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Environment and Connections to our Bodies and Sexual Health

According to the World Health Organization’s Information Series on School Health: Local Action Creating Health Promoting Schools[1], “everyone gains when school promote health” (3).

The WHO document on page 4 posits (correctly) “investments in education are more likely to pay off if the school uses its potential as an organization to promote and protect health.” The first question we should ask ourselves is “How can this potential be achieved?” The WHO document elaborates and indicates “through policies, structures, practices and environment, Health-Promoting Schools help ensure high yield from investments in education by addressing such basic health requirements as:

safe water and sanitary facilities

protection from infectious diseases

protection from discrimination, harassment, abuse and violence

policies and actions that aim to prevent tobacco use, alcohol and substance abuse, and sexual behaviors that are likely to result in HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infections) and unintended pregnancy

practices that foster active, healthy nutrition and conditions that are conducive to mental health

The fourth bullet (bolded) captured my attention in relation to the work Madelaine Metallic is doing at the Alaqsite’w Gitpu School for her Master’s project in Indigenous Governance. As a component of her final project, Madelaine, in partnership with various teachers, administration, and community resources, initiated a leadership program for Grade 8 students, titled “Mgite'tmnej ta'n teli 'nnuulti'gw” (MTTN).  As a component of the MTTN project, students will engage in and explore issues related to sexual and reproductive health (with parental approval). This portion of the MTTN will be in partnership with an advocacy group known as the Native Youth Sexual Health Network (http://www.nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/index.html).

Exploring concepts, attitudes, and values that surround sexuality or reproduction is a most definitely a public health issue and a highly polarizing subject. Many deem sex (health) education something that does not belong in the schools, whereas others feel the as health is a public issue that has to potential to impact both positively and negatively on students, it belongs in the realm of public education.

Whatever position a school takes, it is often the case that the view of sexuality and reproduction are limited. Most often the educational context of sex and reproductive education are narrowed to information on the human body, STD’s (information and prevention), preventing pregnancies, safe and delayed sex (sometimes abstinence), safe and confident relationships, etc.; I consider these positions to be western in philosophy. While sexual and health education have transformed in recent years from shame and fear-based perspective of human sexuality to a more, in my opinion, proactive approach, their overall scope is still somewhat narrow and ignores the role of the environment on students’ sexual health.

On April 29th, 2012, in Chickaloon Native Village, Alaska, Indigenous women from North America, Latin America, the Arctic and the Pacific, gathered at the 2nd International Indigenous Women's Environmental and Reproductive Health Symposium, and issued a declaration titled “Declaration for Health, Life and Defense of Our Lands, Rights and Future Generations.” This declaration provides instances of how the environment, and healthy territories, connects directly to the sexual and reproductive health of humans. I’ve selected the following declarations to serve as examples of this connection.

4) Our bodies are sacred places that must be protected, honored and kept free of harmful contaminants so that new generations of our Nations are born strong and healthy. The right to self-determination for Indigenous Peoples includes our Indigenous identities, our sexualities and our reproductive health for the future of our Nations

5) The detrimental health effects of toxic contaminants on Indigenous women are well documented and are affirmed through testimonies presented in this Symposium. These include high levels of toxins in Indigenous women’s breast milk, placental cord blood, blood serum and body fat infertility, miscarriages, premature births, premature menopause, early menses, reproductive system cancers, decreased lactation and inability to produce healthy children. This causes severe psychological, relational, emotional and economic damage to mothers, families, and communities

6) Environmental toxins also have severe negative impacts on the health and development of our children and unborn generations. Many toxic chemicals impair the endocrine and immune systems in utero, affecting health and reproductive capacity of future generations. The intellectual and neurological development of our children are also affected, impacting their ability to retain and pass on our culture, ceremonies, stories, languages and songs.[2]

(picture of Indigenous women who issued the Declaration taken from http://www.nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/apr292012.pdf)

Educationally, the connection between “violence on the land” and “violence of our bodies” described in the above excerpts and the following images, is clear in that toxins injected and left in and on the earth, have direct negative impacts on the development of children/students. Students with “intellectual and neurological development” are less likely to achieve educational success.

