A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO NLAKA’PAMUX (INTERIOR SALISH) CHILDREN’S RESPONSES TO ONLINE DIGITAL CURRICULUM FEATURING NLAKA’PAMUX (INTERIOR SALISH) PARENTS AND ELDERS

Abstract

Abstract In this narrative inquiry, I posed the question: How will Nlaka’Pamux (Interior Salish) children respond to digital curriculum featuring Nlaka’Pamux parents, community members, and Elders? Non-Indigenous people have predominantly directed Canada’s Indian residential, Catholic, and public schools. Further, curriculum resources used within these institutions have largely been void of Indigenous ways of knowing. This research demonstrates that Indigenous people and educators can create curriculum resources that are directed by Indigenous people, serve Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, and meet Canada’s provincial educational outcomes. Using narrative inquiry methodology, my research design originated with my Indigenous father, Elders, Chief, Council, and parents both on and off the landscape of my First Nation. Students, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, whom I have taught since I started my teaching career in 1996, have also had significant influence upon this work. I inquired into the impact on students of curriculum resources that I initiated, designed, and delivered with Indigenous people and in respect to public school curriculum outcomes. The medium I used to design and deliver these resources was a web-based interactive platform capable of incorporating rich media. Paper resources were used sparingly. What I discovered is that children from our nation engaged strongly with curriculum resources created by our Elders, Chief, Council, parents, and myself, all members of our nation. The children expressed how much they liked seeing people they knew within curriculum and how they preferred using digital technology to solely paper based resources. This work demonstrates that First Nations can design curriculum for their children from an autonomous position while meeting current outcomes and indicators within Canadian provincial curriculum mandates.