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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Indigenous Canada by University of Alberta

4.8
stars
22,156 ratings

About the Course

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores complex experiences Indigenous peoples face today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Topics for the 12 lessons include the fur trade and other exchange relationships, land claims and environmental impacts, legal systems and rights, political conflicts and alliances, Indigenous political activism, and contemporary Indigenous life, art and its expressions....

Top reviews

JH

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Highly recommended - I have recommended it some of my staff who are interested in both taking the course and reading the materials. I should note they are First Nations and are as interested as I was.

LH

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I thoroughly enjoyed this course in the the way it is presented and the information given. It expanded my knowledge and insights of indigenous history, culture, and knowledge, as well as so much more.

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526 - 550 of 7,760 Reviews for Indigenous Canada

By Stephen K

Mar 1, 2021

Very informative and educational. I wish a course like this could have been taught while I was going through highschool because not only did it open my eyes to the history of the country I was born and raised in, it also made me realize how views I developed growing up could be considered racist and harmful. Knowing what I have learned from this introductory course will help me shape a proper world view going forward and help me with the career path I am pursuing. I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in bettering their knowledge of Canada and the Indigenous people of Canada.

By Carl M

Mar 18, 2022

I learned a lot. I was very under informed about the different Indigenous groups in Canada and specific issues to each region and across all. The one thread that kept resurfacing is the taking advantage of Indigenous. Making deals that don't do right by them in many ways. It started from the beginning and persists. I beleive I have to revisit the course again, there was so much to listen to. The artwork is incredible and the mixture of all areas including the arts was very informative. The presenters were well paced and clear in guidance. Thank you for the opportunity to learn so much.

By Jane L

Oct 31, 2020

Thank you to the Faculty of Native Studies of the University of Alberta. Thank you to Dr Tracy Bear & Dr Paul Gareau and all who were involved in this MOOC! I have learned so much about First Nations, Inuit & Métis peoples in Canada. This course has been very emotional & eye opening for myself. I truly think this needs to be added to all Canadian school curriculums. Every Canadian should know the truth about our country’s history and the genocide settlers attempted against the people who were here first. I’m hoping to learn so much more on my way to becoming a better ally for Indigenous Canada.

By Suzanne M M

Oct 20, 2021

Thank you for this course! As a 5th generation settler, this course has helped me to sort out, piece together and fill the gaps in my understanding of the history of Indigenous peoples prior to and throughout colonial times; and, it has offered an honest perspective of how Canada came to be as it is today. I believe every person living in Canada ought to take this course, as it offers a cohesive account of historical and contemporary Indigenous experience and perspective. All peoples and the land (we call Canada) would benefit greatly by sharing the knowledge and understanding offered here.

By Elizabeth F

Nov 16, 2020

The Indigenous Canada brought back many memories of History class in elementary school but it also raised many subjects that I do not recall ever learning in school. The course has highlighted important issues that I was 'aware' of through the media (i.e. moderate livelihood) but did not have enough knowledge to fully understand. Thank you for the opportunity to learn history from knowledgeable and interesting presenters, the course is well worth the time to learn more than what was available at the time I attended school and to appreciate the struggles that are being faced daily in Canada.

By Amelia K

Oct 22, 2020

My understanding of Indigenous history, culture, worldview, and challenges has been greatly expanded and enhanced. I feel like it's been a missing piece in my life as a Canadian and that every Canadian would benefit from taking this course. There were times when I wasn't clear if there was a spelling error or if I was missing something, like the word Haida vs. Hyda. I appreciate and do forgive any errors in the original presentation and would like to suggest reediting the script at some point to support the clarity of the message in the work. This course was life-changing for me! Many thanks!

By Alexander B

Jul 24, 2022

I am truly grateful for having the opportunity to learn about these elements of Indigenous history here in Canada. It is unfortunate that there was not more space to delve into further detail about each Indigenous group (First Nations, Metis, and Inuit) individually, but that may be an additional set of courses that can be organized at a later time to provide further insights into the experiences of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island, and their history with colonialism and settler society. Thank you again, and I hope to carry this information forward with me to educate others in the future.