There is also something to be said about the increased levels of direct sexual violence to women and girls in areas that surround “resources extraction.” (for a brief introduction to this reality, please read the following article https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/brave-heart-women-fight-to-ban-man-camps-which-bring-rape-and-abuse/).

This is a brief exploration of the connection between environmental health and sexual, reproductive health. And the question remains, how can a health-promoting school address these health and environmental issues? Returning to the statement in the WHO document, educators can address this “through policies, structures, practices, and environment.” Health-Promoting Schools can “help ensure high yield from investments in education by addressing such basic health requirements,” as long as the “high yield investments” originate from a Mi’gmaq lens, and the connections between a healthy environment and healthy bodies are clearly articulated in terms of our stewardship and responsibilities to our territories.

The previously mentioned MTTN project aims to do just that. Through the MTTN component on sexual health with the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, students will explore the origins of stigmas and negative attitudes towards sexuality (and reproduction) and make connections between their bodies and the land. 

Further, throughout the MTTN project, facilitators will engage with students to discuss and explore their responsibility as Mi’gmaq citizens to protect our territories and ensure our “resources” are used sustainably and with an understanding that our territories “belong” to the collective (in terms of use and the working to ensure healthy human, animal, water and plant bodies).

Direct links will be made to the toxins and poisons introduced (inflicted) into our environments, eco-systems, waters, and thus into our bodies. These poisons once introduced into our bodies disrupts our normal sexual development and reproductive processes doing harm not only to our bodies (and minds) but to those of future generations.  This will prove challenging as it will bring attention to the harms inherent to “industry” and “development” and “progress.” 

This is why it is important to explore key concepts, (e.g. as noted above - the right to self-determination for Indigenous Peoples, the rights to Indigenous identities, the right to explore, defend and promote Indigenous sexualities and reproductive health, our responsibilities to our territories, etc.) through a Mi’gmaq lens both in theory and in educational practice.

Further, by exploring sexuality through a Mi’gmaq lens, it is hoped and expected that some of the shame, fear and lateral violence will be challenged and students will come to understand their bodies as an extension of their Mi’gmaq and territorial identities.

            Citations: 

[1] http://www.who.int/school_youth_health/media/en/sch_local_action_en.pdf

[2] http://www.nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/apr292012.pdf

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First Nations: Healthy, Active and Sustainable Schools.

Assignment 

Brief Context:

First Nations schools do not fall under provincial jurisdiction. While the government of Canada has made provincial comparability and transferability a component of most transfer agreements with First Nations in education, they do not provide equitable funding or funding that is equal to provinces. There is no specific funding envelop for health and physical activity in First Nations schools, although there is money available for the purchase of sneakers.

Further, Canada, the former department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, the new departments of Indigenous Services and Crown-Indigenous Relations, are not educators, are not even required to have relevant experience in education, and do not have the management and pedagogical capacity to make educational decisions. When Canada makes decisions about First Nations education programming and funding, they start with a pre-determined funding envelope, then instruct their public servants to design what is normally proposal-based programs. Canada gives priority to academic subjects, primarily literacy and numeracy, and funding for the arts and recreation are negligible if existent.

I have read the listed documents for the Promoting Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Schools and noted they do not take into consideration the contexts and realities of First Nations schools and Canada’s design, funding and management of programs intended for First Nations schools.  Despite that omission, much of the content can guide and inform the development of structures to help promote healthy, active and sustainable schools and communities. To supplement these readings, I selected three documents that are First Nations/Indigenous-centric and I will provide examples of health promotion from my home community, Listuguj.

I am also providing brief summaries on existing projects that demonstrate an Indigenous, community-based approach to creating healthy, active and sustainable schools, as examples of Indigenizing schools and supporting students live healthy lives.

