UVIC Public Lectures: Dr. David Chang's "Hawaiian Indians and Black Kanakas: Racial Trajectories of Native Hawaiian Diasporic Laborers in the Nineteenth Century"
In Dr. David Chang’s lecture, “Hawaiian Indians and Black Kanakas: Racial Trajectories of Native Hawaiian Diasporic Laborers in the Nineteenth Century,” he discussed Hawaiian settlement, identity and racial classification in 19th century North America. Chang’s lecture’s content could be incorporated into a BC Social Studies 9 class, because it speaks to the curriculum’s “big ideas” that “disparities in power alter the balance of relationships between individuals and between societies” and that “collective identity is constructed and can change over time.”
Dr. Chang started his lecture by telling the story of Mary Opio, who died at the age of fifteen in Victoria, BC in the 1860s. He showed The Colonist’s article of her death, and told how it had been viewed as a “scandalous” death, because the paper had stated that she had died from a “botched abortion.” Dr. Chang explained that after an inquest was made, it was determined that Mary had actually died from pneumonia. Dr. Chang stated that The Colonist’s original report on Mary’s death spoke to a societal narrative of her sexuality and race as an Indigenous woman.
Dr. Chang also told the story of a Hawaiian man, who is known in the BC archives as “Kanaka William,” but whose real name was William Kaulehelehe. The HBC hired William in the mid 1800s, to be a preacher to “Kanaka Village” in Fort Vancouver, and he eventually worked as a clerk in Victoria, living on Humbolt Street. Interestingly, there were so many Hawaiian settler families living on what is now Humbolt Street that Dr. Chang said that it was called “Kanaka Row.” When, William’s wife Mary L. Kaaiopiopio Moeahilani’s died he wrote her a Hawaiian mourning chant, which has references to Mt. Tolmie, and Cadboro Bay and other places in Victoria, but the names have been written in Hawaiian. Dr. Chang said that one of the lines of the chant was, “Yours is the soul in the Indian crowd.” Dr. Chang said how this line expressed how William and his wife had identified with First Nations culture. He said that William had been a newspaper writer in Hawaaii and how he was a poet as expressed through his mourning chant, and how the archive’s “Kanaka William,” label reduced William, taking away his intellectual capacity and humanity. Dr. Chang used the archival example of “Kanaka William” to show that when Indigenous people were labeled as “fur-traders” or “kanakas” they were remembered as laborers or as “objects” and de-humanized.
Dr. Chang talked about the Hawaiian settlers identity in North America and how when Hawaiians immigrated to North America, either to work in the fur trade or the gold rushes in BC, California, or on the Oregon Coast, that they linked their lives with Native Americans and Canadian First Nations. Dr. Chang said that according to the census, Hawaiians were labeled as either white, black or Indian, as there was no “Hawaiian” option. He explained that a white supremacist law in Oregon in the 1840s denied Hawaiians citizenship, which is why many ended up in Victoria and on Salt Spring Island, because they could gain British citizenship and own their own land. Dr. Chang explained that many Hawaiians intermingled with the Coast Salish, sharing their identity with them. Dr. Chang told of Chief Chee-al-thuc, “Freezy” of the Songhees Nation, who was called this because of his frizzy Hawaiian hair that he had inherited from his Hawaiian father. Dr. Chang then discussed the complexity of the term “Indigenous,” because it acts as a racial categorization, when some Indigenous peoples may or may not want to identify with other Indigenous peoples. Dr. Chang argued that identities on the whole are “situational” citing that Hawaiians today may identify as “Hawaiian” in one context and “Indigenous” in another, just as William Kaulehelehe did in the 19th century.
Dr. Chang’s content on “Hawaiian Indians” is relevant to the BC curriculum because it shows students the disparity of power between Europeans and ethnic groups/First Nations in Canadian history. Students could learn about the American white supremacist law that was responsible for sending many Hawaiians to BC. They could also study The Colonist’s article on Mary Opio’s death, to understand the disparity of power between Europeans and Indigenous peoples at the time. By studying The Colonist’s primary source as well as William Kaulehelehe mourning song, students could understand a key Socials 9 Curricular Competency: “Explain and infer different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events by considering prevailing norms, values, worldviews, and beliefs.” The class will be able to see “Kanaka William” as a human poet and Mary Obio as a youth, instead of viewing them in the racial category of “Kanaka” or “Indian.” The curriculum’s “big idea,” that “collective identity is constructed and can change over time” can also be discussed. It can be discussed in relation to how, Hawaiian’s called themselves “Kanaka’s,” but how this term can be seen as derogatory if others call them this, because of colonization. This “big idea” can also be discussed in relation to the term “indigenous.” Students could be reminded that “indigenous” was a “constructed term” and that some indigenous people associate with others from around the world while others do not, and to remind students that all identities are situational. Through this lesson, the students will understand the Curricular Content’s “discriminatory policies, attitudes, and historical wrongs.” They will understand the racism that ethnic groups like Hawaiians faced in Canada and North America. In a Grade 9 socials class, the unit plan could be on First Nations history, and this content could be a part of the Coast Salish portion of it. The Grade 9 class could take a field trip to Humbolt Street where “Kanaka Row” was located, or go to Cattle Point, where there is a plaque commemorating Chief “Freezy” to have place based learning. In my own school experience I encountered very little place-based learning, and I believe that it is vital for students to know the history of the place where they live, so that they have respect for the people and the physical environment that they are situated with.
