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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Indigenous Canada by University of Alberta

4.8
stars
21,724 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

DN

Aug 30, 2020

This is a great survey course about Indigenous Canada. As a participant, I have learned and unlearned so much about Indigenous Canadians, and more important, this course has inspired me to learn more.

JH

Feb 13, 2021

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.

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6801 - 6825 of 7,644 Reviews for Indigenous Canada

By Claudine T

Jul 17, 2017

Extremely well-presented and thought-provoking course that I found brought light to a lot of colonization processes that had many experiences in common with Māori in New Zealand. Every Canadian should engage with this course! As a scientist and science teacher, I found the commentary on gender-driven science particularly interesting. I will incorporate some of the indigenous views on gender and genderful people into a study topic for Year 10 students genetics (14 year-olds).

By Scott S

Dec 14, 2022

This course provided me with great insight into the history of the indigenous people of Canada. While doing the course, I had the opportunity to watch the film 'Bones of Crows' with members of the Penticton Indian Band. It was an emotional and moving experience to sit with residential school survivors. The coursework prepared me to understand better the storyline of the film, and the film helped to solidify the understanding gained from the course.

My eyes are now open!

By Andrea V

Aug 12, 2020

The course was helpful for building my understanding. I appreciated the faculty and their expertise and objective viewpoint. I did struggle personally with Week 9, Indigenous Women, Girls, and Genderful People. While I can appreciate the varying lifestyle's represented in current culture. I struggle with the implementation of mainstream societal ideologies to meet current political and social norms. I saw the value of the many roles not specifically assigned to a gender.

By Barbara F

Nov 29, 2020

I learned so much that I hope young people are being taught in our schools across the country today. Thank you for providing this course. Some of the wording in the quizzes were a tad confusing but that could just be my old brain not necessarily the wording, but you may wish to revisit that to clarify the questions and the potential answers. I reread the notes to try to help me but in some instances either none of the choices seemed to fit or all of them sort of did.

By Yvonne H

Sep 19, 2020

So much interesting information! Thank you for presenting such a comprehensive overview of Indigenous Canada. If you were to update the course, my suggestion would be for the three narrators to move around instead of staring straight at the camera all the time. Make it seem more like they're teaching a class! I really appreciated the art work by Leah Dorion, and her comments on her own creations. Many thanks to the entire team for putting together this wonderful course.

By Daniel R

Nov 3, 2021

Many of the subjects and details were familiar to me as I have taken a dozen or so courses this past year on Indigenous peoples here at Employment and Social Development Canada. The courses included interactive lectures, webinars and documentary films. However, this course provided much new information, historical background and testimonials which only strengthened my deep respect for and gratitude towards the unbowed First Nations, Inuit and Métis. I am very grateful.

By Linda T G

Sep 1, 2020

Although I have taken other courses on line to deepen my knowledge and understanding of Indigenous world views, this course offered me a new perspective. It really covered a wide range of historical facts that had not been covered in other courses as well as a contemporary aspect that has got me thinking more, wondering more and wanting to know more.

I will definitely look up some of the resources that were mentioned.

Thank you for this opportunity to join in this class.

By Maureen S

Nov 21, 2020

I learned so much! Thank you for providing this course!! If you want help with editing the written pieces for typos, grammar, spelling and punctuation, I will happily do that free of charge. I think if these aspects are fixed, the U of A (my alma mater :) and the Indigenous Studies Dept. will look more polished and professional. I'm a retired English teacher who wants this course to reach a wide audience. I'll send a note to that effect to the dept. Thanks again!

By Renee M

Jan 7, 2022

So well presented! Appreciated the multi media approach to teaching, including guests speakers. I imagine it was hard to narrow down who to bring in; this course could have SO much more community and cultural involvement I am sure. Hope to have more time to dig into the resources, and look forward to getting lost in a few rabbit holes!

I was not able to get the media playing on the Leah Dorion paintings; not sure if this was d/t my browser.

Thank you so much! Migwetch.

By Shawna M

Nov 15, 2020

This course added to my understanding of Indigenous People, their culture and the many events that they have dealt with and continue to deal with. The topics were varied and very relevant . It allowed me to reflect and gain a better understanding and appreciation for Indigenous People. This course is just the beginning, a good introduction to the many topics at hand, as each module could be a course in and of itself. The discussions groups were also very helpful!

By Jerry Y

Sep 6, 2022

This course is very insightful on the Indigenous culture, in which I've learned a lot from it! I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about First Nation. However, I would caveat that I find the questions in the quiz at times to be difficult to understand what it is asking. Also, there were a few questions that felt like it was a continuation of the previous question, which felt a bit incomplete if you were reading the question on its own.

By Mark C F

Feb 9, 2021

Thank you for the opportunity to take this course. It is very important for all of us. While the content was excellent the style of delilvery could be made more dynamic and have less of a "read my notes" feel! As a settler, I had hoped the information would be communicated in a more indigenous style rather than the traditional settler lecture style! That's a lot more work I know. The stories, interviews and artist commentary were a lovely asset to the course.

