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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

MD

Jul 2, 2021

This course was very interesting and very informative. Not only did it help correct stereotypes or prejudices, it showed a wide range of subjects pertaining to global and specific Indigenous cultures.

EG

May 27, 2021

Very well done! Thank you for allowing me to learn more about your history & culture. Being from Ireland and relatively new to Canada I wanted to know more about the beginnings of Canada as a country.

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6876 - 6900 of 7,815 Reviews for Indigenous Canada

By Jeffrey F

Apr 20, 2022

Very intresting perspective of the history of Indigenous Canada from inside. History is usually written by the winner so it was refreshing to hear the other side. Being brown myself I emphathise , however am glad you ended on an uplifting note of the Arts. It is a pity so many other cultures cannot also tell their story of colonization in such a format. Truly Canada was a unique multicultural country from the start. Your course helps us understand the issues that are ongoing and may never be solved. Thank you for the knowledge shared, as it heals. This couse should be required school ciriculum.

By Christine M M

Nov 14, 2020

An excellent introduction to understanding the Indigenous culture and history. The first part of the course was comprised of information that should be included in all school sectors. I have read that they may not include this content of indigenous history in the early grades of the Alberta school system. Sadly this is what occurred during my school years. The later part of the course reinforced my current understanding and knowledge base. I felt that some of the information could have been presented in more detail and that some areas could be updated. Otherwise I totally enjoyed the course.

By Lance F

Oct 15, 2022

Much of the course was amazing.

The teachers, story tellers, artists, and early content were amazing. 5 stars!

I didn't enjoy some of the later modules. They were opinion pieces that seemed to focus entirely on activism and resistance....completely ignoring the important work currently being done by Indigenous folks (like myself and network across canada) that are trying to find prosperity from the ashes of colonialism. There are amazing things being done by First Nations, Indigenous businesses, and Indigenous entrepreneurs. The course completely ignores this important work....no stars

By Marie S

Apr 6, 2020

I enrolled in this course as a part of the Healing & Wellness Counselor Program through NETC. As an Indigenous woman, there was a vast amount of information that I did not know. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and would recommend this course to anyone looking for education on Indigenous people. I experienced many unexpected emotions while working through each lesson. I felt it, processed it and released it. Thank you for awakening another part of my healing journey.

Thank you for the time and effort that was dedicated to making this course what it is. All the best to you all. Love to you

By Del S

Mar 23, 2021

This course has caused me to reflect on the history of my home province of Alberta. The greatest sacrifice in that story of settlement was paid by our indigenous brother and sisters in the giving up of their traditional hunting lands, aspects of their culture and identity. This course has reminded me to not forget the ongoing social effects that colonization and settlement have caused.

P.S. I have been reading Wallace Stegner’s book “Wolf Willow” at the same time as having been enrolled in this course. It has broadened my understanding of the issues raised in the course material.

By Brenda A

Apr 11, 2022

Very much appreicate all the work that went into getting all the information, interviews and of course the 1941's video.

Love the history of the treaty, fur trade and art.

Always curious of the truth what happened during the early migration of european settlers coming into Canada, now I understand a little more of the how's what's and who's of this tragic, sad and shameful relationship between first Nations People and the Canadian Government.

Thank you for all that you do to help us all understand the Worldview both past and present relationships with the Indigenous Peoples.

Brenda

By Patricia M

May 23, 2022

This is a wonderful course and I learned a great deal. However, I would suggest it should be revised annually if possible. Currently there is a great deal of context missing about the graves of the children being discovered at residential schools. Lots going on on the reconcilation front with the pope coming to visit this year, the role of the monarchy and questions about their reparations.

Also a note about the test questions: it's not fair to frame them in the negative. It feels like trickery when they aren't framed in the positive. High school shenanigans.