[This photo is of William Kaulehelehe and his wife]
Class Reflection: Elizabeth May's Talk on Effective Citizenship
October 12, 2017 Class Reflection
When Elizabeth May, the federal Green Party leader, spoke to our EDCI 773 class about Canadian politics and democracy, she explained to us different ways to promote “effective citizenship,” which is relevant to teaching a social studies class. First, May argued that you should teach your students that their MP’s “work for all the people of that community.” May believes that you should instill in your students the attitude that their MP’s and government’s duty is to “do good for society” and listen to their citizens. May suggests that a good way to empower your students as democratic citizens is my making them write letters to their MP or MLA, or to their local paper. May said that another way to encourage effective citizenship is to put on “teen town halls,” [which she often takes part in] where students and MPs are able to debate Canadian political issues from different political party perspectives. In addition, May suggests bringing in MPs to your school, or telling your students about volunteer opportunities with political parties, so that they can get more involved in politics. May argues that, “When citizens feel that they have power, you will have a more democratic society.”
May’s strategies to promote democratic citizenship, fulfill curricular competencies of the drafted BC Social Studies 10. A big idea of the Socials 10 curriculum is that students should know that “the development of political institutions is influenced by economic, social, ideological, and geographic factors.” In a Socials 10 class, students could learn the origins, structure and functions of political parties and government in Canada. Then, by participating in town hall meetings, or by writing a letter to an MP, students can see how they are a “social” factor that is influencing their political institution. Students would learn the BC Socials 10 “content” knowing the “development, structure, and function of Canadian and other political institutions, including First Peoples governance.” In addition, by learning about different political parties policies, by taking part in a town hall meeting, and/or hearing MP’s speak students would have an understanding of “political and economic ideologies and the development of public policy.” By writing letters or taking part in a “town hall” meeting, students would fulfill “curricular competencies” that students should “use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions.”They also would “explain and infer different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events by considering prevailing norms, values, worldviews, and beliefs.”
In regard to my own personal philosophy on teaching, I think that it is incredibly important to empower your students as democratic citizens by making them write letters to MPs or the Prime Minister or by holding school “town hall” meetings. To me, the whole point of learning history, is to learn about the unjust or “un-democratic” things of the past and present, before you can then as an informed “democratic” citizen, uphold democratic ideals and protest for change. I believe that it is so valuable and empowering for students to write to MPs or the Prime Minister. Although, I was never given the opportunity to write to an MP in school, in my grade 5 class, the whole class wrote to a disposable cutting board company. I found it very empowering, to write my opinion about an important issue like environmentalism and receive a response back. In addition, to this day I do not buy paper towel, or disposable wipes because of writing that letter. As an adult, I have written letters to the Prime Minister about issues of concern. Thus, I think that by allowing students to express their opinions on political issues through “town hall” meetings, or letters it can help create a society that is more involved in politics and is therefore more democratic.
