if this individual exemplifies the inclusion of Aboriginal
perspectives in their provision of health care services, the teacher might ask
him/her if he/she could discuss the obstacles he/she had to overcome in order
to promote and fuse these practices with more conventional approaches. If the
health care workers went to a more “Western” oriented training facility, did they
find the practice of their customs and traditions at odds with otherwise
accepted practice?
1. Introduce this short series of lessons by
describing to students that, prior to contact with European explorers and
settlers, the Aboriginal peoples of the “New World” were healthy in mind,
spirit, and body. They had developed their own system of health and healing
approaches that grew out of the world view held by each Aboriginal nation. The Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples notes that effective approaches to Aboriginal health and wellness
must “attend to the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of physical health
problems AS WELL AS the physical health aspects of spiritual, emotional and
social problems” (V.3, ch. 3, p. 226).
2. It is important that the teacher help
students to understand that the traditional holistic perspective on health was
responsible for the state of good health enjoyed by native peoples before
contact (or at least before extensive contact) with Canadian lifestyles. A
good, accessible resource to use for information on this topic is Jack
Weatherford’s book Indian Givers (see
Resources). Students may be surprised to learn that at the time of contact it
was the Aboriginal people who had the superior medical skills.
3. Share the following quote by an anonymous
elder from Waskaganish. Waskaganish is a small Cree community on the eastern
shores of James Bay in northern Quebec. Put the quote on an overhead. Have
students read it, then use questions to stimulate a short class discussion. The
quote is taken from the book, Healing
Ourselves, Helping Ourselves: The Medicinal Use of Plants and Animals by the
People of Waskaganish, by S. Marshall, L. Diamond, and S. Blackned, The
Cree Regional Authority.
In those days we rarely got sick. We would go
to our traplines in the early fall and not return until later winter or spring,
probably around late March. Moving from camp to camp we stayed strong and
healthy, for the camps were clean, the air was clean and we had good food. But
when we were sick, it was the plants and animals from our hunting territories
which were used as the basis of our medicines.
The traditional northern Cree
approach to health and wellness is also exemplified in sections of the book, Ellen Smallboy: Glimpses of a Cree Woman’s
Life, by Regina Flannery (see Resources). A section on p. 42 of this book
reveals that an extensive store of traditional knowledge about health care
existed among the Cree people well into the twentieth century. Interestingly,
Ellen is quoted in this passage as saying that women often knew more about
medicine than men and freely exchanged information.
After students have read the quote
and perhaps read the section in the Smallboy
book, show them an overhead of the Medicine Wheel. Describe for them how the
wheel symbolizes a traditional approach to health care and wellness practised
by various Aboriginal nations in western Canada. It is important that students
understand the holistic and integrated approach to healing promoted by the
Medicine Wheel. Ask students to connect details in the texts to the practices
and philosophies inherent to the Medicine Wheel. Students prepare a short
written response (this would work as a homework assignment).
(Student
instructions) The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples made the following
statement:
“To be truly effective, Aboriginal health and
healing systems must attend to the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of
physical health problems and to the physical health aspects of spiritual,
emotional and social problems” (V.3, ch. 3, p. 226).
Did
the Royal Commission misunderstand the use of the Medicine Wheel?
4. Outline the student task (one way this can be
done is by sharing with students the activities evaluation rubric – see
Appendix E), which essentially involves students doing research into
health-care professions, then, demonstrating their acquired knowledge by
creating a health care career display board. The display board, (this can be purchased
or made from cardboard) replicates what might be done if students were actual
health-care professionals preparing a career-day presentation booth. The twist
is that students ensure that the depiction of this career is inclusive of
Aboriginal healing and wellness perspectives and philosophies. If the teacher
wishes to create a fictional context as a backdrop to these presentations, it
might be imagined that students are representatives of departments within a
large regional Aboriginal-controlled, health-care centre that is acting in a
public awareness building capacity.
It might be important to demonstrate to students how the inclusiveness of
Aboriginal healing and wellness perspectives/philosophies would affect
practice. For example; a nutritionist that sought to embody Aboriginal health
and wellness principles would not only offer nutritional supplements to low
birth weight babies but would also assist the mothers, who may be too poor to
eat properly, to obtain vocational training. A doctor working within the
parameters of Aboriginal holistic health practices would not only provide
inoculations against infectious disease but would also advise Aboriginal
community leaders on the importance of cleaning up contaminated water sources
that foster the spread of such disease. The career presentation board could
include the following organizing elements: education required for this
profession, how the service is integrated within the bigger picture of
health-care delivery, schools, and colleges that offer training in this area,
need for the service within the Aboriginal community and suggestions about how
practice within this field could incorporate Aboriginal integrated or holistic
principles of healthcare.
