good info

Engaging.

its good

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Course was very informative and full of information.

It became a course of how the victim's were exploited and continue to be and how they suffer today, without offering solutions to the problems.

Given today October 2021, with all the news of the atrocities of the Residential Schools, this course would take a graver view of the indigenous peoples position, without offering solutions.

Solutions are what allow errors and mistakes to be dealt with and for societies to move forward. Continuation of the past solves nothing. What can be done to allow the healing to to commence?

I took this course hoping to gain an understanding of what is wrong, at the very beginning of it that information was provided, and throughout the course examples of how indigenous people are treated and segregated was given. What is the solution from the indigenous point of view?

I am very thankful that the indigenous community is gravely concerned about the land and the environment, their stories hold get truths and meanings, this course showed that and reenforced my thoughts.

However what I gather from this is that the indigenous community want to have special compensations and exemptions. In a society it does not work it becomes chaos. Tradition and culture are very important to all, but granting individual groups special exemptions benefits no one. What I got from this course is that indigenous people want exemptions and compensation for past errors. But in what form?

A society must agree to work together as a unit or like paddling a canoe, if both people are not paddling in the same direction nothing is accomplished. Most definitely traditions and culture need to be maintained (the error of residential schools) but we must work together, we must all contribute equally in some manner, much like a marriage we all need to perform the role and tasks of what we are good at.

Thank you for the course I enjoyed the information and knowledge.

The course is a good overview but needs some polishing to be great.

Several questions in the quizes were confusing and did not match with the readings. Some quiz questions asked something like "What was THE issue..." but when you looked at the readings there might be two or three issues raised and the answer options included versions of more than one. When you get a quiz question wrong, suggesting that you go back and look things up is not very helpful. A better quiz would have a specific reference (either for the correct answer or for the wrong options) that could then direct the student to the information. This cross linking would also ensure that quiz questions and choices matched with material in the course.

There was no clear way to go back and redo a quiz but it says we can do re-takes.

Some data is wrong, e.g., Calgary Olympics were not in 1986 they were in 1988. I didn't keep track of everything but between grammatical errors and factual errors, I suggest that someone go through the course and make corrections.

I live in Treaty 6 and 7 areas and the course was heavily weighted to Eastern Canada and not particularly strong in Western Canadian experiences.

The sections referencing the case law were probably the strongest pieces of the course in both material and clarity.

I enrolled in this course to better understand the history and contemporary issues of Canada's indigenous peoples so that I can be better informed and more supportive.  When the course stuck with discussing facts (versus pointed opinions),  I felt that I was gaining a greater appreciation of our sad history; I enjoyed the content and I was supportive of what was being discussed. 

What was truly distracting and irritating was the ongoing victim versus oppressor theme.  I can sympathize with that theme -- and I get it -- but  to repeat it over and over without offering any ideas on how to move forward is a great disservice to what this course could have been and I was hoping for.  I would ask how you expect a person that voluntarily devotes the time and to learn to feel welcome when I am referred to as a settler, a colonialist, a racist, a misogynist, a paternalist, a heteropatriarch, a capitalist, a subsummator, and a genocidal instrument over and over throughout the classes? 

Sadder still is that over the twelve sections very little was conveyed in terms of how WE can move forward in the future to make our country a better place to live for ALL of us.  Maybe that's irrelevant to a primer course?

I thought this course covered most of the key takeaways from Canadian Indigenous History, however, it was very disappointing that significant figures (e.g., Chief Tecumseh) were very minimally mentioned throughout the modules; this is really important history and deserves to be included in the course. In turn, adding these components to the course would've definitely made it more interesting to learn. Finally, I think this course tried way too hard to attempt to establish a real-world social connection in an online environment. For instance, the instructors are constantly making the same hand gestures every few seconds and it is very noticeable, hard to watch, and is obvious that they were informed to do so. I also think that some points are highlighted in the videos that are just part of ordinary conversation and do not actually hold any particular significance on its own and as such, they shouldn't be emphasized over everything else. I noticed this a few times throughout the course. In sum, however, I think the course was well-structured and would be a great learning opportunity for those that have never learned about Indigenous History in their past.