By john e

Dec 12, 2021

The information was well presented and extremely informative. I loved that is was done from the Indigenous perspective which was not what I was taught in public school. My only dislike was how some of the questions were worded. They seemed design to trick you. Even though I felt I had a good understanding of the subject matter the wording of the question occasionally had me marking an incorrect answer. Better or clearer wording would have been appreciated.

By Bill M

Sep 29, 2021

I learned much in this course - starting with all the familiar dates of the major historical events - remembering them as they were taught when i was in school from the "European" perspective. The lectures were very well done. The only suggestion I would offer is that some of the course notes had missing words - a minor point, but it would make the notes easier to read if they were cleaned up. Many thanks for making this excellent course available on-line!

By Angeli C N

Sep 8, 2020

This course provided perspectives that make me consider what it means to be Indigenous and a settler. It also helped me better understand the socio-political and economic issues in post-colonial Canada faced by Indigenous people with Treaty Rights and the Crown.

This course also brought into focus the place of activism, art and cultural revival and the importance of community in a changing landscape with rapid urbanization and what it means for the future.

By Jacki W

Jun 4, 2022

infromation was thorough and interesting, but delivery could have been more dynamic. I found the videos somewhat uniform and monotonous- but great insights into Canadian history and our shamful past. I learned a lot and plan to continue my learning. I really liked how the course ended- with positive statements about indigenous activism, global support and international recognition for indigenous peiples. I love the section on the art work. Thank you

By Joyce F

Feb 3, 2021

I enjoyed taking the course, there were some errors in how the questions were worded making some quizzes more challenging to complete. The content had a good balance and overview allowing for reflection and introspection. I loved the use of the artwork as it added visual stimulation and represented the people in a different way than reading and listening to the presenters. Thank you for putting this together, I have recommended it to a number of people.

By François L

Dec 21, 2021

Covers a wide range of topics, art and issues very much relevant today. From my perspective as a descendent of (mostly) French settlers, i feel the contents of this course should be given more space in all canadian history classes, no matter the age or level. Some of the quizzes seemed too short to fully encompass the notions viewed in each module, with a few questions somewhat ambiguous, but the sheer wealth of information is fascinating and crucial.

By Erin M

Jan 12, 2021

It's been over 20 years since I took an Indigenous course at the university level. When I graduated the RCAP report was just submitted & residential schools were just beginning being acknowledged in courses. I have worked with Indigenous Nations and wanted to reconnect with their history. I truly enjoyed this course - the knowledge and it's ability to make me think. It encouraged me to share with loved ones and a desire to go beyond this course.

By Shelley c

Dec 28, 2020

As a non-canadian, this course was very informative and I learned a lot about the complex history of indigenous peoples in Canada, as well as the present. The course is a few years old now, and I'd love to see them add something from current events, especially in relation to all the new pipelines. The other thing is that the wording of the quiz questions is, at times, a bit confusing, so you need to read them carefully. All in all, I learned a TON!

By Janet W

Dec 6, 2020

I live in an area surrounded by reserve lands and was interested to learn about how reserves are able to acquire additional land which may, or may not, be added to the reserve land. I was also interested being made aware of indigenous people have rights to moderate living from hunting, and fishing as well as the issue of Canada adopting Undrip.

These are issues in both local and National newspapers right now and I am reading them with interest.

By Ilya Z

Nov 21, 2020

This course is definitely an eye-opener. However, there are some things that were missed.

First, it would be nice to briefly tell the story of how aboriginal peoples got to North America and three waves of migration. Also, a short review of the main language families would help many of the listeners.

Second, in part 12 when modern aboriginal artists are discussed, having no illustrations of their works is a big surprise.

Anyway, good course. Thanks.

By Troy D

Feb 2, 2021

The course itself is very informative and there is plenty to learn for anyone who hasn't done native studies. The content is well thought out and generally presented very well. The production does need some editing as the background music during talking is very distracting and the interview with Rueben Quinn doesn't really work. Also it would be good if there was a pop-up when questions aren't answered on a quiz before they submit for final grade

By Susan F

Jun 7, 2017

This was a great course that covered a wide variety of issues facing Indigenous people in Canada. They drew in many different presenters with varied backgrounds and incorporated interactive art pieces that were explained by the artist. An improvement might be to include hyperlinks in the notes to related resources, especially in the final lesson on art. This course has fundamentally changed how I view Canada and Indigenous people. Thank you.

By Julie K

Dec 19, 2020

I very much enjoyed this course and will use it as a jumping off point for more learning related to Indigenous history and perspective. I suggest for future versions of this course, to include recommended additional readings for each weekly topic for those looking to dive deeper. I found myself wanting to learn more and researching on my own. I suspect the Faculty has some great readings to point students to. Thanks very much for this course!