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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Indigenous Canada by University of Alberta

4.8
stars
21,749 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

LM

Oct 31, 2020

so grateful for the experience and the opportunity. I am richer for having participated. I am not interested in learning more about the indigenous people that lived/live in my area of the PNW (Oregon)

JH

Feb 13, 2021

Highly recommended - I have recommended it some of my staff who are interested in both taking the course and reading the materials. I should note they are First Nations and are as interested as I was.

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751 - 775 of 7,649 Reviews for Indigenous Canada

By Bob C

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Nov 9, 2020

Very well presented. The course is well researched and provides an introduction to Indigenous culture and our shared place here in Canada. The material is easy to follow, building each week to create an understanding of how important today is as we continue to learn and share this great land. I am very happy that I was able to take this course and now feel I have a better understanding as a Canadian of our shared history and shared future. What we do together today is the important work.

By Hugh W

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Jul 21, 2020

This was my first online course offered via coursera. I found the course on Indigenous Canada very enlightening, comprehensive, and honest. It was a nice mixture of facts, expert interviews, and relevant artwork. The course notes were very helpful to follow along as I watched the videos from the instructors. The module quizzes were a fairly stress free way to test your understanding. Thanks to the instructors for taking the time to put together such an important course for all Canadians!

By Marilyn C

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Nov 14, 2020

I found this course very helpful in understanding the indigenous people of Canada and their history. It made me examine my perspectives and view history from a different point of view. It helps making sense of some of the news stories and helps me to understand some issues from the past where I was not able to learn both sides of the issue. It would be helpful if all Canadians took this course so everyone could work at reaching the same objective of a united Canada based on the truth.

By Brian D

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Aug 11, 2021

This course provided me with a much needed Indigenous perspective on the history of Canada. After completing the course, I now completely understand and agree with the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to further educate ‘settlers’ like me on Indigenous history. A suggestion for improvement would be to incorporate more mixed media (e.g. visuals, links, etc.) directly into the lecture. Thank you for your great efforts in creating this very informative course. 

By Torie

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Jul 3, 2021

This is a powerful and meaningful course for everyone to develop a better understanding of the experience of indigeneity in Canada. The videos of Tracy Bear and Paul Gareau in conversation with Dan Levy are an essential extension of the course, taking the content beyond the academic foundation established by the course and answering important and socially relevant questions about what it means to be an indigenous person in Canada today and how we as a society can work to become better.

By Cheryl R

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May 1, 2021

Thank you for offering this course! This is amazing. It is perfect introduction to learning about Indigenous histories; I just wish I had learned this content sooner! I now feel like I have a better understanding of key issues facing Indigenous peoples today setting the groundwork for learning more about Indigenous cultural safety in connection with system-wide shifts to include diversity, equity and inclusion.

The course was well organized and very manageable from a time perspective.

By Patricia B

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Jan 3, 2021

Excellent information and presentation. My only disappointment was that in Section 12 there were no visuals of the art discussed. It's hard to talk about art and not show it. Technical glitch with the artist discussion of the six paintings use in the course, the imbedded YouTube videos would frequently stall briefly. This was rectified by opening them one by one on YouTube.

Thanks for offering this course. I learned so much about Canadian history and the Indigenous People of the lands.

By Mona L

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Oct 31, 2020

I enjoyed the whole course. Even as a Social studies teacher in Alberta, with access to many resources and in-servicing opportunities on Indigenous studies, there was much to learn in this program. Every Canadian would benefit from completing this course. My favourite module was the last one. I would love to see more on Indigenous culture and art. Thank you to all the presenters and academics who put together these modules. A special thank you to Leah Dorion for the beautiful art work.

By Kim M

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Nov 24, 2021

An excellent introductory course that I thoroughly enjoyed. I greatly appreciate the multi-media format as I am a mature student doing online learning for the first time. The material covered is diverse and thorough in scope to foster a better understanding of some of the original nations, cultural practices and political history of this country. This format helped me better understand the contemporary issues and has fostered a desire to learn more. Thank-you!. Highly recommend!

By Eileen S

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Sep 18, 2021

Thought provoking.  To recognize the Catch 22 issues of the Indian Act, Residential Schools, Settler ideology – understanding the only way to break the cycle is to recognize things need to change.  Acknowledging both sides need to work together to move forward to address the hurt and oppression caused by colonization and together to guide society in better dialogue in dealing with issues.  Addressing poverty, housing and education is one way and better stewardship for our environment.

By Amanda F

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Aug 19, 2021

It was a very informative program. My hope is that a lot of people take this so they have a better understanding of what the Indigenous people of this country continue to face and live with on a daily basis. The only way this country will ever be healthy as a country is when the original people are recognized as such and it is no longer a matter of one giving or taking from another but all working and deciding to invest as one in equality, fairness and with no self serving motive....

By Courtland B

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Dec 13, 2020

I found this course very informative and educational. I grew up in a community with several small bands near by and even had a few friends who were First Nations and yet it pains me and troubles me that we were not taught even a fraction of the information taught in this one course. Of which even this course only scratches the surface of the great and unfortunately more recently tragic story our First Nation neighbours have to tell us. Thank you to all who helped make this course.

