The most comprehensive and well presented course I've ever experienced. I recommend this course to everyone. I appreciated the accessibility options (closed captioning) as well as the module reading assignments which summarized the content week to week. My only complaint is the wording of the quiz questions tend to lean towards being a negative the majority of the time - at least that's how the dice rolled for me! i.e. "which of the following is not an example of ...." Regardless of that tiny little complaint, I feel this course should be required for everyone in Canada. Everyone.

I greatly appreciate all the members of the team who have put together the Course for Indigenous Canada. For me the experience was to learn about Canadian History in a relaxing manner, like an antidote to the Covid pandemic situation. From the first week itself I discovered the order that Reading, Interactive Video and then watching all the videos helped before taking the quizzes. I will take up another course from this Department from University of Alberta. I wish to continue contributing to the Discussion Forum, as I had many things to say but did not find time to do so in time.

I am so grateful to have taken this course and I feel I have grown so much in learning so much history that my formal education failed to deliver. For me the art work beading over the Indian Act was so powerful, I hope to see that in person some day. The rest of the content was so engaging, the moderators were incredible and I learned many many things about the colonial history of Canada that I had no clue about. Thank you for making this course and for making it free and accessible to all. I will be telling everyone I know about it and encouraging others to sign up. Well done!

Authentic historical and cultural perspective was what drew me to this course initially. Throughout the weeks the content and their quizzes were paced in a manageable way for me to learn and work simultaneously. The pedagogical practices in the delivery of this course were fantastic. As far as the actual content goes, I wish I would have had this knowledge decades ago. Thank you to Professor Tracy Bear, Professor Paul Gareau, Alannah Mandamin-Shawanda, Isaac Twinn and all the elders, artists and presenters who shared their stories and their lives with me over these many weeks.

Excellent course, it is a real pity that the richness and understanding that can be gained by this course wasn't part of the curriculum when I when through secondary school. I was more naive than I realized in understanding different perspectives - this definitely helped me. To counter some of the criticisms in the comments - this isn't a fundamentally sad or negative course, of course there some devastating history that needs to be understood, but there is also resilience, beautiful art, and lessons that would serve to improve all cultures here too. Very well worth your time.

I very much enjoyed taking the course: Indigenous Canada. It was extremely informative and eye-opening. This was the first course I took on coursera and I loved it! As a Macedonian-Canadian woman that was raised in Canada, there were many things about Indigenous people (i.e. their experiences, their various worldviews, the struggles they have faced and continue to face, etc.) that I was not aware of. We definitely need to be more educated and made aware. Thank you for having this course on coursera and to the Professors for doing a wonderful job breaking it all down for us.

It was very eye opening & informative to learn more about the history of Canada's Indigenous people, their mistreatment at the hands of European settlers, their fight for survival, their resilience & their continuing battle against stereotypical ideas and mistreatment. I have a profound pride & admiration for Canada's original inhabitants. I sincerely hope that Canada will continue to acknowledge the atrocities that have been, and still are, being committed against them and that one day they will enjoy the same rights, acceptance and treatment that all human beings deserve!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this course, and it has definitely opened up my eyes when it comes to the lives of indigenous people. From the colonization to the present struggles. From their original way of life and adapting to the western way of life while holding on to their culture the best they could to reclaiming their culture and arts. I have learned so much and understand some of the issues regarding indigenous people better. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who isn’t familiar with the colonization of Canada and the injustices done to the indigenous people.

I believe every Canadian should take this course and that the curriculum is adapted for elementary and high school students. It is a lot of material to cover yet the presenters highlighted key points that really increased my understanding of the roots of issues affecting Indigenous people today. I urge anyone who has taken the course to make a donation to this department at the University of Alberta so that they can continue to preserve the culture and traditions that were attacked and damaged by colonization. Thank you to the presenters who were informative and engaging.

I’m grateful this course was available; it’s exactly what I needed to feel more informed about Indigenous history and their current state. There’s much to be done and Indigenous peoples in Canada are working hard to get what they deserve. I can now understand more of what’s going on when I keep up with news and activities. Thank you! My only quibble is that there are far too many spelling and word choice mistakes in the transcriptions of the videos, and elsewhere. None were bad enough to be confusing, though. The high quality of the course is not affected by these problems.

This course provided me with many new perspectives and understandings that I can carry forward in my interpretation of the ongoing concerns and struggles for Indigenous peoples in Canada and the world. Thank you all for the time and effort it took to create the thought provoking course. The artwork was a fantastic element to incorporate throughout. My only suggestion would be to create and add some type of visual or flow diagram that relates all of these treaties and laws overtime. This would assist me in my learning and memory of these crucial aspects (Week 3).

Thank-you!!

I am grateful for these learnings and the knowledge, time, and heart that went into their development. The lectures, reading notes, videos, course art, forums, and discussions with Dan Levy all contributed to helping me develop a better understanding of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island and of my settler-colonial heritage. I believe that going forward I can be a better ally to Indigenous peoples, but the learnings are never done. Besides walking away with new perspectives and knowledge, I have a long, long list of actions and readings to pursue. Many many thanks to all!