The following careers could be used as research topics;
|
·
general practitioner (MD) |
·
pharmacist |
|
·
nurse |
·
optometrist |
|
·
nurse practitioner |
·
chiropractor |
|
·
social worker |
·
addictions counsellor |
|
·
psychiatrist |
·
midwife |
|
·
nutritionist |
·
homeopathic practitioner |
|
·
herbalist |
·
respiratory technologist |
|
·
ambulance attendant/paramedic |
·
X-ray technologist |
·
The
writing activity in Strategy 3 could be used as a diagnostic/formative
assessment tool. The teacher should model a response to this writing assignment
to ensure that all students understand that Aboriginal health services and
programs need to be based on integrated or holistic views of human health.
·
The
final product (the health care career presentation display board) could be
evaluated with a rubric. (See Appendix D, Unit 4, Activity 4.)
·
Students
who require enrichment may be able to undertake a in-depth and wide ranging
study of women’s role in health care in traditional indigenous cultures
worldwide.
·
Encourage
students to use a proofreading checklist to focus their attention on the task
of editing the submitted work.
·
Insist
on proofreading by the student and a peer before work is handed in.
·
In
some instances, it may be necessary to accept answers that have been dictated
to a scribe.
·
Allow
and encourage group work where it can be used to assist in task completion.
Some students may be able to excel in the visual elements of the display board
while others may provide the research and synthesis necessary.
·
Some
students may require the teacher to collect and pre-organize the research
content for one or more careers.
Print
Arnason,
T., R.J. Hebda, and T. Johns. “Use of plants for food and medicine by Native
Peoples of Eastern Canada.” Canadian
Journal of Botany, v. 59, no. 11, 1981, pp. 2189-2325.
Bremness,
L. The Eyewitness Handbook of Herbs.
(Available from Richters: The Herb Specialists, Email: orderdesk@richters.com /
phone: 1-905-640-6677).
Flannery,
R. and Ellen Smallboy. Glimpses into a
Cree Woman’s Life. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1995.
Hutchens,
A.R. Indian Herbalogy of North America.
New York: Shambhala Press, 1991.
Report of the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples.
Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, Volume 3, chapter 3, 1996.
Weatherford,
J. Indian Givers: How the Indians of the
Americas Transformed the World. New York: Fawcett-Columbine, 1988.
Video
Roman,
Estela, Patsy Clark, and Theresa Barnes. Native
American Medicine. Three Native American healers explain and demonstrate
healing rites, such as smudging, sweeping, primal dancing, bathing, and making
a sweat lodge, including the spiritual and medicinal significance of the herbs
used. (Available from Richters: The Herb Specialists, Email:
orderdesk@richters.com / phone: 1-905-640-6677).
Unit 4,
Activity 2
|
|
Limited Evidence |
Moderate Evidence |
Considerable Evidence |
Thorough Evidence |
|
poster
topic showed thought and imagination |
|
|
|
|
|
poster
showed graphic design and had visual appeal |
|
|
|
|
|
poster
showed clear connection between environmental/economic/ lifestyle changes and
development of disease |
|
|
|
|
|
student
showed interest and contributed to class discussion |
|
|
|
|
Unit 4,
Activity 4
What are
FAS and FAE?
1. Define FAS and its impact on Aboriginal
communities.
2. Compare the similarities between FAS and FAE.
3. Discuss the medical impact of FAS/FAE on
infant mortality rates, teenage suicide, and longevity.
Furthering
our Understanding through Discussion
1. Make a three-column chart to list your facts
and myths. Place the information you are not sure of in column 3 (neutral).
Achieving
Empathy through Drama
1. I felt strongly about...
2. The things that I would change are...
3. I have some concerns regarding...
4. The play taught me...
Communicating
our Concern
1. As a classroom community member, I would try
to...
2. As a family member, I would try to...
3. As an individual, my purpose as a role model
would be to...
