Previous weeks!

Please Be Aware: We expect everyone to read the rules and guidelines of this thread. Mods will remove questions which we deem to be too involved for the theme in place here. We will remove answers which don't include a source. These removals will be without notice. Please follow the rules.

Some questions people have just don't require depth. This thread is a recurring feature intended to provide a space for those simple, straight forward questions that are otherwise unsuited for the format of the subreddit.

Here are the ground rules:

• Top Level Posts should be questions in their own right.

• Questions should be clear and specific in the information that they are asking for.

• Questions which ask about broader concepts may be removed at the discretion of the Mod Team and redirected to post as a standalone question.

• We realize that in some cases, users may pose questions that they don't realize are more complicated than they think. In these cases, we will suggest reposting as a stand-alone question.

• Answers MUST be properly sourced to respectable literature. Unlike regular questions in the sub where sources are only required upon request, the lack of a source will result in removal of the answer.

• Academic secondary sources are prefered. Tertiary sources are acceptable if they are of academic rigor (such as a book from the 'Oxford Companion' series, or a reference work from an academic press).

• The only rule being relaxed here is with regard to depth, insofar as the anticipated questions are ones which do not require it. All other rules of the subreddit are in force.

These claims make Nri out to be some kind of utopia - and while I would be happy to believe such a utopia had existed at some point, it also seems a bit too good to be true. Especially since none of the claims are sourced. Similar claims seems to be made on some other sites like this one: https://sites.psu.edu/afr110/2014/09/24/kingdom-of-nri-the-history-of-nigeria/ but the claims aren't sourced here either (it seems to me. To be honest I'm not that great at navigating websites)

So my question is - do we really know if this was the case? Is the history of Nri politicized in any way? Are these claims outright lies, misinterpretations or true?

I saw this http://www.cnn.com/style/article/record-breaking-da-vinci-painting-abu-dhabi-louvre/index.html and then this recently http://www.cnn.com/style/article/raphael-paintings-vatican/index.html and it got me thinking the greatest works of art were created by Italians at the Vatican or Florence (just in Italy) just gorgeous, lively paintings but when it comes to other cultures it looks more distressed or flat. I was just wondering how the art movement was so advanced there when compared to Britain, India, China or Japan?

Instituting an Indigenous education helps to underscore the existence of a monocultural educational system that inherently neglects the nuances in both individuals and groups that reside in a pluralistic society. Because of this mono approach, Indigenous students have suffered, despite some overlap in teachings:

Students in Indigenous societies around the world have, for the most part, demonstrated a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the experience of schooling in its conventional form-an aversion that is most often attributable to an alien institutional culture rather than any lack of innate intelligence, ingenuity, or problem-solving skills on the part of the students (Barnhardt & Kawagley, 2005, p. 10; Battiste, 2002)

Place-Based and Ecological Relationship. One of the biggest differences that an Indigenous pedagogy highlights is that of humans relationship to "nature," which many see as the physical material that composes the environments we live in, largely organic and inanimate objects.

From an Indigenous perspective, humans do not exist outside of nature, but are part of nature itself and contribute to the overall cycles that propel the functions of our universe. We contribute to the continuation of everything else as much as we survive off the necessities acquired by harvesting things from nature. This means that nature is afforded respect much like any person is and this respect is often conveyed through ceremony, as spoken about earlier. Cajete (2000) notes this by saying:

Traditionally, harmonizing natural with human community was an ongoing process in Indigenous education, both a formal and informal process that evolved around the day-to-day learning of how to survive in a given environment. This learning entailed involvement with ritual and ceremony; periods of being alone in an environment; service to one's community through participation in the "life-making" processes with others; and an engendering of a sense of enchantment about where the people lived. All combined toward realizing the goal of finding and honoring the "spirit of place" (p. 93).

Indigenous peoples' focus on our environment was and is a critical aspect if our communities were to survive in the areas qw resided and thus became a central part to our educational processes. We had to work in harmony with the environment to continue and doing so meant that the environment had to be preserved out of practicality. Yet, it wasn't always with a practical focus that Indigenous groups developed an intimate relationship with their environment. Indigenous respect for the environment was often born out of a perceived moral obligation as opposed to a pragmatic or even "green" attitude. Through various Indigenous spiritual reasoning, natural materials are often regarded as being their own people and having their own spirits. To show respect and care for them was as common as showing it to another human, coupled with the stewardship that sometimes was bestowed by the Creator either to humans or even to animals.

Thus, in an Indigenous education, the pedagogy utilized does well to accommodate for this kind of understanding about the environment. More specifically, it helps to relate the importance of place-based education that is culturally relevant to those being taught. So not only is there this relationship to the environment that has to be noted, but also a special relationship between a group of people to the land they identify as where they originate.