By Louise M

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Jun 20, 2021

I found this course to be excellent. This is a very large topic, but it was presented so well, providing an excellent overview as well as just the right amount of detail to get a good sense of the topic. Course notes are excellent and are a great resource for further study. The overall delivery was excellent, - the videos, images, art work and interview all made for a very rich learning experience. I learned so much and will use the resources from the course to continue learning.

By Barbara M

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Nov 10, 2020

Eye opening to see how bad the settlers and even non-indigenous people treat our indigenous people today. I believe if more people were taught the history of indigenous peoples in school, we would have a better understanding and would be open-minded and respect the ways of our beautiful indigenous culture. We could learn so much from our indigenous people. I have a whole new respect and understanding. I am truly sorry for the way the indigenous people were and are treated in Canada.

By Christina F

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Sep 16, 2020

This is the Indigenous History that our Canadian schools should have taught us. I greatly appreciated hearing the Indigenous perspectives on the many historical events that shaped this country. I also enjoyed how the course dove into the current movements, concerns and issues that Indigenous people are still facing. I think many minds would be changed after completing this course with an open mind. I am also proud that this course was offered by my Alma Mater, University of Alberta.

By S N

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Nov 5, 2020

What an incredibly enlightening course. As an American, (Permanent resident) who lives on Vancouver Island in BC, this course has opened my eyes to various aspects of the Indigenous experience that I knew nothing about. I have learned so much! There are few words that I can think of to justly express my gratitude for the Professors who put so much work into this course. Thank you so much for your hard work, and especially your willingness to share about Indigenous people of Canada.

By George P

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Dec 12, 2021

This course gave me a new insight to indigenous people worldwide. Actually makes me embarassed to be of european descent. So much that Canada has not told us. Certainly didn't learn anything in school. Hopefully our children will be exposed to more of what happened here and perhaps will be open to change. Especially loved the fact that it is a matriarchal society. That should be the case around the world. As a male senior citizen , this course has changed my opinion. Thank you!!

By Terri E

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Oct 20, 2021

Excellent information and presentation. I enjoyed it all and thought it was all very well done. In previous courses I've taken I've found The Blanket Exercise to be very moving and eye opening. I'm not sure how it would be added to an online course but is worth considering as a video perhaps. I've also found a lot of misconceptions around taxation and would suggest it as a topic to add in the future. But overall, very, very well done. Only suggestions to be considered. Thank you.

By Cynthia H

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Dec 1, 2020

WOW! This was an amazing course. It opened up my eyes to another chapter in Canada's history that I was not previously exposed to. I feel more well informed about the cultural history that Indigenous and First Nations people had endured. My new understanding for the oppressions that were faced and are still fighting against today has given me empathy but also courage to speak out against wrong doings. This course is powerful in helping understand what being Canadian truly means.

By Josh A

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Nov 13, 2020

Just an amazing course! Thank you for this; I think every person of non-Indigenous descent who lives in what is now called Canada needs to learn more about the original peoples of the land they live on. I do hope some of this course content makes its way into the Canadian citizenship review material (if and when it ever does get revised to be less Eurocentric and more Indigenous-focussed in some aspect). It will help new citizens be more cognizant and striving to reconciliation.

By Alison D

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Nov 7, 2020

This course was enlightening, informative, well presented, and made me feel a lot of different emotions both good and bad. I highly suggest that everyone take it and learn a lot that we settlers never learnt in school and should have. Thank you for creating this course and allowing me to finally learn more as I have been searching for something over the last few years. I have been promoting this course every opportunity I get. Keep up the great work and hope to be back for more.

By Celine G

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Apr 18, 2021

This course was excellent in providing introductory information about Canada's Indigenous peoples and cultures in both the historical and contemporary contexts. The information was presented well, I found it accessible and easy to follow. The course highlights information that is not covered in a lot of regular classrooms. Very helpful in seeing the trajectory of colonization and the effect that it had and continues to have on Indigenous people today. Thank you for this course!

By Janine H

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Nov 8, 2020

This course has transformed my view of living in Canada. I want to know more about the land, Indigenous history and living culture where I live that I never heard in school or in the community where I grew up. As an educator, I can't value this course enough. It has forced me to look at the role of education in Canada critically. Resilience, diversity, interdependence, familial and kinship ties and treaty recognition are a few of the themes that resonated throughout the course.

By William M G

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Oct 20, 2020

In my own quest to follow the Red Road This will add another chapter of knowledge to my many chapters I have learned. This program is very easy for me to understand as an elder. It was also very complex because the answers had to be searched for, this allowed me to learn that skill. I am proud to be a student of your program. and am honored to be taught by the best I now know. If you have any more Indigenous study courses in the future please contact me

Chi Meegwiitch Much love

By Epiphania C

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Sep 25, 2021

I loved doing this course on Indigenous Studies and was drawn back to it for the entire period of 12 weeks with great interest. It was beautifully presented and the content was very thought-provoking and eye-opening. It evoked emotions of frustration, empathy, compassion as one learned how the First Nations peoples were and are still being treated. Leah Dorion's art was breathtaking in how she explained Indigenous history and trauma and hope for the future in each painting.