Rojava: Women's Equality and Democracy, An Alternate Perspective on the Syrian Civil War
UVIC Public Lectures: John Restaki "The Rojava Revolution: Co-operation, Environmentalism and Feminism in Northern Syria"
In John Restaki’s lecture, “The Rojava Revolution: Co-operation, Environmentalism and Feminism in Northern Syria,” he discussed how a democratic political system and economic system had been established in Rojava, a Kurdish area of Northern Syria during the Syrian Civil War. Restaki explained that when the Syrian Civil War started in 2011, Syrian forces fled Northern Syria and consequently Kurdish forces replaced them to defend the territory against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIS]. Restaki said that the Kurds led by the philosophy of Abdullah Ocalan, a Kurdistan Workers Party leader, established The Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, a de facto autonomous territory with a democratic government and economic system. Restaki explained that since 2011, over 200 communes, or co-operatives have developed there based on the principles of co-operative economy and democratic confederalism. Restaki told of the “Kongra Star Women’s Association Food Market,” which is a women’s only co-op. The women share homegrown food with one another in the midst of war, and they collectively control profits. Restaki explained how Rojava practices direct democracy, with local councils given the most power of governance, even though there is a regional governance of “Cantons,” and a federal assembly. Restaki stated that as a part of Rojava’s constitution, religious and ethnic pluralism is respected. In addition, equal female to male representation is required in governance at the local level, and women are required to be 40 percent of the political representation at the federal assembly level. In addition, Restaki told of the Women’s Protection Units [YPJ] a women’s only army that with the YPG, the men’s only Peoples Protection Units, controls Rojava and fights ISIS. Therefore, Restaki argued that Rojava promoted “a new imaginary” of democratic governance especially with its policies on self-governance and gender equality. However, Restaki explained that this type of governance is still threatened by ISIS and Turkey, and other political movements.
Restaki’s lecture’s content could be incorporated into a BC Socials 10 class because it speaks to the curriculum’s “big ideas,” that “global and regional conflicts have been a powerful force in shaping our contemporary world and identities” and that “the development of political institutions is influenced by economic, social, ideological, and geographic factors.” For this class, one unit plan could be on “immigrants in Canada.” The class could look at immigration policies from the beginning of Canada until now, and one or two lessons could focus on the Syrian conflict, and the consequent Syrian immigration to Canada and other areas of the world. By looking at the Syrian war, and the immigration, which resulted, students can understand the big idea that “global and regional conflicts have been a powerful force in shaping our contemporary world and its identities.” As a teacher, I am interested in showing students the humanity within conflict and war. A Social Studies 10 curricular competency is to “explain and infer different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events by considering prevailing norms, values, worldviews, and beliefs.” Student’s studying Rojava, will fulfill this competency because they will see Syria not as a chaotic war zone, or “terrorist” birth place as portrayed in the news, but as a place, where in one region, a progressive democracy is forming, that has in some respects more gender equality than in Canada. The students will also learn another competency: “assess how prevailing conditions and the actions of individuals or groups influence events, decisions, or developments.” They will understand that the Kurds culture being very community minded and communitarian, allowed them to so easily create co-operatives, and self-governance, when the Syrian Army fled their region during the civil war. Further, they will understand that the Syrian Civil War, the YPJ and YPG and Abdullah Ocalan’s philosophy were responsible for the rise of Rojava. Students will cover the curriculum’s content: “international conflicts and co-operation.” They will also be able to understand the “development, structure, and function of Canadian and other political institutions.” Therefore, the Rojava Revolution, could be a valuable tool to show students a different way of looking at the Syrian Civil War and at democratic governments.
The image is from: http://www.jura.org.au/files/jura/images/JavierdeRiba_ROJAVA-web.jpg
Todd Inlet Reflection: First Nations History, Place Based, Experiential Learning
When our class went on a field trip to Todd Inlet, we had a place based and experiential learning experience that would be relevant for a Social Studies class. In “place-based learning” students learn about their local history and often do fieldtrips and community service projects to study a specific place in depth. Todd Inlet as a “place” has so much cultural and environmental history to be studied. We learned that “Todd Inlet,” which is a BC Provincial Park, is actually a traditional place of the WSANEC (Saanich) First Nation. The WSANEC named this place SNIDCEL, “place of the Blue Grouse” because the birds fed on medicinal plants in this area, which the Saanich First Nations used for their own health. Our tour guide explained that when Butchart’s Vancouver Portland Cement Company was established in the area, the blue grouse fled. Our tour guide showed us evidence of Cedar bark stripping, from First Nations in the past and in the present, who use the bark for a variety of purposes. In addition, we saw the middens of early Chinese and Sikh settlers, who were laborers in Butchart’s cement company. We were shown a dam that was recently reworked to allow fish to swim through it. Our guide told an inspiring story of a man, who by sharing a video on social media of fish hitting the dam was able to get government action to rectify the situation. Our guide also told us about the extensive environmental rehabilitation that is taking place at the inlet, in the aftermath of the cement plant. We then participated in “Service Learning,” [doing services, which benefit the community] by raking leaves as a class that would be used as fertilizer on the park’s newly planted trees.