For example: I work at a state college in a Native American centered program. This program, while still containing Western educational elements and models, is working to "Indigenize" itself and to incorporate such things as placed-based education. Our program is operated at four (soon to be five!) locations. Looking at two locations in particular, one located in an urban city and in a more remote area on a reservation, they are quite different from each other in both terms of culture and environment. The urban center draws students of American Indian backgrounds who are often raised in an urban environment and this has become a fairly distinct background from American Indians who grow up on a reservation; they also contain American Indians from a wider variety of Tribes. The location on the reservation sees American Indian students, but of a more homogeneous background - those coming from the same Tribe. By building a place-based curriculum, we are trying to accommodate for the nuances of these backgrounds. One way we are doing this is by utilizing the faculty members' academic freedom, we can structure the course syllabi to allow for separate and more specific assignments, readings, and activities for the undergraduate students. These items can be constructed to reference things of direct relevance to the students of that area, such as incorporating stories and histories of their Tribe(s) and studying aspects that they deal with in their area of daily living. This effort also emphasis the need for a traditional Indigenous view of the environment since many Indigenous teachings that are relevant to the land automatically include the aforementioned environmental values (Styres, Haig-Brown, & Blimkie, 2013).

Teacher-Student Relationship. This third aspect proves to be a truly defining element for an Indigenous pedagogy. The way a student and teacher relate to each other in the learning process for Indigenous peoples stands distinctly apart from what we often see occurring in Western institutions of both higher education and K-12 models.

One of the models that is witnessed in Western cultures is what has become to be known as the "Baking Model" of education. As outlined in Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire (2000), this "banking concept of education" considers knowledge "a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing" (p. 72), which Freire considers to be a projection of ignorance and a characteristic of oppression as an ideology. The practices and attitudes of this system are:

(a) the teacher teaches and the students are taught;

(b) the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;

(c) the teacher thinks and the students thought about;

(d) the teacher talks and the students listen--meekly;

(e) the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;

(f) the teacher chooses and enforces his voice, and the students comply;

(g) the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher;

(h) the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it;

(i) the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students;

(j) the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects (p. 73).

This model focuses on the objectifying of students, as if they are an "empty vessel" to be "filled" with the knowledge from the teacher, who puts themselves in opposition to the students by treating them as if they have little to add to the foundation the teacher is attempting to build.

This model where the teacher is considered in this aspect is nearly opposite of the mentoring position a teacher holds within an Indigenous pedagogy. For example, Indigenous teachers, who are often considered elders of a Tribal community rather than strictly someone with the profession of teacher, do not usually try to formally standardize teaching methods to apply across the board. Rather, they make room for the individual they are teaching, realizing each student has their own capabilities, needs, and interests. As related by Jeff Lambe (2003) from his experiences with Oglala Lakota and Mohawk mentors:

A mentor would then make what I can best describe as suggestions, usually valid in terms of the nature of the context of a situation, where the individual is in his or her life, and the nature of the relationship between the mentor and the individual. These suggestions never seemed obligatory. The person would reflect and be free to regard, disregard, or continue to reflect, depending on how the person feels. The impact of this form of education can be profound because of the personal nature of the relationship. In this way, learning is nurtured, not forced or dictated. One is never told what to learn or how one should learn it. Learning is entirely dependent on the willingness of the elder and mentor and the person's respect, motivation, interests, and gifts (p. 309).

Therefore, an Indigenous pedagogy sees the teacher as one who acknowledges the agency of the student and realizes the value they bring to the table when the learning process occurs. Students already have a foundational knowledge with which to work with and they can contribute to their overall education as much as their teacher can. This is a reversal of the dehumanization and objectifying that takes places within the Banking Model and recognizes that inherent value in Indigenous teachings.

Part of the teacher's responsibility is to also ensure that culturally appropriate materials is provided. This cycle of learning doesn't stop with the students, but everyone is noted as continuously learning. Thus, Jacob (2013) exemplifies this when relating the actions of a Yakama (an Indigenous group in Eastern Washington, U.S.A) woman who decided to help a group of Native students organize a club that would utilize an Indigenous pedagogy:

Sue did what traditional cultural teachings instruct: seek our mentorship from tribal elders. She stated: "I [went to see] Hazel Miller. She taught us, no she didn't reach, she told us about the dances. Each one has a spirit and its own life. You danced to that." In her interview, Sue related how elders began instructing her by telling her about the dances to ensure that Sue understood the background and meaning of the dances. . . (pp. 20-21).

Thus, this mentorship extends beyond just that of the students who might be taking place in formal education, but also to what might be considered informal education.

##Implementing an Indigenous Pedagogy for History

So now that we are familiar with some aspects of an Indigenous pedagogy, how can this be implemented? And how can this art of teaching be used to convey history in an accurate manner?

