"Many factors influence forestry in Canada; one gaining prominence is the practice of Aboriginal forestry. “What is Aboriginal forestry?” and “What are the driving forces behind Aboriginal forestry advancement?” are questions that are addressed in this paper. Aboriginal forestry can be seen as sustainable forest land use practices that incorporate the cultural protocols of the past with interactions between the forest ecosystem and today’s Aboriginal people for generations unborn.
We will use underlying notions that complexity theory provides as a window into seeing, without assimilating, the ecological metaphors evident in Aboriginal cultures of North America. Weaving together our theoretical understanding of complexity theory and Aboriginal cosmology and our narratives based on our personal histories as both school teachers and university professors, we begin to develop a notion of schools which is both holistic and inclusive.
"In this paper, we examine practices implemented by forest processing firms to increase retention of Aboriginal employees in the workplace from the perspective of Aboriginal women workers. Although cultural sensitivity trainings were a common ameliorative used by companies, Aboriginal women working for these firms were equivocal in their opinions of them. While some Aboriginal women found the recognition of Aboriginal culture empowering, others found the exercise tokenizing, particularly when white 'experts' made presentations explaining Aboriginal culture.
More than 500 people attended the Tribal Governance Symposium: Compacts, Contracts and Agreements which has held in March, 2001 at the University of Oklahoma. The main topic was gaming and speakers from across the states addressed issues ranging from jurisdiction to testimonials from groups involved in gaming in the state of Oklahoma. I would like to share the perspectives of one of the presenters, Kevin Gover. The rest of the relevant American material is covered extensively across the articles from Lessons of Research in this issue.
The Bold Eagle Program provides Aboriginal youth with summer employment that offers a combination of military training and First Nations cultural awareness.
"Junior Canadian Rangers are taught traditional skills, life skills, and Ranger skills. With traditional and life skills included in the curriculum, the community can infuse cultural norms, local language, regional skills, and social needs into the program. It all happens in a fun, friendly and safe environment!"
This is an interdisciplinary program offered jointly by the Departments of Anthropology and Geography, designed to train graduates to investigate, understand and appreciate issues peculiar to northern environments and cultures. Graduates of the program will have the skills to meet the challenges of environmental and cultural issues faced by communities, industries and services in northern areas.
The Aboriginal Community and Social Development program is focused on the planning, development, evaluation and administration of social/health care services within the Aboriginal community. This program includes business and community development studies with an emphasis on integrating cultural, social and health issues relevant to Aboriginal people in Canada. Cultural teachings and smudging are integrated daily throughout each academic semester in social activities, individual program courses, and Traditional Teacher/Elder visits.
This program is designed to be multi-disciplinary. As well as taking introductory courses in four disciplines (Native Studies, Political Studies, Economics, and Business) students are required to take courses in four theme areas: Political Governance, Aboriginal Business and Economics, Traditional Knowledge, and Business. At the same time, students have enough flexibility in elective courses to tailor a program to fit their own needs and interests. This program can be taught on campus, or in a community setting.
