Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Contemporary Aboriginal Issues

First Nations in Canada face ongoing challenges related to justice, land, equity, and the legacy of residential schools. Within these challenges are the same themes as our course: identity, economy, environment, politics, autonomy, etc.  We have explored these issues in class, sometimes in details and sometimes in the context of other topics.

Here is a chance to explore one or more on your own.  Please choose an option below and respond with a comment.  Your comment can simply be about what you learned from exploring this issue.  Think of it like a paragraph response -- probably best to type it up first then pasted it in to the comment section.

Option 1: Land
Reference: Oka Crisis Remembered: http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/the-oka-legacy -- articel and video. You can also find other references with a quick search -- perhaps look for other viewpoints on the Oka Crisis.

Option 2: Residential Schools
Reference: Where are the Children: http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/the-oka-legacy -- lots to work with here, including video testimonies of residential school survivors. Warning: potentially disturbing content

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Climate Change

To add to what you've already learned about Climate Change, check out one of these Ted Talks: https://www.ted.com/topics/climate+change.

Pick one (or more) to watch, and then provide a summary of what you learned: main ideas of the talk, what the presenter was trying to get across, your reaction, etc.  Leave your summary as a comment in the comment section of this blog post.  Include your first name!

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Shake Hands with the Devil - Rwandan Genocide

Shake Hands With the Devil.  This documentary sticks with you -- the idea that human life could be valued so little by so many is shocking.  One hopes that the global community can learn from horrific events, but sadly we seem to repeat them too often.

Good reference on the genocide (read this if you still have questions after watching the documentary): http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm


Having just watched the documentary based on the book, and discussed a bit of the background to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, what do you think?

Why do you think it happened? What might have prevented it? What could prevent it from happening again somewhere else? What do you think of Dallaire?

Leave a comment with your thoughts.