Many of the typical patterns followed in Western systems of education have not proven useful for Indigenous students, as mentioned above. However, there are things that can be done. The book Re-Creating the Circle: The Renewal of American Indian Self-Determination (Harris, Sachs, & Morris, 2011) dedicates a large portion of the book to discussing this:

Teachers create curricula (circles of learning and teaching) through constantly creating models and applying them to actual teaching situations. Ideally, teachers constantly adjust their models to fit their students and the constantly changing realities of education. Through such constant and creative adjustments, teachers and students engage in a symbiotic relationship and constantly form feedback loops around what is being learned. In this way, teachers are always creating their stories even as they are telling them. From this perspective, what is needed is a culturally informed alternative for thinking about and enabling the contemporary education of American Indian people . . . This leads to the development of a contemporized, community-based education process that is founded upon traditional tribal values, orientations, and principles but that simultaneously utilizes the most appropriate concepts and technologies of modern education (p. 323).

Simply put, by allowing Indigenous peoples to develop their own systems, they can better meet the needs for both themselves, their students, and their communities. This means that the teachers needs to be aware of and acquainted with the traditional values to be implemented into the curriculum and capable of cooperating with those being taught. Combining the things spoken about here is what can accomplish this. Recognizing the value of traditional stories and the knowledge they impart will validate the origins of students. Accommodating for the origin place and the ethical relationship between humans and nature will allow for a harmonizing of beings and reinforce the importance of practical education that is relevant. Adjusting the relationship between teacher and student will rehumanize the learning process and prevent objectifying, which enriches a student's experiences both inside and outside of the formal learning process. These benefits also extend beyond Indigenous students and can be applied to non-Indigenous students alike, those who, in my opinion, do not benefit from many Western methods of teaching as previously thoughts (Freire, 2000; Lambe, 2003; Medin & Bang, 2014).

The teaching of history can be accomplished via this process. Historical events, details, peoples, and narratives can be taught via the methods discussed here. Utilizing the knowledge possessed by Indigenous elders is one of the biggest ways this can be done. Rather than seeing the stories of elders as purely speculative and anecdotal, there is a need to recall that for many Indigenous peoples, the act of orally relating things is still alive and considered the primary way to learn cultural customs. Thus, the words of elders to relate what happened in the past has as much authority as the written word (if we are putting Indigenous peoples and Western societies on level playing fields, that is).

Another way is the utilizing of historical sites and items as being the facilitating items for history itself, coupled with the experiences of people. This method is definitely more common in Western societies, such as where places are designated as historical sites. But understanding that the land itself has a history to tell is equally important. When place-based education is implemented and the mentoring of elders is instilled within students, the lessons of history are not only conveyed in what we, as people, have recorded and tell each other, but also in what historical sites and objects tell us. In a Western sense, history denotes the things of the past that have been written down or recorded. Before writing, times are referred to as "pre-history." For Indigenous peoples, the utilizing of writing systems does not invalidate our interpretation of history nor the interpretation imparted by nature or supposed "inanimate" objects.

References

Barnhardt, R., & Kawagley, A. (2005). Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Alaska Native Ways of Knowing. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 36(1), 8-23.

Battiste, M. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy in First Nations education: A literature review with recommendations. Ottawa, Canada: National Working Group on Education.

Bishop, W., & Starkey, D. (2006). Pedagogy. In Keywords in Creative Writing (pp. 119-125). University Press of Colorado. doi:10.2307/j.ctt4cgr61.28

Cajete, G. (2000). Native Science: Natural laws of interdependence. Clear Light Pub.

Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Harris, L., Sachs, S., & Morris, B. (2011). Re-Creating the Circle: The Renewal of American Indian Self-determination. University of New Mexico Press.

Jacob, M. M. (2013). Yakama Rising: Indigenous cultural revitalization, activism, and healing. University of Arizona Press.

Lambe, J. (2003). Indigenous Education, Mainstream Education, and Native Studies: Some Considerations When Incorporating Indigenous Pedagogy into Native Studies. American Indian Quarterly, 27(1/2), 308-324.

Medin, D. L., & Bang, M. (2014). Who's Asking?: Native science, western science, and science education. MIT Press.

Styres, S., Haig-Brown, C., & Blimkie, M. (2013). Towards a Pedagogy of Land: The Urban Context. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue Canadienne De L'éducation, 36(2), 34-67.

Edit: Forgot a word.

Edit 2: A few more words.

I was recently at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans (fantastic museum!) and came across this MAP from the 3rd Armored Division.

Thought it was fascinating to see a close-up ground scale map that commanders on the front line would use.

My question is, is it possible to view maps like these online or in some other means?

I am interested as I am a miniature wargamer and think having the ability to look at a map such as this is detailed would be great for generating scenarios for a given area.