A new Aboriginal studies course is set to be offered at College of New Caledonia.
Aboriginal Studies 110, which will be offered online through CNC beginning in January 2011, provides a unique perspective of the Metis culture that is relevant to Prince George and the surrounding region.
The course curriculum was developed by CNC new media and fine arts instructor Kim Stewart, who is Metis, and Marlene Erickson, CNC's senior policy advisor of Aboriginal education.
When developing the course, Stewart and Erickson invited seven Metis Elders from Prince George to talk about the things that mattered in their lives; what it was like for them as children, the joy and difficulty of growing up in a mixed culture and their firsthand experiences in the history that is normally only read about in books.
Interviews were organized into topics such as hidden identity, disenfranchisement, local history, elder protocol, cultural values, medicines, stories and renewal.
"There is a huge Metis population in B.C. who have very interesting stories about why they're here," said Stewart. "They helped build the fabric on how Prince George was built and they're contributing to preserving and documenting Metis culture. The Elders have a lot of wisdom to bring forward.
"During the fur trade, the men were out hunting and trapping, yet the women held such an economic role in all of this. They were supporting their families by making pemmican and outfitting important people in Canada."
The course is broken down into three different modules focusing on history, adaptation and respect and revitalization. It took Stewart more than a year to put the course together, including the video footage.
When students take the course, they will learn from two textbooks written by Metis authors based in B.C., along with the DVD compilation that features the seven local Elders whom Stewart interviewed.
By offering it online, people in smaller communities can access it.
"It's pretty ambitious for us to provide it online," said Stewart. "We wanted students to feel they were learning directly from the Elders."
The course is being funded by the province's regional economic and skills development ministry through the aboriginal special projects fund.