The Challenges:

The First Nations Education Council (FNEC) and the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission (FNQLHSSC) prepared a joint brief titled: Sports, Recreational and Physical Activity Among First Nations: Between Tradition and Performance (http://www.cssspnql.com/docs/centre-de-documentation/m%C3%A9moire-sports-loisirs-eng.pdf?sfvrsn=2).

This brief was a response to the government of Quebec’s green paper, Le goût et le plaisir de bouger: vers une politique nationale du sport, du loisir et de l’activité physique (loosely translated: The desire and pleasure of being active, towards a national policy for sports, recreational and physical activity).

The brief provides a series of First Nations socio-economic data, statistics on the health conditions, sports and recreation activities, and sedentary lifestyles and ways of life. The information serves to contrast and respond to the recommendations and orientations contained in the “Livre Vert,” (available only in French here ---> http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/SLS/sport_loisir_act_physique/LivreVert_s.pdf). The FNEC/FNQLHSSC brief provides insight into the different starting places (financially, and in terms of support capacity) of most First Nations and mainstream educational systems when addressing health. It also speaks to the challenges many First Nations face when they endeavour to deliver education services to their students, especially in non-prioritized and non-funded areas, such as health and recreation, that most Canadian schools take for granted (to varying degrees).

Solutions:

While the picture appears bleak, many First Nations schools collaborate with the health, social services and policing resources in their communities to address issues of health and safety. Many First Nations also connect with their Elders, knowledge holders, language speakers, community businesses, hunters, cooks, fishers, etc. to address health, well-being, and sustainability through Indigenous lenses.

The Innu community of Mashteuiatsh for instance, developed a wonderful land-based program, that students can participated it. Four times a year, students go out into the bush to learn about and how to live on the land in the way their peoples have done so for millennia. Elders, community members and staff from the school, worked collaboratively to develop these activities, to address their concerns about the well-being of their students. 

The community/school also created this program to reinforce Innu values that are the foundation of the school. This program articulates and promotes their vision of education, which in practice is inherently healthy (physically, mentally and emotionally), active and promotes sustainable Innu practices and relationships with territories and people. To satisfy INAC funding requirements, teachers and staff were able to ensure every activity meets curriculum outcomes, mostly cross-curricularly.

This program for the Innu is a “safeguard for their culture” that also serves as a community intervention to help change their socio-reality. It also allows them to work towards preserving the integrity of their territory. This program is 100% dependent on community partnerships and requires a great deal of coordination and collaboration.

It’s only in French and it is an old presentation, but the following link provides a brief overview of the land program.

http://monecole-myschool.com/Kassinumamu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Le-programme-des-sorties-en-territoire.pdf

While not a direct result of Quebec’s Healthy Schools document (http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/dpse/adaptation_serv_compl/GuideForTheEducCommunityPartners_HealthySchools_19-7062a.pdf), the development of the Mashteuiatsh project mirrors components of it, as seen in the following screenshot.

Addressing issues of health in a classroom setting, the community school in Listuguj, QC, the Alaqsite’w Giptu School, partnered with community resources to develop and implement an outdoor kindergarten. 

The program is seen as a cultural outdoor program and the students activities are connected to curriculum outcomes. Parents report that their students are more relaxed when they arrive home and have better sleeping patterns. Teachers and staff report a reduction in instances of negative student behaviours. 

For the older grades, a Mi’gmaq leadership program, the 'Mgite'tmnej Ta'n Teli 'Nnuulti'gw - AGS Grade 8 Program 2017-2018, began this year. While it is too early to gauge its success, students, staff and parents are responding to it with enthusiasm and are actively engaging with the program. Community resources are brought in to help conduct an activity or to make a presentation. 

While it’s not a program designed specifically to address health and activity, by making Mi’gmaq culture and relationships with territories a central support of the program, students (and participating staff) are very active. The pictures below are of students and staff gathering materials to help build a longhouse. They gather and harvest sustainably and they give thanks while removing the materials from the land. 