A Human Geography 12 class would greatly benefit from a “place based” field trip to Todd Inlet because they would get an experiential learning experience of the curriculum’s “big idea” that “a geographic region can encompass a variety of physical features and/or human interactions.” In addition they could understand the “big idea” that “human activities alter landscapes in a variety of ways,” as they viewed the stripped cedar trees, the dam, the middens, and the cement plant’s remains. Content wise, through this place they could learn about “the relationship between cultural traits, the use of physical space, and impacts on the environment, including First Peoples cultures.” In regard to studying the Sikh and Chinese settlers middens, they could learn about “the relationships between natural resources and patterns of population settlement and economic development.” For Curricular Competencies, students could “identify and assess how human and environmental factors and events influence each other (interactions and associations).” In addition, students could take part in “service learning” at Todd Inlet, because the place seems to have many volunteer opportunities for students. Students could also be inspired by the creek’s rehabilitation story, to take environmental action in their own community.
A student field trip to SNIDCEL, epitomizes many First Nations Principles of Learning. A First Nation’s Principle of Learning, is that, “learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.” As students walk through SNIDCEL, they can have a greater understanding of the cultural history of their community, and if they take part in a “service learning” initiative there, they can help support the well being of their community. By exploring the area students can experience the principle that “learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place). Looking at the cement plant remains and its consequences, students can understand how “learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.” Furthermore, by exploring the blue grouse medicinal plant areas, students can also understand how “learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge.”
In the Socials 9 class that I sat in during a Wednesday observation, there was no evidence of place based, experiential learning. The teacher gave direct instruction on a paragraph that the students were to write about, titled “Poverty in Canada.” They had a choice of around 5 articles to base their paragraph on. In my own Social Studies class, it will be very important for me to include “place based learning.” I had a history professor, who told us that, “it is so important to be rooted in a place, because then you will want to protect it.” I follow his philosophy. I think that it is valuable for students to know about the cultural and environmental history of their community so that they will want to advocate for the protection of it and so that they have a greater respect for its inhabitants. I also think that it is beneficial for students to be given the opportunity for “service learning” so that they are able to support others in their community and help create a better society.
Below you will find a cross curricular unit plan for the graphic novel Persepolis. On page 2 you can see how the lessons tie into Socials 10 curricular competencies.
Google Apps
Class Reflection: A Critical "Museum Hack" of the Royal BC Museum
For an experiential learning experience, our class went on a field trip to the Royal BC Museum, where we had the opportunity to critically reflect on how people’s history is represented. We visited “Old Town,” which showcases a typical late 19th/early 20 century town in BC, saw exhibits on European explorers, the Hudson’s Bay company, the Navy, early industries of BC, and an exhibit titled “Celebrating BC,” which showcased BC’s 20th century history. In groups we got to participate in a museum hack where we were asked to pick one exhibit and write on a piece of paper how we would modify it. In my group, we noticed that the 20th Century, “Celebrate BC” exhibit did not include any immigrant or First Nations’ history and thus we felt that it could have been modified to include it. We also felt that in the “Old Town” Chinatown section, they could have included examples of the discriminatory policies against the Chinese.
I think that the field trip to the museum and the “museum hack” would be equally valuable for a grade 9 Social Studies class. At the museum, students would get to explore the BC curriculum’s big idea that “disparities in power alter the balance of relationships between individuals and between societies,” as they look at what was missing in exhibits. During the “museum hack,” students would fulfill the “curricular competency” to “use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions.” By “modifying” an exhibit, students would fulfill the “competency” “[to] make reasoned ethical judgments about actions in the past and present, and determine appropriate ways to remember and respond.” Content wise, students would learn about “the continuing effects of imperialism and colonialism on indigenous people in Canada,” especially if they visited the First Nations exhibit in the museum. In addition, by viewing the “Old Town” exhibit, students could learn about “global demographic shifts, including patterns of migration and population growth” and think about the “discriminatory policies, attitudes, and historical wrongs” that took place in the old towns, fulfilling more Socials 9 “content” requirements. Students could also explore the curriculum’s “big idea” that “the physical environment influences the nature of political, social, and economic change,” when they look at the museum’s fishing, logging, and industries section. They could fulfill the Social’s 9 requirement that students should know “physiographic features of Canada and geological processes,” and how Canada’s natural resources influenced its settlement and development. As students take part in the interactive exhibits at the museum (e.g. viewing video clips), students would be able to follow a First Peoples Principle of Learning that “learning is embedded in memory, history, and story. In group “museum hacks,” students would be able to follow the First Peoples Principle of Learning that “learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential and relational.” Therefore, by participating in a museum field trip, students can have an “experiential” and “reflective” learning experience in the construction of history. Personally, as a Social Studies teacher, I find “collective memory,” [countrys’ historical sites such as museums and monuments] extremely fascinating and I think that it is really important to include a lesson on it in my classes. I think that it is valuable to make students think about “collective memory” and why their society has chosen to remember certain things in museums and why they have chosen to not exhibit certain things, and what this says about “disparities of power” in their country.