By Meagan F

Jun 20, 2020

Thank you for providing such a well thought out and well-researched course. It was very educational and valuable for our understanding of Canadian history and contemporary issues. We especially appreciated the inclusion of the lecture dedicated specifically to women and genderful people. We have recommended this course to our friends and family. One small suggestion that we have is to include a few more pictures of the artists' works in the lecture on indigenous art. Thank you so much for putting these lectures together and for allowing us to gain such invaluable knowledge from this course.

By Roxanne Q

Dec 11, 2021

This course (long over due I am 60 ) fills in the gaps from my own elementary and high school text book learning. During the last 5yrs I have learned so much about the culture, sadness, and shocking mistreatment of indigenous peoples. It has sparked a need for me to learn and share this history. I am non indigenous..there must be many people like me who want something better and this is a way to know what direction you must take.. you can't ignore or undo once your aware of the pain, disrespect, and mishandling of our ancestral people. Thank you for this course. It was an eye opener.

By MICHELLE K B

Feb 27, 2021

I learned so much about indigenous Canadian history, but I also learned about different world views, and how patriarchal settle culture has colored everything I thought I knew. I learned to question the viewpoint and background of whoever is teaching any type of knowledge. It affects what is even considered “knowledge”. So it has truly expanded my worldview and my way of knowing. I am a better learner for having completed this course and it is helping with my expanding knowledge and recognition of the lack of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in all the ways we get knowledge.

By Heather L

Jan 16, 2021

This course was presented with grace and knowledge with a goal of educating the participants about the colonization effects on Canada’s diverse indigenous peoples. Hard topics were covered, such as marginalization, treaty failures, residential school abuses, the reasons for drug and alcohol abuse in native populations, land mismanagement and more. I really feel better informed as a white Canadian. I realize there is a long road to reconciliation and forgiveness. I will take future opportunities to support the native point of view. Thank you to all the teachers and guests for your efforts.

By Russell J P

Dec 8, 2021

This course was eye opening, heart wrenching, humbling and inspiring. It was so informative, comprehensive, broad in the sense of history, subject matter, teaching styles (video, art, text, interviews) yet left me wanting to learn more and go deeper into the material. This course, delivered and studied a chapter each year, building on each of the previous years should be mandatory in schools across the country starting in grade 1 with a required completion in grade 12 in order to be able to earn a high school diploma.

For the time, passion, experience and knowledge shared, nya:weh.

RjP

By Dale D

Nov 16, 2020

Thanks for your presentation on this all important Canadian and international subject. This has given me a greater understanding of the history of our First Nations peoples and their struggles and peaked my interest to further explore this rich history. Along with the many struggles, I have confidence that through perseverance, learning, art, and other forms of communication, we will get better at collaborating outcomes that foster positive relationships in our world. Thanks to all that participated in building this course and to the excellent presenters on explaining this complex topic.

By Kathleen B

Feb 16, 2022

While I was impressed by the depth and sensitivity of this course, I wish it was more up to date. This became most apparent when the census info about Indigenous people in the city was cited. I realize this would be a huge project to take on - but I wonder if one final installment could be added which addressed some of the major changes since the course was written.

This was a super way to educate myself about some of the important challenges for Indigenous people in Canada. Naturally I need to keep learning to stay abreast of the current landscape.

I will recommend this course to others

By Michael W

Nov 23, 2020

I liked this course a lot. The content was informative and well presented, accessible and understandable. I liked the lectures, but also and maybe a bit more the broad range of "Interviews" with elders and academics. They gave the course an increase in authenticity. Again the lectures were also well done, informative and insightful, but the interviews for me were the strongest part. I found I felt more connected to them, drawn in. Thanks to all of you, I hope there will be subsequent courses, because my sense is that I still have a lot to learn. With respect appreciation and admiration.

