LESSON 2: introduction to Indigenous Worldviews, Ideologies, and Teachings Flashcards
How do dominant knowledge systems in Canada contrast with Indigenous value systems? (2)
(1) Derived from European colonizers. These ways of knowing tend toward a hierarchical way of thinking that is rooted within individualistic value systems and centred on greed, rising to the top, and economic achievement.
(2) Indigenous ways are framed by respect, harmony, and balance. They guide our way of knowing the land, the environment, and our place in it.
Discuss language as it pertains to Indigenous world views. (4)
(1) Languages hold within them knowledge of the peoples place and space in this world.
(2) They reflect and incorporate world views.
(3) The distinctive structure of Indigenous languages reflects the unique flow of Indigenous knowledges.
(4) most Indigenous languages “are generally aimed at describing ‘happenings’ rather than objects
the Red Road (3)
(1) Some people who aim to live their lives according to ancestral teachings might identify as being “on the Red Road.
(2) walking the Good Red Road” means to walk gently on Mother Earth, and have a deep respect for all creation.
(3) When walking the Red Road, they acknowledge that all is interconnected and one thing is not more important than another.
traditionalist
(1) is a term sometimes used to describe those who follow the “Red Road,” their ancestral ways of living, or in reference to those who practice the ancestral cultures of their peoples
The word “traditional”
is a colonial term stemming from the British; it came to be used by institutional and academic scholars as a way to frame Indigenous cultures under one all-encompassing term
Elder (4)
(1) represents an older wise person who is well respected in the community.
(2) Not all elders are elderly, but they are usually older and have a rich life experience.
(3) Elders frequently come to be identified by the community over time, although no set criteria or time frame must be met for a person to become an elder.
(4) Rather, a person’s knowledge and community recognition and respect are what usually play a part in being acknowledged as an elder.
Circular Thinking (3)
(1) Much of the knowledge and teachings that have been passed down through generations encompass a way of thinking that has been called “circular.”
(2) This circular way of thinking acknowledges the sacred link among all things in the universe and views the land, people, animals, insects, plants, and rocks (all things, both human and non-human) as equal, interconnected, mutually dependent, and embracing a sacred relationship in this world.
(3) All of these things are revered as gifts. They are provided by Mother Earth and are sacred.
“linear” thinking (2)
(1) is hierarchical, often seeing the world as organized in a progressive ladder of worth and time as a movement toward ever-better states of reality.
(2) This linear thought process is widely held to comprise much of current Western society’s thinking
Indigenous knowledges
can be oral, personal, experimental, or holistic
at the very heart of an Indigenous worldview
the “Circle of Life,” which, is represented by the Medicine Wheel
wheel represents (3)
(1) the Four Directions, East, South, West, and North.
(2) It also represents many other things in life that make up four, for instance, “spirit, nature, body and mind.”
(3) It shows the sacred relationship between all things that make up life, representing the balance and harmony needed between all beings and the universe
what can Western science learn from Indigenous perspectives? (2)
(1) is the need to educate the spirit and to acknowledge the intelligence of creation, which is what Indigenous peoples have been living and practicing since time immemorial.
(2) Furthermore, the Indigenous perspective teaches us to recognize that science cannot improve what is already perfect—nature.
Teachings (4)
(1) Teaching and learning are embedded in Indigenous ways of life and culture.
(2) Spiritual or intellectual wisdom shared by elders and other ancestral knowledge keepers is commonly referred to as “teachings” of a First Nation.
(3) cultural values, beliefs, lessons, and understandings that are passed from generation to generation.
(4) They are philosophies of life—and instructions to live by.
How and why are teachings shared? (3)
(1) teachings have been shared for educational, spiritual, and cultural growth to instil balance, harmony, and a way of life.
(2) typically conveyed through narrative or metaphorical communication
(3) gain knowledge through the oral tradition, passed down from one generation to the next.
Seven Sacred Grandfather Teachings (7)
(1) Ojibway tradition tells us that there were Seven Grandfathers who were given the responsibility by the Creator to watch over the Earth’s people.
(2) The Grandfathers sent a helper to the Earth to find a person to provide their teachings on how to live in harmony with Creation
(3) The helper was instructed to show this boy all “Four Quarters of the Universe,” which took seven years.
(4) Once they returned, the boy went to the Grandfathers who gave him teachings, seven gifts, and a bundle to take to his people.
(5) The bundle was big, so along his journey he had to stop seven times.
(6) Each time he stopped a spirit came and explained the meaning behind one of the seven gifts that were given to the boy from the Grandfathers.
(7) These teachings were wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility, and truth