The initial part of the course including contact and colonization was interesting and a good review regarding the creation of the Canadian state and its effects of indigenous people.

The section narrated by Ruben in week one was poorly done and should be omitted from the curriculum. Given that there are many indigenous language in Canada I did not find the inclusion of this section useful.

The section on indigenous women including murdered and missing woman could have been a module on its own.

More content on intergenerational trauma would be helpful to understand the lived experience of those folks living with intergenerational trauma

The final module on indigenous art felt more like an art history course and could have been left out.

The Paintings done by Leah Dorian however , where just lovely and added context and meaning to the didactic videos. This section was well done as were the testimonials and conversations with elders in their native languages.

The quizzes with the exception of week 10 were fair and a good measure of what one was required to take away after watching the videos in each section.

7/10

The course has a lot of good factual information, especially for a newcomer to Canada like me. However, it also raises more questions than it answers, as it oversimplifies multiple topics and attributes a number of societal problems which (IMHO) are "universal human experiences in modern world" to colonialism / paternalism – I myself am from a small country with exceedingly white population with no history of colonialism nor slavery nor strong paternalism, yet we do have a lot of the same societal / identity / cultural problems as the first nations peoples do – so issue attribution throughout the course feels disturbing, narrow-minded and wrong. Overall, the course somehow managed to paint indigenous peoples and culture as weak and needy, despite the best intents of course creators. I feel I'd be better off without watching the course, and following on social media the few indigenous creators I stumbled upon by chance, to learn about the problems they deal with, their culture, and how to be respectful.

While I learned alot and am so much more aware of the history of Indigenous people in Canada, I found the format of the course quite flat. The professors, while I'm sure knowledgeable, had very flat presentation styles that made it difficult to remain engaged. Staring forward and barely moving any part of their bodies was actually distracting though that sounds incongruous. The text was therefore very helpful, though as acknowledged by you, had many grammar, spelling, sentence inconsistencies which was annoying to the reader. Improve the video clips by putting in more 'test questions'-to put one question in the odd videos seemed a bit futile i.e. use that as a method of engagement or don't use it at all. Some of these comments are perhaps nit-picky but I believe the quality of the presentation is key to the enjoyment of the learner. That all aside, I enjoyed the content, certainly adjusted some of my views and am glad I did the course.

I enjoyed the course very much, and learned a lot, thank you to the professors and staff who put it together. I found the lectures excellent, with the small caveat that I had to listen to them at 1.5 times speed since they were spoken so slow as to be geared, I suppose, to be understandable to non native English speakers. The range of topics covered was thorough and well chosen.

My main critique is that usually in a university level class much of the learning comes from interaction with ones peers. In this context, the discussion forums are very weak. In part this is no doubt because people are taking the class at very different times. Basically There is rarely any substantive 'discussion' at all in these forums. I tried to post something a bit controversial or challenging either a new topic or a response to someone else's topic, once per week, and had almost no responses or feedback or interesting discussions arise from these posts.

Could be updated and cover more important information around the Indian Act and treaties and the deceit around treaties, more on residential schools and the new findings of mass graves etc. Also more on various cultural practices such as sweat lodges, medicine wheel teachings, teepee teachings, pit houses, brushing ceremonies, potlaches, clan structures, history of name changes (people and places), impacts of colonization (homelessness, addiction, etc and where to find supports), more on the ongoing 60's scoop and overrepresentation of children in care, diversity of languages and cultural practices, information around cultural appropriation, how to be an ally, equity in education and employment, not Pan-Indigenous. Feature someone from each province and territory to speak about that region of Kanata and the diversity and important history in the area. Include Lawrence Paul Yuxwelupten's art. An overview of the various language groups.

It was interesting but there are so many errors in the transcriptions that some of the paragraphs don't even remotely make any sense. Also, the test questions were annoyingly specific. Sometimes all of the answers to a question were correct but they are looking for the exact specific wording used in the text so I was a bit confused initially but did figure it out eventually. They aren't looking for just any correct answer, but the one specifically answered in the text.

I don't think it makes sense that you can't just redo the test until you get the mark you want. Why do we have to wait until the next day to redo it? How does that make sense in this format?