By Jennifer L

Aug 31, 2017

This course was extremely meaningful to me. I am a Metis woman living in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. I currently work as an Educational Assistant in our public school. Many of my co-workers are also Indigenous. We have all been directly affected by the St. Micheals residential school that once stood here. Leah Dorion is highly regarded in our school and has on occasion, worked with our students on art projects at the local museum. This is the first University class I have taken in 30 years and I'm glad I started with this one! Thanks for making this so relevant and worthwhile to me!

By Penelope H

Aug 29, 2021

I thouroughly enjoyed this course. As a relatively new settler to Canada, I felt it was important to take on these studies. The course provided informative lessons on the history, as well as contemporary issues from an Indigenous lens. Thank you to all who created the lessons. I know how much work goes into creating such engaging curriculum. I am thankful to have been able to take on this opportunity to learn more about my adopted homeland. I hope that Canada continues to reconcile the 'wrongs' that have been placed upon our Indigenous peoples. May we grow together in a positive way.

By Lisa P

Feb 24, 2021

Thank You! You need to fight to get this into Public School Systems as part of the Education curriculum. As a born Canadian I had no idea about many of the course topics, this has provided me a better understanding of so many things and a much deeper appreciation for the rich a vibrant culture of indigenous peoples. I will pass this on to everyone to take and participate.

If I could give one small item of feedback certain course elements cover a lot of information and by the time you take the quiz your head is spinning; consider breaking up the quiz into quizzes after video segments.

By Laurie F

Sep 17, 2020

My aunt who is a Metis knowledge holder, told me about this course. I have always been fascinated by my dad's heritage however it was only passed on to us in a very limited way. Unfortunately it was not something they were brought up to be proud of. My dad has learned a lot from his sister who has taken on a proud role in spreading knowledge about Metis history. Even though I am almost 50 I figure you are never to old to enrich your life with more knowledge and information. I appreciate that a quality course like this is available to anyone interested in learning new perspectives.

By Todd C

Sep 14, 2020

An exceptional opportunity to gain access to the actual history of indigenous experiences. The history of this land started well before any human being populated this geography. To limit our knowledge to what happened here since 1492 is inaccurate storytelling of our collective past. While geologist can tell me what happened here millions of years ago, it turns out there is enough resource amongst current people to tell the story of human population of the Americas. The question isn’t; why do I need to know what is in the content of this course? the question really is; why don’t I?

By Patrick J

Dec 3, 2021

This was an excellent course and offered me a different, and sometimes troubling view, of the country that I love and call home.

While I cannot fix the wrongs that were made in the years prior, I am taking from this a notion that indigenous people’s culture, teachings and view on sustainability and overall environmental health need to be incorporated into our modern way of thinking, if we are to continue to share this land, and all it provides, for us all to be able to live harmoniously together. Thank you for allowing me to learn from this course.

Sincerely;

Patrick Jackson, Toronto

By Irene D

Jan 30, 2018

I’m very pleased with this informative indigenous course. I’ve learned a lot about issues affecting indigenous - First Nation and politics . I’ve learned a lot about the affect that land has on indigenous culture and a little about trieties and the politics involved. It’s help me develop language and open

my mindtjank up to the abuse that took place and how and why it’s important for them to be heard and understood as a community . I love the storytelling approach and that they leave people to learn at their own pace and that woman detained a lot of power in their comminittees 🙏

By GP V

Aug 26, 2021

The most comprehensive and well presented course I've ever experienced. I recommend this course to everyone. I appreciated the accessibility options (closed captioning) as well as the module reading assignments which summarized the content week to week. My only complaint is the wording of the quiz questions tend to lean towards being a negative the majority of the time - at least that's how the dice rolled for me! i.e. "which of the following is not an example of ...." Regardless of that tiny little complaint, I feel this course should be required for everyone in Canada. Everyone.

By Suman K

Aug 16, 2020

I greatly appreciate all the members of the team who have put together the Course for Indigenous Canada. For me the experience was to learn about Canadian History in a relaxing manner, like an antidote to the Covid pandemic situation. From the first week itself I discovered the order that Reading, Interactive Video and then watching all the videos helped before taking the quizzes. I will take up another course from this Department from University of Alberta. I wish to continue contributing to the Discussion Forum, as I had many things to say but did not find time to do so in time.