By Robert J

Jul 24, 2022

The course served as a rewriting of north american history for me, presenting the perspective from the aboriginal peoples of the lands to which settler nations came. I came to better understand the relationships of aboriginal nations and Canada throughout history. Modern day perspectives also served well to show how aboriginal peoples are part of the fabric of our Country and how important it is to right past injustices. I write this on the day the Pope arrives in Canada, I trust, to help all those who have suffered as a result of a horrendous period of history.

By Trina M

Jan 31, 2021

Having done the UBC Indigenous MOOC a few years ago, I found this one much better. The Canadian focus was great, I learned a lot, and I loved that there was a great deal of positive representation. My only real complaint would be the quizzes which were poorly worded and felt really picky in terms of looking at minute detail rather than overarching concepts. I've recommended the course to a number of people and am grateful to have taken it, especially for the great integration of Indigenous art and the focus on 4 regions to help break the "one Indian" stereotype.

By Victoria M

Nov 13, 2020

Incredibly informative introduction to Indigenous history and culture. There is so much material to cover, but this course did a great job presenting the information in bite-sized, well constructed modules.

The only thing I would like to see more of is Mi'kmaq inclusion. As someone living in Mi'kma'ki and knowing there is a long, rich history of the Mi'kmaq peoples I would like to have more representation for the full East Coast of what is called Canada.

Thank you for offering this great resource. This is something every person of settler heritage should engage in.

By Melissa A

Sep 15, 2020

I found this full of knowledge that can help me empathize with the indigenous culture and it raised my knowledge of some facts. I have a better appreciation for the history and the grassroots causes. I thoroughly enjoyed the format although the last module of art seemed the most difficult for me; not sure why. I love art culture.I have recommended this course to a few other people. I work in a school and I had an understanding of orange shirt day but, now I completely feel that in some ways the residential schools caused much more trauma that I truly understood.

By Ryan M

Aug 17, 2020

Great course, I had many learning moments where the incomplete knowledge I brought to the course was sewn together into something more complete. I also found my thoughts and opinions being challenged as I made my way from "week to week". It's been the cause of a lot of reflection, and has made me reach out to friends and family to discuss the issues that are broached in this course. I gave the course 4/5 only because I wish the videos had made more effective use of the video format. However, 10/10 would recommend this course to other colleagues and friends.

By Nancy C

Aug 1, 2021

A lot of interesting material here but sometimes too much information for one quiz. Many names are hard to remember resulting in difficulty passing some tests without multiple tries. Due to so much dialogue and information, the course was also sometimes hard to follow. I understand this is from the indigenous point of view, in learning this course there were times I felt very sympathetic, and then blamed at other times for things done by people before me.

I am so sorry for the things that were done to these peoples, I took this course to understand better.

By Anne A

Aug 19, 2022

I've only screatched the surface of what I want to learn regarding First Nations in Canada but this was a fantastic starting point. Very interesting so see the paralels of the course material in policy and legislation in natural resource use and resource production in modern day. My only criticism is some of the questions in the quizzes weren't reflected in the course content and it might be useful to allow an answer key after the course has been completed so we can review what we may have missed.

Thank you so much for this fantastic learning opportunity.

By Khalehla L

Sep 27, 2024

Very informative and engaging. However, some of the videos did not match the class notes. In Module 12 section 3, the videos state that we (the students) will have a chance to interact with Indigenous artists and creators with links to view videos/artworks/poetry available. This was sadly not the case, and no links were provided in the course notes nor anywhere else on the course site. This is an omission which robs participants of the chance to be introduced to amazing Indigenous artists across Canada, and should be rectified for future participants.

By Laura S

Sep 27, 2021

I thought this course was very helpful in learning the basics of issues our Indigenous peoples have faced throughout the history of colonization in Canada. Instructors were great.

My only small complaint is I found a couple of the quiz questions seemed to be able to be answered a couple of ways, but only one answer was correct on the marking.

I'm glad I took the course. We learned a bit our residential schools in class when I was younger, but they really need to teach more about our influence on Indigenous populations when they teach Canadian history.

