NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
PDF on ERIC Download full text
ERIC Number: EJ1344231
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Nov
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1030-8385
EISSN: EISSN-2209-0916
The Niichii Project: Revitalizing Indigenous Language in Northern Canada
Peterson, Shelley Stagg; Manitowabi, Yvette; Manitowabi, Jacinta
TESOL in Context, v30 n1 p85-104 Nov 2021
Two Anishnabek kindergarten teachers discuss four principles of Indigenous pedagogies in a project with a university researcher that created a context for children to engage in activities to learn their Anishnabek language and culture, and create positive identities. The university researcher sent a rabbit puppet named Niichii (Friend), who was assigned the role of an Anishnaabek child whose family was from their Indigenous community but had moved away. Taking the role of Niichii's Kokum (Grandmother), the university researcher asked the child to teach Niichii the community's language and traditional ways. The teachers describe and interpret the learning activities of the Niichii project in terms of four elements of Indigenous pedagogies: intergenerational learning; experiential learning; spiritual learning involving interconnections with the land; and learning about relationality. Implications for other bilingual and multilingual contexts include creating role play contexts where children are positioned as teachers and helpers to support an imaginary character's language and cultural learning, building on children's funds of knowledge and highlighting cultural connections to the local community.
Australian Council of TESOL Associations. P.O. Box 2019, Smithfield, New South Wales 2164, Australia. e-mail: actaexec@yahoo.com.au; Web site: http://www.tesol.org.au/Publications/TESOL-in-Context
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A