For one class, we went to UVIC’s interfaith chapel, where we took part in meditation exercises and talked about how we could incorporate mindfulness into the classroom. One suggestion we came up with was allowing a designated time for prayer or quiet time in class. We also discussed teaching relaxation exercises and having “circle” time, where as a class we would do check-ins on our lives and wellbeing.
I think that teaching mindfulness and allowing time in your class for de-stressing is valuable because it teaches student coping strategies for life and it allows students to be relaxed before controversial topics are discussed. A “big idea” of the Social Studies 10 curriculum is that, “worldviews lead to different perspectives and ideas about developments in Canadian society.” Through a check-in circle at the start of class, students are able to listen to one another and develop a classroom community, which helps them be empathetic to other people’s world views. Circle helps develop open-mindedness. This is relevant because following Social’s 10 Curricular Competencies, students are expected to “explain and infer different perspectives on past or present people, places, issues, or events by considering prevailing norms, values, worldviews, and beliefs.” Content wise, students are expected to know “the changing conceptions of identity in Canada. Therefore, mindfulness exercises at the start of class can prepare students for controversial and difficult discussions. Incorporating mindfulness into a classroom follows the First Nations Principle of Learning that, “learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.” In addition, it follows the First Nations principle that “learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place). At Vic High, Frank Conibear incorporates “circle” into every Friday of his First Peoples English 12 class. I had the opportunity to participate in one and it was an excellent classroom community building experience that I plan to use in my own classroom. We passed around an eagle feathered "talking stick" and when we had the stick it was our turn to stand up and talk. First, we each had to say where our grandparents were from, thus acknowledging the elders (a First Nations Principle). Then, we said how we felt out of ten and why. Lastly, we said what we were thankful for. I found this experience valuable, and I hope to incorporate a mindfulness exercise like this into my Social Studies classroom to create a supportive and relational learning environment. Therefore, incorporating mindfulness into a classroom can be a way to develop empathy, reduce stress, and to develop a classroom community.
A Reflection on Level Ground Trading Company's Sustainable Practices
When our class toured Level Ground Trading’s facility, we were shown sustainable lifestyle and business practices that would be beneficial for a Social Studies class to see. Level Ground co-founder Stacey Toews, showed us how simple it is to bake your own bread, with only three ingredients and grow a garden, or at least root vegetables like garlic. He gave an excellent presentation on the food industry, showing us how so many chemicals and preservative are added to things like dried fruit and bread, in the name of “efficiency” when they do not need to be. Most importantly, Stacey showed us a more sustainable way to live and more sustainable businesses practices that could be learned from. Stacey grows his own garden, raises chickens, bakes his own bread, and bikes to work whenever it is possible. His “fair trade” Level Ground Trading Company actually meets the farmers it buys its products from and pays them a fair wage. In addition, his company has a contract with farmers for many years, which ensures that their families are supported with an income. As a business, Level Ground Trading gives their workers a pay incentive if they bike to work, and the company pays for public transit bus passes for their workers to try to reduce fossil fuels. Level Ground Trading is also a zero waste company.
I think that visiting Level Ground Trading would be beneficial to a grade 12 Physical Geography class because students could understand the curriculum’s “big idea”
that “human activities and resource use affect the environment.” For a unit, students could study agricultural production around the world, and Level Ground Trading’s presentation on home gardens and sustainable business practices would be a valuable learning experience for students. They could also understand the curriculum’s “big idea” that “incorporating data from a variety of sources allows us to better understand our globally connected world,” since, Level Ground Trading’s food products are bought from all over the world. Content wise, students could learn about “natural resources and sustainability.” In regard to Level Ground Trading’s agricultural practices, students could understand the “curricular competency” that they must “identify and assess how human and environmental factors and events influence each other (interactions and associations). Following the First Peoples Principles of Learning, through Level Ground Trading’s sustainable practices students would see how “learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.” In addition students would understand how “learning involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions.” In relation to my own personal teaching philosophy, I think that it is important that students understand the value of buying local, sustainable and organic food products, and the consequences associated with doing so. Therefore, visiting Level Ground Trading was a beneficial experience because the company showed our class a more ethical way to live and treat business partners.
Photo Credit: Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist
http://www.pressreader.com/canada/times-colonist/20151017/281771333034267