While this program is not specifically aligned with any formal curricula, activities as much as possible require students to bring with them prior cultural knowledge and mathematical and scientific knowledge is a must. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2im7vadHWLaUG9CYkpFNFdlN28/view?usp=drivesdk

Perhaps because there was not sufficient overall educational funding for First Nations education coupled with an absence of specific funding envelopes for health and recreation, but many First Nations adopted a community-based, collaborative approach to health and activity. Further, in terms of a lack of comprehensive content on sustainability that reflects Indigenous world views in most provincial curricula, coupled with a resurgence in First Nations activism, many First Nations chose to deliver land-based programs as a means of solving various social and health challenges their peoples faced.  

This conflux of problem-solving/need and Indigenous self-determination resulted in many marvellous collaborative, community based, and even regional-based approaches that address healthy, active and sustainable schools. Even if partnering with community and external partnerships was a necessity rather than deliberate actions, the results are very holistic, natural and effective. 

WORKS CITED:

Sioui, R (2013). Sports, Recreational and Physical Activity Among First Nations: Between Tradition and Performance. Wendake, QC:  FNQLHSSC/FNEC

Martin, C & Arcand, L, (2005). Healthy Schools Guide for the education community and it’s partners. Quebec, QC:  Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.

Le ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (2013). Le Gout et le Plaisir de Bouger: Vers une politique nationale du sport. Quebec, QC: Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.

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What Have I Done?

and what do I need to do? 

I am 46. I am a mother, a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. I am happy. I am obese. I have been lucky. Up until recently. 

I have to monitor my blood pressure. My doc gave me 3 months to get it under control, then if I’m unsuccessful, she wants me to take a pill. I don’t want to take a pill.

My knees and back are hit or miss. Mostly miss. I have missed work because of my knees and back. I wonder if they think I’m faking? I used to think people with bad knees and backs were complain-y, so I get other peoples dismissal and occasional skepticisms. I apologize. 

I am getting wicked migraines. Wicked. The last one I thought was an aneurysm. In hindsight, my fear seems silly, but I was this close to calling my mom to come and get me and bring me home (she lives 6 hours away). I slept for 18 hours that day. 

I’m now in my apartment nursing a stomach flu...I made carrot soup. It was great. I felt great. Now - not so much. Round 2. 

Reading what I just wrote, I see a person who really has little to complain about. Nothing is terminal. All are “curable.” I have sick credits. So why list my ailments?

I need to remember. Tomorrow, if all is well, I will forget. Change is needed. I need to make lasting changes. I have been blessed. I can’t take this body for granted anymore. 

I am a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a friend. 

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Supporting Transformative Education in First Nations communities (what should a supporting org look like?)

Bringing concepts of  Entrepreneurialism into the Work Environment...

The concern I have working with a First Nations organization is establishing and maintaining our common Indigenous values and delivering quality services to our members that are culturally appropriate and innovative.

Our organization does not receive core operational funds from the government of Canada; however, we do manage community funds and various projects on behalf of member communities. Canada and Western models of structure do cast a very large shadow.

When I reflect on First Nations education, I try to locate our current position on what has proven to be a very long, challenging journey. We have yet to reach our final destination, and for the moment, we are at rest, taking a breath, assessing and reassessing our situation, and “setting up camp” so that we can prepare for the last leg of our journey. It is this part of the journey that will prove the most transformative and empowering if we commit fully to supporting student-centered learning and if we recognize the potential and power in our students.

For information about the image, please visit the artist's site at https://4nishart.wordpress.com/page/2/).

To be truly transformative, as opposed to becoming more proficient, I believe the spirit and intent of entrepreneurial education can serve to revitalize and reconnect our students to their history, values, languages and futures in ways that are innovative. If we adapt and apply those concepts at all educational levels, from the community school to the regional organizations, we will activate a revolution.

Acting indigenously and entrepreneurially are not mutually exclusive endeavors. In fact, they can be used to support and enhance each other. In the following and image below, there several Indigenous values listed (love, respect, courage, humility, honesty, truth, and wisdom) that the authors/creators view as being necessary to move forward as strong Indigenous Nations. Entrepreneurial education can incorporate these values into student-centered learning activities, and in turn, these values can support and enhance the depth of entrepreneurial social education.

