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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Indigenous Canada by University of Alberta

4.8
stars
22,677 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

EF

Nov 2, 2020

Such important information for us all. This course was eye-opening and should really be taken by every Canadian. The course flows along nicely and is easy to navigate. I am better for having taken it.

DN

Aug 30, 2020

This is a great survey course about Indigenous Canada. As a participant, I have learned and unlearned so much about Indigenous Canadians, and more important, this course has inspired me to learn more.

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451 - 475 of 7,814 Reviews for Indigenous Canada

By Karrie H

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Mar 5, 2022

This course was very engaging. I looked forward to the time I set aside for study. The content was robust and the delivery was professional and practical. Each weekly plan was well laid out and the lectures were appropriate in length. I enjoyed hearing the interviews from those with lived experience, and I liked the written review at the end of each weekly lesson to look through before each quizz.

I learned so much about our hidden Canadian history. Impossible to look the other way after absorbing the details regarding colonization and the truth of European settlers. I look forward to being a better ally and supporter of today's Indigenous Canada.

By Cathy K

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Dec 30, 2020

I fully appreciated the opportunity to learn the actual history of Indigenous peoples in Canada and the realities of colonization. This course was well-organized and thoughtfully presented in an objective manner with information on a wide range of topics. I believe that everyone should be taught about the abhorrent, racist manner in which Indigenous people were historically, and still are today, treated by the government and dominating culture. This would provide an understanding of the intergenerational trauma that events and poor treatment by settlers has caused and of the value of Indigenous self-government. Thank you for an excellent course!

By Freddy V

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Dec 19, 2020

Born in South-America , in a country where indigenous people were massacred in colonial times, this course brought a new understanding. After 26 years in this country, now i have a new knowledge and appreciation of the indigenous struggle to keep their culture and way of life. Before this course I thought that I have some knowledge about this topic ... i was wrong ... this course open new perspectives and an appetite to know more ... it also empathize my conviction to be involve and aware of he diverse way of life that indigenous nations have. I would like and commit to be another voice and allied of the issues affecting natives communities .

By Wendy M

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Sep 30, 2020

I never really understood the true meaning of my being a "Canadian". This course opened my eyes to my great appreciation to the First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples, for their willingness to share this great land. It took much of the course for me to overcome my feelings of guilt, being a child descended from European colonialists. But I overcame that by choosing to reinvent what Canadian means to me: co-existing in this beautiful nation with people who understand the true meaning of strength, love, reciprocity and respect for Mother Earth: the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Thank you for an extremely rewarding course, I am eternally grateful!!

By Nathalie T

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Nov 25, 2020

A big thank you for putting this course together. I have learned so much, and will continue to deepen my knowledge on Indigenous life and culture. This course should be mandatory for all Canadians as it helps us understand one another, create bridges and open our eyes to all the traumas of the past and even the present. Each module could be a course in itself as there is so much information. The 3 presentators really know how to maintain our attention and interest. The added interviews and testimonies show us an insight and an expression of all the pride of Indigenous people for their culture and as a Nation. Thank you again ! Merci beaucoup !

By Ingrid S

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Dec 13, 2020

As a west coast settler, my understanding (limited) of Indigenous culture, art and governance has just been from the perspective of British Columbian Indigenous Nations. The Indigenous Canada course exposed me to other Indigenous groups in Canada, to the negative impact of the first colonizers of North America as well as to the past and ongoing oppression by a succession of Canadian governments. I appreciate the introduction to contemporary Indigenous artists. I look forward to furthering my education on Indigenous issues and learning more about past and contemporary contributions of Indigenous people including artists and scholars. Thank you!

By Trisha H

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Aug 2, 2021

Thank you so much - really appreciated the Indigenous Canada course. Fortunately, I have read, appreciated the art forms of many including Bill Reid and currently, Patrick Hunter - viewed APTN & and was aware of a lot of the history. But the course gave me a great framework, new perspectives and really organized my understanding. Loved the incorporation of Leah Dorian's art - it would be nice to have a list of artists & writers to investigate - a long list, I know. Currently, reading the Buffy St. Marie biography and Fred Sasakamoose's "Call Me Indian". Are there more courses coming soon: the Arts, grassroot movements, or ? Thank you again!!

By Maureen S

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Oct 16, 2020

Excellent course. I learned a tremendous amount and now have a list of resources to pursue as I go forward learning more about Indigenous Canada. The presenters were professional and articulate and presented the material in bite sized chunks that were easy to grasp. The accountability of taking a quiz at the end of each module was an effective way to consolidate knowledge. I was able to review and retake the quizzes and noted that the questions could change making sure that I was paying attention to what was asked. This should be required viewing for every Canadian and would be an excellent resources for schools as a learning tool. Thank you.

