Native Studies

On Thursday, November 14, 1996, we welcomed Alan Knockwood to our Native Studies class as our guest speaker. Alan was very much enjoyed and appreciated by our class. He provided us with a highly entertaining and an informative presentation.

Terri Sabattis, BSW, MSW, Native Studies Instructor. Terri (standing on the right, photo above) is a member of the Maliseet First Nations community at Oromocto, New Brunswick. She has six children and twelve grandchildren. She has a CSW from Saint Thomas University in Fredericton, a BSW and a MSW from Dalhousie. She has a strong interest in the areas of using traditional methods as well as community resources in implementing modern-day curricula. Her research activities have been in Aboriginal history, ceremonial practices, and methods of teaching, learning and healing. She is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Maritime Centre of Excellence in Women's Health. Her teaching philosophy is: "personally defined family, community and peer support groups are necessary to survive the realities of university life," as well as "the lone goose gets cooked."

Course Description

The primary objective of this course is to learn that Native peoples have always been active, assertive contributors to the unfolding of Canadian history.

By examining the history of Native/White relations in Canada, specifically the Maritime region, we learn how policies and practices of Canadian government have contributed to the conditions and policies which govern Aboriginal communities/people today. We begin by learning about the historic construction of Aboriginal communities, including the teaching, learning and healing processes that kept them strong. We study thoroughly the Contact period and the impact on all peoples. This leads us into the present, where we investigate the interconnectedness of contemporary Native issues and historic policies and practices of Canadian government officials.

Textbooks

Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens, J.R. Miller
A Quality of Light, Wagamese
Keeper'n Me, Wagamese

For further information, please contact Terri Sabattis, Native Studies Instructor, by telephone at (902) 494-3730, by fax at (902) 494-2135, or send e-mail to the Director of the TYP Patricia Doyle Bedwell