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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Indigenous Canada by University of Alberta

4.8
stars
21,725 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

MD

Jul 2, 2021

This course was very interesting and very informative. Not only did it help correct stereotypes or prejudices, it showed a wide range of subjects pertaining to global and specific Indigenous cultures.

LJ

May 5, 2022

I really enjoyed this course. I liked that it was taught by indigenous peoples from their perspective. I feel much more confident in my knowledge regarding indigenous issues and traditions. Thank you!

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301 - 325 of 7,644 Reviews for Indigenous Canada

By Catherine N

•

Aug 23, 2021

This course was fantastic. It provided me with an increased sense of appreciation of and respect for Indigenous people. It filled in so many of the gaps in my education and I think these topics should be covered in every high school across the country. We as a nation can do better to be more inclusive in our behaviour and accepting of the rich & diverse backgrounds of all that live in Canada. With increased awareness, we can gain more momentum in the social movements currently happening and hopefully lessen the racism that exists in society/our systems. There is no better time than now for truth and reconciliation (it is long overdue!). I will also encourage others to participate and take this course. Thank you for this course offering. It has made a difference and a positive impact on my life as a Canadian.

By SWIFT G L

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Feb 17, 2021

The Course has really emancipated and expanded my view and knowledge about my dream country Canada. I can confidently talk and relate to what happened to the First nation indigenes and their lost due to their trust betrayal by past parties in the various agreements signed.

above all other issues, I love the onward progress made by the unifies tribes and the new comers living to forward peace and cooperation.

my appreciation goes to all my lovely lectures and the patience they gave to narrate each story clearly to my understanding, i will go over all the video's lecture s again and again, I Love you eleven though we not met yet, but hope to see you all, when I finally migrate to Canada in the near future.

Finally, I wish my full name Swift Gideon Lartey appears on my Certificates.

thanks ones more from my heart.

By Angela L

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Oct 17, 2021

This course has started me on my journey of awareness. Having grown up in the Canadian school system, I've learned many of the same events in Canadian history outlined in this course. However, I've learned our history through a very different lens - I didn't see the injustice of colonization and the cost to the indigenous peoples of our land. I now see the reconciliation and restroration that has to happen in Canada to heal this land. As a Canadian citizen and immigrant, I need to sincerely apologize to the indigenous peoples for the pain, suffering, discrimination and judgment I have been part of and need to repent for. The information in this course has helped me open my eyes and want to do something to help. Course is balanced and offers a wholistic view of indigenous history, issues and future.

By Lorraine L

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Sep 22, 2021

Taking this course has truly been an eyeopening experience. I have to admit in the 1970's I would have definitely been categorized as a racist. I had moved from southwestern Manitoba to Regina where I worked as an RN in the Emergency department. If only I knew then what I have now learned. I am actually embarrassed by my attitude towards indigenous peopIe at that time. I have learned there was a residential school in Brandon MB that my Dad would not discuss. I now know why my father & uncle, who were farmers, were also raising foxes for their furs. I now understand the land claims & the treaties. To learn about the Indian Act & its implications was unbelievable! I firmly believe that every student in middle years should take this program & if not then - high school.

Thank you so much - Lorraine Lewis

By Margaret V

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Jul 8, 2023

Thank you to those who helped create such an inspiring and eye opening course! I feel that I have been enlightened by indigenous perspectives more than ever. In comparison to what is traditionally taught in schools in social studies, the information in this course provided more detailed and direct perspectives from the indigenous community on past, present, and future issues. I believe that this course is an important tool for Canadians to learn about Canadas history from an Indigenous perspective. I would even recommend that the education system incorporate parts of this course into their standard coursework. As someone coming from a healthcare background, I value what I have learned. I hope to utilize this information to provide and practice culturally relevant care for indigenous community members.