By Alex D

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Sep 14, 2021

This was so well presented, informative and illuminating. I think all Federal and Local government employees should have this as a mandatory course as part of their training and conditions of employment. As a British settler who has lived in Canada for 30 years I knew so little, was ignorant of the real history of this country and I learned more in this 12 weeks than in 30 years of living here on Turtle Island. It was thought provoking, moving, enlightening, and full of factual data and research. I certainly felt I could carry on from this jumping off point to learn more and am highly recommending it to all my friends, colleagues and family.

By Carolyn F

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May 17, 2021

I truly felt a huge personal gap in understanding the history and journey of the Indigenous people in this country. This course did not disappoint. It has challenged me to think differently about my own personal actions and language and to become more of an advocate for respect and the decolonization of Indigenous life. I have already started to think differently about how this applies to my career and to my role as a parent. Thank you for making this available! I will highly recommend this course!

(PS- I am from Hamilton, ON and learned recently that Tracy Bear will be joining the faculty at McMaster University! How lucky for my hometown!)

By Jesmina B

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Feb 1, 2021

Indigenous Canada is a shocking wake-up call to its students, most specifically Canadians who were not taught about this significant history in our schools. I understand this now more than ever and hope this and other Indigenous courses become part of k-12 learning. As a Metis woman, I am honoured to be a daughter of Canada's Indigenous Peoples, as I continue to learn about my heritage. I am excited to share this course with everyone I know. It is heart breaking to see in detail how, from settlers to today's non Indigenous executives, have and continue to treat the very people who are spiritually connected to our land, water and creatures.

By Holly W

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Aug 30, 2021

The information in this course really helped me understand more about the history of colonialism and it's devastating toll on the Indigenous people. They welcomed Europeans, willing to share their knowledge, culture, and land, but instead were manipulated and decimated by white settlers. The course not only outlines the history, but also brings us up to date with how Indigenous people are reclaiming their rights, culture, and personhood. I am very grateful for the 3 First Nations people who facilitated the lectures, as well as the speakers who shared their personal insights. The course was delivered in a meaningful, thought provoking way.

By Marsha M

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Jun 13, 2021

Very informative course. Lots of reflect upon and process. There is a necessary level of discomfort that I and other settlers must sit with as we navigate the couse and learn about the past and present impact of colonization. This is part of our history and it should be taught. I am committed to sit with the discomfort, to do the work and to be an ally. As an educator, I wish a version of this course could be adapted for our elementary and secondary students - as our history programs remain to be told from the white-settler perspective. Thank you for making this course accessible for me and others who want to and who need to learn more.

By Carol M

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May 13, 2021

My only criticism of this course (which is generally excellent!) is that it states in the discussion of residential schools that there were none in PEI, NB, or Newfoundland. I can't speak to NB or PEI as I'm not familiar enough with those provinces' history, but there were in fact residential schools in NL - 1 on the island and 4 in Labrador. They weren't part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (as the schools pre-dated NL joining Canada and the Canadian government argued they had no responsibility), but they were recognized later with an apology from the federal government to survivors and (eventually) a class-action settlement.

By Carrie R

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Sep 26, 2021

I can't thank the staff and faculty for providing this thought provoking course and allowing many of us to be educated on such an important aspect of history in our society. My mind was filled with correct facts and knowledge about the history of the Indigenous culture and how it was shaped. I looked forward each week to what new and interesting teachings I would be receiving from Scholars, speakers, video and paintings. I really appreciated Leah Dorian's paintings at the end of each weeks course lesson. Nice way to tie in the information we were hearing or reading about. To see it on canvas was amazing and brought the stories to life!!

By Kirstin D

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Sep 6, 2021

This course has been a revelation, though if I were more aware and engaged in the history of Canada it wouldn't be such a revelation. The course material was well presented in multiple learner formats, from video presentations to full course notes, art and additional material links. Sometimes the in-video questions were presented ahead of the material so that it was impossible to know the answer (this happened twice). I appreciated the encouraging pop-up messages that reminded me about scheduling learning times each week. As a "mature student" who has been out of intense study and test-taking for many years, this course challenged me!