Overall, I did enjoy it and I'm glad I did it. One thing I would have loved to be included would be early history of First Nations in North America and how long they existed here before settlers came.

Informative and indepth review but certainly a strong bias with an anti-Government of Canada, colonial slant (I think the views are too rooted in the past). Granted there are the missed opportunities for better governance with past relationships but this has happened everywhere in human history including Europe, Asia, etc. The land belongs to all living humans not just Indigenous peoples. As well, having travelled to several Indigenous communities in BC, Alberts, Ontario & Quebec; a common thread is the larger disrespect for their communities and the land. I think the values proposed are missing with regard to relationship with the land. Sad but visually evident,

I expected a more balanced perspective recognizing the other side such as free housing, tax free status, on reserve services that white Canadians do not receive. Just my viewpoint ...

The course was interesting, I learned a lot. But... Stereotypes suck. Works both ways. :( The quizes were badly written. The artwork should have been showcased, higlighted - rejoiced...not just discussed. Over all, I feel it was a missed oppourtunity to show case creativity and ingenuity of the aboriginal population. It also glossed over any ugliness, kinda disneyfied the entire aboriginal existence, and ignored the work "colonists" have done to build bridges . Can't say this program gave me hope for the future, but knowing and growing up with Native peoples, friends and family, they don't see the future or our relationships with each other so bleakly, so that gives me hope. Over all I'm grafeful for taking the course, but would love to take a new and greatly improved course down the line. Thank you for the oppourtunity.

Not what I thought an introductory course would be like. Unfortunately I didn't feel as though I gained a solid foundation to move forward. I will be looking at take other introductory courses about Indigenuity/Indigenous people of Canada. Course leaders and guest were very passionate and articulate. I am very familiar with online courses and have on my own investigated Canada's Indigenous history and was pleased at finding this course to inform me of my missing/lack of knowledge regarding the complex history of Indigenous people. I will review the written weekly subject matter and hopefully I will be able to follow the path of information, but for me as of now, there was a lack of continuity so I was unable to feel as though I gained a foothold

Most of the presentations by the "talking heads" are excruciatingly boring. Is the U of A Faculty of Native Studies really so chock full of people who cannot apply resonant pronunciation to, and stress points in a sentence? The deadpan reading by the three primary presenters lacks any sense of emphasis - or capacity to generate sustained interest. I also could not believe that every video for each of the individual presenters displayed them wearing the same clothing as their last video; the hair style for each of them also never changed. This absence of change reflects badly on their view of the real world, and made it difficult to stay attuned to the speakers' vocalizations. Monotony, in a visual presentation, is NOT a good thing.

This course provided information that provided me a better understanding of indigenous cultures in Canada. It expanded my understanding of the issues around colonization and residential schools. It provided information about indigenous cultures strong ties to the land and nature. However, I am a little concerned that it is infused with a victim mentality and is not balanced. I am not suggesting that we gloss over the horrific things that happened to our indigenous brothers and sisters, however, more positive stories about indigenous people who have excelled and prospered in our society would have been beneficial. I know and have met a number of individuals like that in my lifetime and they have wonderful stories to tell.

Extremely important content, and I want so much for it to be excellent. However, the delivery method seems rushed and/or poorly implemented. Once per module, a video is interrupted for one single test question about something immediately stated in the video, which seems like something that was intended to be used throughout, but was not. Titles projected within the video are often misaligned; some have animations, others do not, and this inconsistency undercuts the value of the content. The module on Indigenous Art has almost no examples of the art pieces being described. The content is well written, and again, very important, but the delivery tends to be flat, making it difficult to pay attention and differentiate topics.

I'm very grateful for the information and an opportunity for a new perspective. I feel my understanding of First Nations and Canadian history is now improved, especially hearing it from the mouths of Indigenous People. Very seldom did I feel I was getting biased information or propaganda, however, I did feel there was a lack of courageous truth telling, and there is an undertone of opportunistic blaming with a lack of balanced ownership. That said, I almost didn't include that criticism, because that issue was far outshined by the volumes of information that any Canadian would benefit from learning. The quizzes were the only poor point. I wish they were less trivia, and more confirmation of learning objectives.