By Gael S

May 4, 2022

The content in this course was excellent. Really fabulous. I'm so glad I spent time on this.

However, the quizzes were often not good gauges of the content. Some questions focused on minutia, details that I did not think were reflective of the overall principles of the lesson. That was really disappointing. And there were some questions I did not understand, or answers that I could not find, even after scouring through the notes for the section and re-reading the righ passage several times. I would give this course 5 stars if the quizzes were better.

By Karen M

Jan 6, 2021

I really enjoyed this course, and I learned a lot along the way. I am continuing to read both historical accounts of Canada's settler colonialism, the struggle of Indigenous peoples at the hands of settlers over the past 400 years, and the current struggles they face in our racist society. I have read a lot of personal accounts about the difficulties faced by Indigenous families and individuals as a result of colonialism, especially residential schools, but I have much to learn. Thank you for this course - it should be required for all Canadians.

By Tatiana G

May 27, 2020

Very informative, well-researched and creatively presented course! Learned so much about the history and current state of Indigenous peoples in Canada, many of which I was not aware of before. My only criticism is that some of the lecture reading materials seem to not have been proof-read and edited for errors. Found several sentences that were missing words, and some that didn't make sense at all, particularly in the Week 12 reading materials. A thorough proof-reading and editing of all the reading assignments would be a welcome improvement.

By River O

Jul 16, 2021

Very informative and interesting course. I'm glad I completed it. I think improvement could be made in the area of methodology. It primarily uses videos and multiple-choice quizzes to convey and evaluate learned content. Even though some of the videos are interesting, especially the explanations of Leah Dorion's commissioned art, it would have been nice to have some kind of interactive component to the course. Overall, well done and I recommend. I think this course should be a government-mandated requirement for high school graduation in Canada.

By Peggy B

Oct 15, 2021

Overall, excellent content. I found the Treaties material tedious and some of the quiz questions too picky and sometimes too vague. Another form of instruction for the Treaties sections would be helpful- perhaps more visual content rather than just a lecturer talking.

I am glad persevered though because it has shifted my perspective on Canadian history and feel hopeful that we can move forward as a country in a better way by including indigenous voices on more issues.

Thanks to all those who contributed to creating this excellent course!

By Dianne K

Sep 17, 2021

My biggest disappointment with the class was the references to outdated or closed facilities used to show successes such as Neechi Commons. I would have liked to have seen more successful examples where indigenous bands have been successful and why they have. For example the Osoyoos Band. 2 out of the 3 presenters were fabulous but I found one's voice a little hard to distinguish from time to time. Having the written words below really helped in that case.

But generally I really enjoyed the class and found the information invaluable.

By John W

Aug 22, 2021

I was frustrated by the "stand up and lecture" way of delivering the material at first. I complained about it to my daughter, who runs her own business in Lethbridge, and she told me how hard it is for anyone to present information to an audience you cannot see. She's right! So, in retrospect, I appreciate how well the three presenters did. I thought that the information was very good but that better use could have been made of more videos. I was also disappointed that Indigenous authors were not mentioned. Overall - very good. Thank you!

By Deirdre

Jun 23, 2021

I enjoyed learning the true history of the indigenous people of Canada. All of the teachers were well spoken and easy to understand. The interviews contained in the course were also very interesting. Happy that you offer this so that people can learn what actually happened in Canada to the Indigenous people and their struggles today. I found the section with the Legal Cases very informative and was happy that some legal cases were won. The views in the social media section were good outlining the positive and negative sides to it.

By Deanna H

Nov 21, 2021

This course offers a lot of great information on the First Nation's history with the Western European settlers and government. I enjoyed how it covered each topic thoroughly through the videos and course notes. I found the quizzes sometimes had questions that didn't pertain to the "meat" of the topic. But, most quizzes I've ever taken include questions on a lightly covered topic. Overall, this course is great and I recommend every person living in Canada to take this course so they have a better understanding of Canadian history.