By Stacey S

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Aug 10, 2021

This course was very eye opening for me personally! Having a child of being half Indigenous, he was raised in a "white" home environment, so unfortunately, him, I and the rest of my family never knew the full extent of history and continued behaviors of how children/people have been treated terribly. I feel more people need to take this course and how valuable it is our community and society to move forward with showing compassion especially with all the Residential School's of unmarked graves and the most of all the survivors dealing with this tragedy...so awful and I feel for all the people! My heart goes out to you ALL! Thank you.

By Joseph G L

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Nov 14, 2020

This was an excellent course, easy to comprehend and the course content flowed nicely from one module to the next. Most importantly though, I learned so much. The key to reconciliation and understanding is education, and unfortunately, most Canadians know very little of the rich heritage and culture of our First Nations, Inuit and Metis people. I will certainly spread the word among friends and colleagues that Indigenous Canada is a course they should thoughtfully consider. Personally, I plan to learn more through additional reading and research.

My sincere thanks to the Native Studies Faculty, University of Alberta.

Joe Latour.

By Konrad L

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May 20, 2022

Amazing course. Not only rich in knowledge presented from the often marginalzied viewpoints of the First Nations, but what's important the knowledge is presented in many different appealing forms including but not limited to: interviews, visualisations, animations, sketches etc. Much as I understand that some of the opinions presented in the course can be considered contentious I really appreciate the amount of effort, care and knowledge that was put in creating this course. In my opinion this is a model coursera course or rather should serve as a model that unfortunately rather few institutions present on the platform try to much.

By Julia C

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Nov 14, 2020

I want to thank Dan Levy for getting on Twitter to promote this course otherwise I might never have known about it. This course is interesting, sometimes disturbing (esp. learning about Residential Schools) but always fascinating. There were a number of historical facts that I had never learned during my school years. I've learned how to better understand events across Canada that I read about in the news, such as the lobster fishery disputes in Nova Scotia and land issues in Caledonia.

More importantly for me, I've reached out to people on Twitter, both Indigenous and settler (like me!) to discuss events and our lives in general.

By Diane H

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Aug 23, 2020

This course gave me a true understanding about Indigenous Canada. The presentation, the professors, the speakers were all excellent. Leah Dorion's art work was wonderful. I have learned the great importance of community and inclusion. I signed the petition against the James Bay Project, visited Expo 67 and lived in Montreal during the Oka Crisis but I need to do more in order to rectify and Help to improve the lives of everyone who shares this land and the water and the air that we breath. Thank you so much for this opportunity. This course should be incorporated into Canadian History for High school and University students.

By Laura S

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Oct 19, 2020

This course has given me a new understanding of the history of the nation of Canada and what my responsibilities as a citizen involve. I can now see that the nation of Canada as we know it was created by the first peoples, and that we have a responsibility to uphold the Crown's promise of peace, friendship and nations working together. I will continue to be available, to reach out to, and to stand up for Indigenous communities. Indigenous communities have modelled profound human resilience to institutionalized oppression. I am profoundly grateful for all I have learned from these beautiful people. Thank you for this course.

By Vera K

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Mar 12, 2018

Everyone living and breathing on this continent has an obligation to know (at least this much more) about the real history and culture of this land. I went to school in Toronto (born here) and didn't even get a sliver of the information in this course. At times I cried, got mad, felt guilt, felt gratitude and everything in between during these lessons. I think it's one step that non-indigenous people can take towards reconciliation is to start getting a real picture of how we got to where we are today. I'm very grateful for having found and completed this course. I will continue to share and encourage others to take this course.

By Louise d M

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Jan 5, 2021

I had wanted to take a course to understand what Truth and Reconciliation was about and this really hit the mark. Pre-colonial history is fascinating and gives me a new perspective about the complexities of First Nations and how rich their lives. I thought I knew what Colonialism was, but my eyes have been opened and now I understand the devastation that the influx of settlers caused. I really appreciated hearing about how First Nations have never disappeared and are thriving and especially loved hearing about Indigenous art. Thank you for sharing this information, it has certainly changed my views of Canada in so many ways!

By John A

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Sep 4, 2020

A quality course that should be mandatory for every Canadian.

If you can forgive a few transcript/functional typos, in the module's written, artistic, and video presentations you will find illuminating, heart-breaking, maddening, and jaw-dropping content that only scratches the surface of an incredibly complex issue that has been evolving since 1492.

I understand how I am a Settler with Privilege now. My empathy goes out to the Indigenous Peoples, and I am in awe of their resilience since the colonial arrival... and how they're still continuing to deal with injustice, and yet persisting in their efforts, even in the present day.