By Gudrun v S

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Sep 14, 2020

I find this a great course for a deeper, meaningful understanding of indigenous history, the effects of colonialism, injustices, violence, residential schools, systemic racism, the Indian Act and many more themes. Developed and delivered entirely by Canadian indigenous people, it explains and discusses ways in which these issues and the intergenerational trauma caused by them, have been-, and are being- dealt with by the government and by the peoples. It highlights, through many examples, stories, interviews, diverse artwork, historical photos and quotes, the resilience and creativity, as well as past and current political and social activism initiated by indigenous people. I learned a lot and I feel I have a better understanding of many of the issues.

Thank you for making it available and accessible.

By DAWN M

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Oct 16, 2020

This course was such an exciting educational opportunity for me. I have always wanted to learn more about our Indigenous peoples. I learned so much about Indigenous culture and really began to understand how colonization affected their lives throughout the generations. This is NOT anything that I learned in school! Thinking back to the history lessons that I remember Indigenous people were portrayed in such an unjust light. The history lessons were so skewed. This course has inspired me to learn more, and to educate wherever and whenever I can. Thank you University of Alberta for offering this vital educational opportunity. And thank you to the Educators who shared their knowledge with such passion and pride. This course should be mandatory for all Canadians! Thank you again! Sincerely, Dawn Masters

By Jamies J L N

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May 1, 2019

Thank you professors for your time and effort to create this wonderful course. I also graduated from the University of Alberta, and is proud to have these talented teachers who provide the amazing Indigenous Canada course which expands my knowledge in Indigenous history, art and culture. I have learned the traumas and unfair treatment that Indigenous People have faced in Canada, and feel empathetic about their experiences. Some ethnic minorities such as the Chinese has experienced racism before too, such as the Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act. I would like to work with Indigenous People in the future to hopefully change their lives to the better. May you continue to create another inspiring course in a different angle or topics, so we can explore more of the unknown of our First Nations People.

By Joyce D

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Nov 7, 2020

I found this course to be extremely well presented- factual, respectful, informative, comprehensive, with personable presenters. I am very touched, and moved, by the material, as opposed to the very dry, one sided Canadian history I was taught in school. I so appreciate that this course was created, and then made so accessible both via online learning and financially. It is so rare to receive something of such quality without laying out a lot of money. I am the Program Director of a Recovery Program for Women, and our staff team committed to completing this course, pretty much on their own time. I am again grateful for the opportunity to have our whole team move forward together in a much greater appreciation of the reality of the Indigenous communities in Canada.

Thank you so much.

Joyce Durette

By Bharti M

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Jul 18, 2020

Wish there was more interaction and ways to connect with the faculty and artists. Since I was a child I had been fascinated by your people, this is the first time I explored the surface of your culture and heritage. The course really made me think about the colonized and the colonizer as well. I come from a colonized country too, India, and as a child I would be asked do you mean Indian from India or Indian as in Red Indian. I have not heard the word Red Indian being used for decades but I never had any problem being mistaken for the same but I did always have a problem with being asked the question. Thank you to the faculty and artists who collaborated on the journey to make this available to the world. All the best for the continuation and future ventures as well. Regards, Bharti Mohan

By Wojciech T

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Nov 19, 2020

Thank you very much for this course. It gave me an opportunity to understand better not only the situation of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people in Canada, but also reconsider the history and the contemporary situation of a country that I decided to make my own. Also, this course had a special value to me because the institution where I am working is committed to the process of reconciliation and indigenization. I had a rather superficial idea of the consequences of the direction such declaration would take us but now I have the tools and the minimum knowledge to meaningfully contribute to these efforts. Last, as an educator who moved teaching to an online platform due to the pandemic, I learned a lot from the structure , teaching strategies, and methods of evaluation used in this course.

By Heather E

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Nov 5, 2020

I highly recommend this course to everyone! I had no idea that so much racism existed and still exists within Canada, toward the Indigenous peoples. This course was highly educational because I never learned any of this in my history classes or regular education classes. There were times that I felt ashamed for how Canada treated and continues to treat Indigenous people and I hope that as more people acknowledge that this is occurring, that the racism will be transformed and healed. I found the YouTube talks with Tracy, Paul, Dan and a special guest that week, were really helpful in solidifying the weekly study. Thank you so much for putting this course together, I'm sure it took a lot of hard work and time, it's changed how I am as a person because it affected me deeply in a good way!