Conclusions
1. What are FAS and FAE?
Unit 4,
Activity 4
Darkness
on the stage and silence. With lights still dimmed, music and party noise
begins and grows louder. Lights come up to reveal the set. First revealed is a
large clear plastic container off the stage to the right. Above it is a sign
marked WOMB. Inside and clearly visible is a doll that represents a young
infant. Next, lights come up on the stage, which is bare except for a couch and
some chairs. There are small gatherings of students talking and laughing; the
scene is a high school house party. As lights come up on the stage, the music
volume goes up. Some groups have pop, others beer and drinks (actually pop and
coloured water). One girl is sitting on the couch, a friend beside her. She is
laughing loudly and drinking a beer. Music dies. Group of three students near
front of the stage drinking pop and obviously enjoying themselves begin to
speak.
Student 1: MAN, IT SURE IS NICE TO CUT LOOSE A
LITTLE AFTER EXAMS.
Student 2: IT LOOKS LIKE SHELLY IS HAVING A
GOOD TIME (indicates girl on couch who is holding
a beer and laughing as she talks to several friends). I HAVEN’T SEEN HER IN SCHOOL IN THE LAST MONTH. DID SHE DROP OUT?
Student 3: BOBBY TOLD ME SHE’S PREGNANT.
Student 2: WELL, I GUESS HE SHOULD KNOW (all
three laugh, as they share what is obviously some private bit of information).
Student 1: I THOUGHT YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO
DRINK WHEN YOU’RE PREGNANT. I HEARD
IT CAN DAMAGE THE FETUS OR SOMETHING.
Student 3: I DON’T KNOW, MY COUSIN DRANK ALL
THROUGH HER PREGNANCY AND HER BABY
SEEMS ALL RIGHT (pause and obvious indecision) I GUESS.
Stage
Direction
Stage
lights dim. Lights illuminate a figure in black who wordlessly emerges from the
wings of the stage and walks slowly but purposefully toward the clear plastic
container marked womb carrying a bottle of vodka (the bottle is filled with
water). The bottle is opened and emptied into the container and the figure
walks back into the wings of the stage - the light remains on the plastic womb,
which now holds the infant and is partially filled with vodka. Stage once again
lights up revealing the same party scene; music is again loud; the lowering of
the music volume is the cue for the speakers – the group that was formerly
speaking has now moved off to the side of the stage. Focus is now on the couch
where Shelly sits. She is obviously feeling the effects of the alcohol to a
greater extent than in the previous scene.
Boy standing next to couch (Bobby): HEY SHELLY, NEED ANOTHER? (he
indicates he is referring to the beer by holding it up)
Boy standing next to Bobby: HEY BOBBY, MAYBE SHE’S HAD ENOUGH.
Bobby: AH! (Dismisses him with a wave of his hand and
walks over to get her another beer.)
Shelly: WHAT’S WRONG, FRANK? WORRIED ABOUT MY
CONDITION? (laughs drunkenly) DON’T
WORRY, WE’RE BOTH FEELING PRETTY GOOD RIGHT NOW (laughs, then her mood suddenly shifts and she becomes
angry). WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO? SIT AT MY
PARENT’S PLACE AND KNIT FOR 9 MONTHS, WHILE ALL MY FRIENDS GO OUT? FORGET IT! (She takes another big
swallow from the beer Bobby has just brought back.)
Stage
direction
Lights
dim on stage and music dies. Once again, lights follow the figure as he emerges
from the wings of the stage with another bottle of vodka. Once again, it is
poured into the container marked Womb. As the figure walks back into the wings,
lights fade. There is total darkness and silence momentarily - the sound of a
baby crying faintly is heard and grows louder. Lights on stage come up to
reveal Shelly wearily rocking a cradle. A knocking is heard off stage. Shelly
answers....
Shelly: COME IN. HEY! GOOD TO SEE YOU! HOW HAVE YOU
BEEN?
Girl 1: GREAT! WE JUST FOUND OUT THAT WE GOT ALL OUR
CREDITS.
Girl 2: YEAH. I EVEN GOT PHYSICS, IF YOU CAN BELIEVE
IT! HOW’S IT GOING WITH YOU?
Shelly, shaking her head: NOT SO GOOD, JEREMY SEEMS TO CRY
ALL THE TIME.
Girl 2, looking down into the
cradle: O WHAT A
DARLING, BUT HE LOOKS SO SMALL, I THOUGHT
HE WOULD BE BIGGER.