Seven Sacred Grandfather Teachings by artists Melissa Muir, Darla Martens-Reece & Scott Sampson

What I like best about entrepreneurial education is the relationship between teacher and students. Teachers view students as “potential” and “knowledge” rather than empty vessels or blank work plans. By recognizing the potential in students, and by believing in their student’s ability to self-direct, problem solve and initiate action and change, educators allow students to develop confidence and self-awareness. “Unconventional” skills (e.g. chatty, fidgety, “bossy, etc.) are encouraged and students improve their ability to collaborate, communicate, and “make a real difference.” By these actions, teachers are acting out of love, respect, humility, etc. for their students. I would love to see this same attitude and dynamic in a management context.

A poem posted on Muskrat Magazine...( I highlighted in bold text the parts of the poem that resonated in relation to supporting entrepreneurial education at a regional level).

I am sorry for not always being there - I feel your hurt - I have struggled to find the way of the good life/ Mino Bimaadiziwin in a society built on the cultural genocide of our Peoples.

We are the People who are one with the greatness of the land. Our Native spirit and the knowledge of our ancestors runs through your blood.

It is my job to help connect you to the beauty of the land and teachings of our Native culture. I will take action and be a role model to you.

We need you. Together we can look to the resiliency of our ancestors to find solutions based on love, respect, courage, humility, honesty, truth, and wisdom.

Native youth are leaders in your territories. Along with the land you are meant to survive and thrive in this world.

I can’t wait to see you live your purpose. YES we each have a purpose and together we will help you find and nurture yours.

The regional organizations are more about the management of educational services and programs than they are about the delivery of programs. However, to better guide, develop, implement and support entrepreneurial education in our schools, it is vital to align regional management’s attitudes, philosophies, and cultures with elements of entrepreneurial education.

It is our purpose as a provider of second and limited third level services to help educators connect “to the beauty of the land and teachings” by taking deliberate action and serving as a role model. If, as a regional organization, we choose to support fully entrepreneurial education and concepts of sustainability, we need to explore how we can align our management with the key principles of entrepreneurial education (socially and sustainably oriented).

Reflecting on how we can align our management, especially as we are an Indigenous organization, I selected three areas/actions where management can apply entrepreneurial education concepts.  

They are as follows:

1. Establishing Management/Employee Relationships built on Indigenous Values and Principles of Entrepreneurial Education.

Management can reassess its relationship with employees.While my organization has a culture of respect and we support the autonomy of member communities in all local decision making, there is still a hierarchical element to professional relationships within the central office. And while I feel acknowledged for my knowledge, skills and contributions, there are times where I feel that I am not in control (which is to be expected in certain situations) and uncomfortable with certain decisions.

I would like to see employees empowered, or rather, I would like to see a culture where the expectations are that staff will problem-solve, be action-oriented and lead projects, form meaningful partnerships with education stakeholders (with appropriate management supports). 

Management/staff would co-establish or identify project norms, and management could guide or (lightly) oversee project design, development, and implementation and follow up, or defer that to the team itself.

2.  Explore “Ownership of Work.”

Related to the first point, ownership of work is an admirable concept related to entrepreneurial education; ownership over one’s work is a form of empowerment and demonstration of trust. Working in a First Nations organization is challenging, given the amount of required work and lack of adequate resources. It is a truth that the government of Canada funds First Nations discriminatorily and ties available funding to problematic program guidelines that exacerbate the lack of funding. Therefore, many First Nations operate will less personnel than are needed. Under hierarchical management structures, the problems related to a reduced work force can result in further delays in moving projects forward.

While this will be challenging and require a great deal of reflection and planning, I would like to see employees provided with ownership over their work and projects. This is not intended to remove management from the equation, but it does involve redefining and refocusing the relationship to better empower employees and provide them with opportunities to develop their  projects (this is great management capacity building). Management’s role would evolve to reflect the role of a teacher/facilitator in the entrepreneurial education model. For example;

Management will be the “holder of the vision” – they will set the vision, and ensure staff upholds, considers and incorporates key values into their work (that also serve to advance the organization strategically).