By Rick R

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Nov 24, 2020

A good overview of a complex, emotional and sometimes threatening topic for non indigenous people. As an overview and introduction, to people either unfamiliar with the topic (which should be a small minority) or those wishing to gain a bit more knowledge, I found that the course often slipped into academic lingo and almost seemed reluctant to simplify the language used to break down,describe, encapsulate and summarize content. I enjoyed the course, and after almost a decade away from my career as an adult educator; where one of my last projects was developing a course for a government ministry to introduce this topic to mostly non indigenous staff, I found this to be a good refresher ... I would recommend this course as a mandatory introduction to a more comprehensive course ..... thanks

By Susan M

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Nov 9, 2020

Indigenous Canada is an excellent course in all regards. The material is presented very effectively in that the material is layered so that learning is also layered as the weeks proceed. The course creators very effectively organized the materials. The production of videos, notes and interviews is also excellent and provides wonderful resource material for the future. The speakers are very engaging and communicated the material with knowledge and passion. While not part of the course material per se, the weekly Q&A with Dan Levy, Dr. Bear and Dr. Gareau and multiple guest speakers added a treasured aspect to the course that I am extremely grateful for. The Q&A brought it all even more to life and I enjoyed the visiting more than I can express. So overall, thank you for everything!

By Michelle O

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Nov 7, 2022

This indigenous studies course should be taught in every highschool and university in Canada as required learning. Both my husband and I have been taking the course at the same time and it has created multiple opportunities for us to engaged in meaningful and emotional conversations about the history of indigenous peoples in Canada. It has expanded my understanding and has me asking questions that I didn't even know I needed to ask. With gratitude I want to thank the team who put this learning opportuntiy together. In peace, know that this course has changed my understanding of the hostory of indigeous peoples in Canada and I can truly say I have learned more important information over these twelve lessons than any other piece of education I have received in my 53 years. Thank you

By Carolyn M

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Jul 15, 2021

Thank you for designing an informative and reflective journey into the history of colonization and the resiliency of the First Peoples of Turtle Island. I found it fascinating, horrifying, and illuminating. These truths are a necessary foundation for all Canadians to lead to a more realistic and painful acknowledgment of what and who's land this nation was built on. Dr, Bear and the other presenters did a thorough job of navigating me through this material, these stories, the economic, social, political and spiritual implications of the treaties, the abuses, the strength and the enduring legacy of the First Peoples on this land. Miigwetch from this little lady who's humble home stands on the land of the Williams Treaty of 1923, in what is now called East York, a borough of Toronto.

By Jennifer P

•

May 19, 2022

I learned a lot about Indigenous people from this course. I loved the videos (lectures). I have a much clearer understanding of Indigenous culture, art, connections to the land and to each other.

I am from a very different culture, the Caribbean, of European decent and I do know and have experienced being discriminated against - yes it seems all cultures have a segment of the population who discriminate, sadly. This course helped me get a clearer and deeper understanding of Canada's indigenous People.

Some of the Quiz questions were challenging because I found that one or two of the questions could apply. I would like to thank you all so very much for creating this incredible course. Every person in Canada should be required to listen and learn. Keep up this amazing work.

By KAMALA R

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Feb 4, 2018

I think this course should be part of our mandatory mainstream education. Although I had some superficial familiarity with the course content through Social Studies education in 1980s Alberta, a lot of this content was delivered expertly to someone with fresh eyes, perspective, and enthusiasm for learning the truth about indigenous peoples, history, and culture. As a resident living in unceded territory of Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, I believe it is my duty to learn as much as I can in honour of the indigenous people's contributions to this land, and for the debt of gratitude we owe to them. I hope for more classes on native studies through coursera or on my own. I am also a U of A alumni and wish I could go back a couple decades in a time machine so I could have taken courses then.

By Vita P

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Nov 25, 2020

Excellent overview of many complex issues.

Thanks you so much.

Three comments: 1. It would be nice to have a place to post questions. Although I acknowledge with over 9,000 students this may be overwhelming. My question: What was scrip? That term was never explained, although I have looked it up - I'm not sure if I understand correctly in context.