Shelly: HE’S GOING TO BE THREE MONTHS BUT THE NURSE AT
COMMUNITY HEALTH SAID HE WAS
UNDERWEIGHT. I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG. I’M STILL BREAST FEEDING LIKE THE NURSE TOLD ME.
Girl 1: YOU STILL SEE BOBBY?
Shelly: YEAH ONCE IN A WHILE. ACTUALLY HE JUST DROPPED
OFF A CASE OF BEER, WOULD YOU LIKE
ONE?
Girl 1: NO, WE’VE GOT TO GET GOING. (They leave)
Stage
direction
Shelly
walks them to the door, goes off to the side of the stage, grabs a beer, sits
down by the cradle, and takes a drink as the stage light dim. Once again, the
figure emerges from the wings of the stage again carrying a bottle of vodka and
repeats the ritual again - this time after the figure finishes pouring he turns
and faces the audience and in a clear, but rather monotonic voice says:
Dark figure: EVERY YEAR MOTHERS-TO-BE ALLOW
ALCOHOL TO ROB THEIR UNBORN CHILDREN OF THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. ONLY EDUCATION
CAN PREVENT THE LIFE-LONG DAMAGE OF FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME FROM CONTINUING TO
AFFECT OUR COMMUNITY’S YOUNGEST MEMBERS.
Unit 4,
Activity 4
|
Criteria |
Level 1 (50-59%) |
Level 2 (60-69%) |
Level 3 (70-79%) |
Level 4 (80-100%) |
|
Knowledge relationship
of alcohol to FAS and FAE |
-
demonstrates limited understanding of the relationship of Alcohol to FAS and
FAE |
-
demonstrates some knowledge of the relationship |
-
demonstrates considerable knowledge of the relationship |
-
demonstrates a high level of knowledge of the relationship |
|
Inquiry Health
Care Career Display has suggested strategies and resources |
-
demonstrates strategies and resources with limited effectiveness |
-
demonstrates strategies and resources with some effectiveness |
-
demonstrates strategies and resources with considerable effectiveness |
-
demonstrates strategies and resources with a high degree of effectiveness |
|
Communication - to
different audiences; targets more than one group |
-
limited evidence of communication with target audiences |
- some
evidence of communication with target audiences |
-
considerable evidence of communication with target audiences |
- high
degree of evidence of communication with target audiences |
|
Application - of
procedures, equipment, and technology |
- uses
procedures, equipment and technology with limited effectiveness |
- uses
procedures, equipment and technology with some effectiveness |
- uses
procedures, equipment and technology with considerable effectiveness |
- uses
procedures, equipment and technology with a high degree of effectiveness |
Teacher
Comments:
Unit 4,
Activity 5
|
Criteria |
Spiritual |
Emotional |
Physical |
Mental |
|
Knowledge -
demonstrates knowledge of FAS/FAE as related to the Medicine Wheel |
- uses
knowledge which indicates spiritual effects |
- uses
knowledge which indicates emotional effects |
-uses
knowledge which indicates physical effects |
- uses
knowledge which indicates mental effects |
|
Inquiry -
researches health care professionals in Native and Non-Native environmental
regarding access and availability |
- uses
statistics, charts, and bar graphs specifically related to the spiritual |
- uses
statistics, charts, and bar graphs specifically related to the emotional |
- uses
statistics, charts, and bar graphs specifically related to the physical |
- uses
statistics, charts, and bar graphs specifically related to the mental/
intellectual |
|
Communication -
communicates between self and personal experiences, other subjects, the
community |
-
communicates information and ideas related to spiritual needs (e.g., tapes,
video) |
-
communicates information and ideas specific to emotional needs (e.g., signs
as in no drinking) |
-
communicates information and ideas specific to physical needs (e.g., symbols,
such as danger, toxic) |
-
communicates information and ideas specific to mental needs |
|
Application makes connections between self
and personal experiences, other subjects, the community |
-
connects concepts, technology, safety and spiritual self, others and
community regarding alcohol |
-
connects concepts of technology, safety and emotional self, regarding alcohol |
-
connects concepts of technology and physical self, community, and others
regarding alcohol |
-
connects concepts of technology, safety, and mental/intellectual self and
other regarding alcohol |
Teacher
Comments:
Course Overview | Unit 5 | Course Profiles Main
Menu