Management would provide staff with the professional development they need to self-direct their work as individuals and/or teams.

Management would ensure staff makes strong connections between the Indigenous values of the organization/communities with the work they undertake.

Management would nurture a truly collaborative culture and allow for and support staff independence.

Management will know its purpose and “will help Staff find and nurture theirs.”

3.  Create “New Knowledge.”

Perhaps the most intriguing part of entrepreneurial education is the creation of new knowledge. While there have been many studies done on First Nations, much is based on the views of outsiders and from research likely conducted without OCAP considerations.

Also, there have been too many challenges against Indigenous knowledge and having it recognized it for its truth, insight, and sophistication (this has been a long hard-fought battle).

Thus, when we engage in a new project or program, we often have to settle for and adapt research that is not reflective of Indigenous values (or entrepreneurial values for that matter). As students are the generators of new knowledge, employees can also serve as a very valuable resource and producer of new knowledge. Through the values of entrepreneurial education, management can support and galvanize employees to produce the work needed to create an indigenous knowledge bank, from which solutions, rooted in indigeneity, can be applied.

While not a perfect example, the following is an example of how my organization, through principles of entrepreneurial education, collectively approached a problem, analysed it,   

Our organization and member communities collectively developed governance standards in nine areas to supports its visions and aspirations of delivering quality education based on collective values, traditions, languages and worldviews.

The whole endeavor was a rigorous process that involved work from numerous partners, communities and stakeholders in education. My organization oversaw and provided supports, however, it was the communities who drove the project. 

Teams working under a common project developed 51 Themes and 217 standards across nine areas.

Standards reflect industry and professional standards and are ISO comparable.

Standards are voluntary and adaptable to each community.

Communities decide which standards they want to implement, develop or strengthen.

Further action is taking place in communities to adapt and implement standards to meet local needs and realities. As a further result of this collective project, some communities are developing local structures of governance that did not exist before. 

The following video provides a brief introduction.

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Pair of pears

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not for any particular reason...just because...I wish to make the following statement about brothers...they can be trying..they can push your buttons like no one else...they fling june bugs at you..and make you cry over a board game...they "borrow' your car and don't put gas is in...they sort of stare at you until you agree to do what they want..they post "sandwich" quotes...HOWEVER...they also challenge you and make you rise to all sorts of occasions...while you follow them up a cliff, through a storm drain, off a roof and into the forest/fields..you become a little more brave and daring...you're able to act a little extra sassy because you know they're standing (looming) behind you ready to keep you safe...when they're a bit older, they'll keep some of your secrets...when you have an emergency, you know one of them will drive 6 hours to pick up your dog...and so on...and best of all they totally strip away the mystery of men...you learn early on that men can be both vulnerable and strong, tough and caring, smart and silly...babyish and mature...and I'm done! Thanks Adam Metallic, Corey Baun Metallic and Jeff for being totally exasperating but occasionally wonderful (in your own weird unique ways)...

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Crazy and Congrats...my daughter, former AGS student and player, now a teacher and coach at the AGS!! First win for team and coach and first game of season!

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28 COMMON RACIST ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS

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If by know you don’t realize how especially scummy a conservative supporter/politician can be, you haven’t been paying attention...

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Available on most streaming sites :)

Watched Rhymes for Young Ghouls the other day. Such a pretty film I really want stills from it to hang on my wall.

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Hey Corey!! 

Geniuuuss!

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On behalf of Artists Against Police Violence we extend our thoughts and solidarities to the Black community in Charleston, South Carolina, and those murdered in the Charleston Church shooting. 

KNOW THEIR NAMES by Sarah Green // sarahgreenillustration

“There was too much coverage of the terrorist and not of the victims. I went more realistic to get more of a resemblance, and all information is based off what I could find on the internet. Hopefully it’s all accurate, if something isn’t, please tell me.” – Sarah Green. 

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