2. When discussing visual art it is important to actually show the art. It may mean getting permission and /or copyright, but would make that section so much richer and more comprehensive. The artists where the art work was shown was so much more comprehensive.

3. Thank you for including Leah Dorion's work - explaining the visual iconography and giving me an excellent example of the power of story telling and iconography as educational tools.

By Suzanne W

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Nov 23, 2020

I very much enjoyed the course given by Dr. Tracy Paul and her assistants. I also loved the art created and explained by Leah Dorion to supplement the course,

It was an excellent presentation of material on Indigenous Canada and my level of information has grown by leaps and bounds.

I looked forward to every class, scheduled them in my daily planner, and they were a priority in my weekly plans.

I have spoken to family and friends about this course and what I have learned these past 12 weeks. I have encouraged them to do the same....some have said they will!

I have never taken an online course before, If I do again, I sure hope that it meets the high standards that this University of Alberta Indigenous Canada course did. It was excellent.

Thank you all so very much.

Suzanne Watson

By rick j

•

Jun 24, 2022

I enjoy the course very much , their were a lot of things I didn't know much about and this course shown me / open my eyes to a lot of things that i wasn't aware of and now i have a better understanding about the indigenous people and the things they went through and still are going through and I can understand their plight and why they are so sceptial about other ethic groups ,due to their past history etc. If i had knew about this course I would have taken it ages ago and also it will help me with my future career path of an Addiction and Community counselor , which I will start very soon hopefully , I hope that I could find more courses along this same line to help me more in the future and thank you very much for this wonderful and eye opening course sincerely Rick jones.

By James J

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Oct 17, 2020

As a big-city descendant of "settlers" I have had a woefully weak knowledge of the injustices suffered by Indigenous Canadians. This marvellous course has opened my mind and heart. None of my ancestors, to my knowledge, had direct responsibility for Indigenous=settler relations or government decisions. I wish I could talk with them now, to see if they would be as ashamed as I feel.

I found out about this course thru a link from HIP (Honouring Indigenous People) which I support as they appear to offer constructive projects in partnership with Indigenous communities. This U of A course has taught me a lot. But in the spirit of "Idle No More" I feel called to participate more actively in these projects - financial support may help with the shame I feel, but that's not enough.

By Hope C

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Nov 8, 2020

What a beautifully presented course. As an American neighbor to Canada our history is woven together. Our history has been white washed and presented to us from only one point of view. A view that makes us believe the lands were our right to take and inhabit as we founded them. We've been led to believe untruths about Indigenous people. This course opened up those false truths, shed light on things that have been glossed over in a positive light to make the history more appeasing and less brutal than it actually was. This course is very important and should be introduced to all learners in our school systems. Thank you very much, I've learned a lot and I will take those lessons with me and integrate them into my life going forward. I'm committed to being a life long learner.

By Chris L

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Nov 6, 2020

Compelling course detailing the vibrant and diverse ways of being and knowing of our country's indigenous people. A great introductory course that traces the history and perspectives of indigenous cultures from pre-contact to today, it is not afraid to address some of the more catastrophic and tragic interactions between settlers and aboriginal people.

The videos contain some very insightful interviews with indigenous scholars, authors, and artists, both in English and native languages.

I would recommend this course to any Canadian who wants to gain a greater understanding of indigenous issues, wants to learn about the tremendous diversity of cultural beliefs and practices of indigenous people, and how these beliefs and practices interact with modern western settler culture.

By Margaret R M G

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Apr 22, 2022

This course came highly recommended by friends and it lived up to that high recommendation. I feel like I have learned a lot over the past couple of months and at the same time realize that this course is just scratching the surface. But the course has given me a good foundation and a sense of direction for further study. It also has made me think about our shared future. At the same time as working through the course I have been reading books by indigenous writers, both fiction and non-fiction. Small steps in trying to work my way through the complexities. This is such a sad history and I appreciate the tone in the course which did not make me feel like I needed to be defensive. It makes it easier to step up, acknowledge wrongs, and work towards positive change.