| Description | This foundational course introduces students to
Indigenous peoples, worldviews, cultures, and ways
of knowing through the lens of contemporary
Indigenous artists and their cultural expressions.
Situated within a basket of Indigenous values,
this curriculum privileges Indigenous presence and
the gifts that Indigenous cultures have
contributed and continue to contribute to the
social, ecological, cultural and political fabric
of Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada. Through
thematic based lessons, presentations, interviews,
readings and films, we will trace important
moments in Indigenous histories emphasizing the
diversity of Indigenous peoples in Canada and
North America. This course will also track the
impacts of Indigenous-settler relations as they
inform our current historical moment and aims at
decolonizing our lenses and developing an
understanding and validation of a plurality of
knowledges and alternative histories. A central
tenet of this course is understanding the spirit
of place and the importance of the local, and the
ways in which place informs us as artists,
designers, guests and community members. By
fore-fronting place and the land, we are situated,
as teachers and learners, in a reciprocal,
responsible relationship with the Indigenous ethos
of "all my relations." An integral part of this
course will teach Indigenous values through
Indigenous material workshops that may include
beading, brush-making and working with natural
ochres. This course may also include field trips
on the land and attending local Indigenous
cultural events like powwows or Hoobiyee (New Year
Festivals). Indigenous Presence can be taken as an
elective in any of the four years of a program.
All students are welcome in this course. |
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