Theme 6: Fostering Respect and Avoiding Stereotypes

Goal #2: The school has an environment that is respectful of and appreciates First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures, history and world-view.

Pair up with the person on your left and spend a few minutes getting to know one another. The partners then take turns introducing each other to the rest of the group.

Sit in a sharing circle and take turns discussing what is meant by the term “respect”. Remember that sharing in a sharing circle is voluntary and nobody is forced to speak.

Activity: Introducing your Neighbour

Activity: Sharing Circle

Fostering Respect and Avoiding Stereotypes

Ethnocentrism is …

… when you evaluate other races and cultures by criteria that are specific to your own race and culture.

Values and Beliefs of Western and Aboriginal Cultures

Western Culture Aboriginal Culture

Importance of scheduling, clocks and watches, being on time

Importance of seasonal time

Individualism Community-oriented

Seniors are marginalized Seniors are central to the community

Land is bought and sold (commodity)Land cannot be owned

Materialism/consumerism Saving and reusing

Avoiding Stereotypes in the Classroom

As a teacher, what can I do to prevent stereotyping in the classroom?

1. Educate yourself by reading or watching videos on the subject.2. Look for examples of stereotyping in your community, for example, toys

and games that portray First Nations people.3. Pay attention to the representation of First Nations people in books and

resources in your classroom.4. Start your own collection of stereotyping.5. When you encounter stereotypes with your class, use the examples to

develop critical thinking skills. Educate your students about the problems associated with stereotyping, bias and ethnocentrism.

6. Make an effort to talk to Aboriginal leaders in and around your community. Ask them to visit the classroom to talk about their beliefs, customs and culture.

Avoiding Stereotypes in the Classroom (continued)

Examples of Aboriginal Stereotypes• Walt Disney’s Pocahontas, The Indian in the Cupboard, and Hiawatha• Tonto from The Lone Ranger• Many old “spaghetti westerns”• Others?

Positive Aboriginal Role Models• Graham Greene’s characters in Maverick and Dances with Wolves• Tina Keeper’s character in North of 60• Others?

“Should any major league team decide to name their professional team, regardless of the sport, after another ethnic group or culture, there would be a public outcry. Teams with names like the Montreal Haitians, Toronto Jews, Vancouver Sikhs or the Winnipeg WASPs would be rightly rejected out of hand. But Aboriginal people seem to be exempt from such consideration."

Canadian Ojibway playwright, Drew Hayden Taylor.

Brainstorm examples of Aboriginal stereotypes that you have seen or encountered (e.g., Pocahontas).

Divide into groups of four and spend quiet time reading the section called “Societal Stereotyping” in Aboriginal Cultures and Perspective: Making a Difference in the Classroom. Each member of the group highlights a passage and then shares the passage with the others. The others respond and then the person who highlighted explains why he or she highlighted the passage.

Activity: Brainstorming

Activity: Stereotyping

Common Portrayals of Aboriginal People

Common stereotypes in film: the wise elder (Little Big Man); the drunk (Tom Sawyer); the Indian princess (Pocahontas); the loyal sidekick (Tonto from The Lone Ranger)

Hollywood's versions of "how the West was won" relied totally on the presence of Native tribes, who were to be wiped out or reined in.

"And, for the longest time," says Canadian Ojibway playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, "there wasn't a real 'Indian' to be seen on the movie sets: Native 'representation' was taken care of by Italians or Spaniards—anyone with dark enough skin to save on makeup."

Common Portrayals of Aboriginal People (continued)

Stereotypical portrayals of Aboriginal characters:

– primitive, violent and deceptive– Passive, childlike and obedient

Since few people, especially in larger urban centres, actually came into contact with Indigenous populations, these portrayals, however inaccurate, had all the more impact. 

"Groundbreaking films like Pow Wow Highway, Dance Me Outside and Smoke Signals provided fresh and contemporary—though still romanticized—portrayals of the Native community.“

Film-maker Arthur Lamothe’s 13 part documentary series La chronique du Nord-Est du Québec puts First Nations people centre-stage and provides them with a venue to tell their own stories.

Watch the clip from the video Myself, Yourself, which describes the effects of stereotyping in the curriculum on First Nations and other peoples in Canada.

After viewing, take turns discussing important information from the video on the effects of stereotyping.

Work in groups to create short skits that illustrate one of the effects of stereotyping on Aboriginal students. The groups then present their skits to the other participants.

Activity: Myself, Yourself

Activity: Role Play

Fostering Respect and Avoiding Stereotypes

Ethnocentrism is …

… when you evaluate other races and cultures by criteria that are specific to your own race and culture.

Values and Beliefs of Western and Aboriginal Cultures

Western Culture Aboriginal Culture

Importance of scheduling, clocks and watches, being on time

Importance of seasonal time

Individualism Community-oriented

Seniors are marginalized Seniors are central to the community

Land is bought and sold (commodity)Land cannot be owned

Materialism/consumerism Saving and reusing

Create a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts Western and Aboriginal values and beliefs. As a group, discuss how to prevent an ethnocentric view in the classroom.

Activity: Ethnocentrism

Aboriginal Beliefs and Values

Western Beliefs and Values

How are Western beliefs and values different than Aboriginal?

How are Aboriginal beliefs and values different than Western?

Review some ideas for how to deal with stereotyping in the classroom and brainstorm to add to the list. Create an action plan (see graphic organizer “Action Plan”) that describes what and how you will address stereotyping of Aboriginal people in the classroom or the community.

What were … • My thoughts• My feelings• My awareness• My judgments• My insights• My questions… before/after the workshop

Activity: What Can I Do?

Activity: What Were …