This course was engaging and a great introduction to Indigenous Peoples' History and Culture in Canada. My only criticism lies in that some of the quiz questions were phrased in a confusing, repetitive, or ambiguous manner which made the answer options difficult to understand, identify as correct, or recognize from course material. However, I loved the inclusion of interactive art in each week's materials. The course's emphasis on explaining the vibrant and continuing culture of Indigenous People in conversation with their histories sets this course apart from its peers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this survey course! It was a good reminder of my learnings from a career working with Inuit, Métis and First Nations Peoples, as well as a discovery of new knowledge. I have recommended this course to nearly 50 people and encourage them to take up the challenge. The organizers and presenters have done a fine job in distilling an amazing mass of information into easily understood and thought-provoking lessons. The artwork created by Leah Dorian told the stories visually and were powerful in their own right.

Great job, Dr. Bear and the team!

I loved this course. As a Metis woman, a social worker and a previous instructor, I found the material engaging and inspiring. Although the history can be very overwhelming, it is a part of the history of Indigenous people and this was presented very respectfully, yet told the history.

I loved seeing the progress, hearing about the many people involved in making positive change. The art by Leah Dorion was very creative and I loved the storytelling involved in showcasing.

I would recommend this course to anyone.

Thank you for this incredible journey through learning.

Such an important teaching!

I think everyone on North America should have this education. The educators openly welcome all people with varying degree of Indigenous understanding and made these vital (sometimes dark) moments in history easy to understand. Lessons build upon its former which helps process complex and dense information. I found the lectures to be foundational and the additional resources (glossary and extra topic reading) are exceptional. The art, music, Q&A make this very well rounded. Above and beyond.

I'm so grateful for this offering. So many thanks!!

I have learned so much in this course. As an indigenous woman from Treaty 8 that grew up on a reserve and now resides in an urban area, this course has given me the knowledge that I lacked for so many years. I wasn't aware of the impacts of residential schools until I was early twenties ( I am now 32 years old). Growing up no one talked about our history and the impacts it had. Thanks to this course I have a better understanding of our history, cultural and political issues, and so much more. Thank you for everyone that has contributed to making this course accessible.

J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce cours. Maintenant, le monde doit entendre les histoires, les horreurs et les injustices faites à la communauté des Premiers Nations. Le curriculum d'études sociales en l'Ontario, au niveau primaire et moyen ne parle pas de notre passé. Le curriculum doit être changé. Nous devons revoir notre passé afin de ne pas répéter les erreurs dans le présent et le futur. Ce cours m'a aussi permise d'apprendre qu'est-ce que ça veut dire être Métis. Je suis fière de le dire que je suis Métis, reconnu par Métis Nation of Canada.

Merci pour cette occasion !

This is a beautiful course which helps me to understand the natives of Canada. The course highlights the early stages, the struggle from the beginning during the colonial era and continues to the current time for due recognition, identities, rights and to be on par players in all fields in the growth of contemporary Canada. My heart felt regards and respect to the First Nation people, Inuit and the Metis. Hoping the day will come when l visit Canada and enjoy your cultures and friendship. Thanks to the teachers who prepared this course for the international community.

I really enjoyed this course. I believe it provided me with a better understanding of colonization, the impact, history and Indigenous culture, as a whole. I thought this course was laid out nicely, with great materials and resources to further learnings, with adequate time, to complete each module. For me, I believe there was alot of important information and this is just the beginning.

I look forward to continuing to learn and re-read the course notes to reflect on the learnings and further my awareness and knowledge. Thank you for this opportunity and sharing.

Ccourse videos were dry, but casenotes were very informative and thorough. Minor changes need to be made such as clear identification of headings and sub- headings. I also recognize mention of Winnipeg's Neechi Commons, which wanted to inform instructors that it was an amazing resource, however, it has closed. I have recommended this class to all my peers. As a First Nations individual, it was enlightening to learn about what happened to our Ancestors long before I was even a thought. Miigwech. This has greatly contributed to a sense of belonging and identity for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and feel that I have started to learn much about Indigenous history, culture, and political concerns in Canada because of it. I especially loved the inclusion of Leah Dorion's art and commentary. For future iterations of this course, I would appreciate a more careful proofreading of the course notes and quizzes to eliminate typos and occasional inconsistencies. Also, including a separate long list compilation of Indigenous writers, artists, musicians, and their works would further enhance this fantastic learning experience. Thank you!

I really appreciated and enjoyed the course, it's methodology of introducing and explaining key pieces of knowledge. I feel this is a gateway course to extend to further learning and am interesting in knowing more. The topics were brought forward in a safe way to help open my mind to topics that I had little opportunity to learn about in my original school career, that I realize are part of course structures now.

Bravo to all the hard work that went into creating this course! I loved it and recommend it regularly to those who have not yet taken it.

Patricia Bolen

Overall I really enjoyed this course and will be looking for additional content to continue learning and understanding this important history of my country. Good job to those that put this together and thank you UofA for making it available online and at no cost to participate. Should I ever be asked by those who create/manage learning content for Canadian elementary & highschool children I will advise them that this should be part of the history delivered to our kids. We are making a huge mistake by now getting this information out. Warm regards, Michael Phillips