This course has been very helpful in gaining understanding of the indigenous culture and the issues that they face. There were many insights that I was unaware of. As I go to prepare my unit on indigenous peoples of Canada for my Grade 2/3 students, I know have a better understanding of how to teach it. Focussing on the worldview and values expressed will help guide my teachings. Thank you so much for making this course available! I also enjoyed the art contributions by Leah Dorion. At times some of the questions were ambiguous but overall the course was informative and deeply appreciated!

It was very important for me to learn Canadian History from an Indigenous perspective. A few years earlier I realized that as a child, and young adult all my learning was from a colonial and white-washed basis, and I needed to learn and understand it from another perspective. This course was easy to follow, and corrected our Canadian history in a manner that was non-confrontational, yet very eye-opening. The manner in which it was presented kept my mind open, and wanting to continue on my learning path when I finished. Thank you for the work of everyone involved in creating this course.

Very informative and educational. I wish a course like this could have been taught while I was going through highschool because not only did it open my eyes to the history of the country I was born and raised in, it also made me realize how views I developed growing up could be considered racist and harmful. Knowing what I have learned from this introductory course will help me shape a proper world view going forward and help me with the career path I am pursuing. I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in bettering their knowledge of Canada and the Indigenous people of Canada.

I learned a lot. I was very under informed about the different Indigenous groups in Canada and specific issues to each region and across all. The one thread that kept resurfacing is the taking advantage of Indigenous. Making deals that don't do right by them in many ways. It started from the beginning and persists. I beleive I have to revisit the course again, there was so much to listen to. The artwork is incredible and the mixture of all areas including the arts was very informative. The presenters were well paced and clear in guidance. Thank you for the opportunity to learn so much.

Thank you to the Faculty of Native Studies of the University of Alberta. Thank you to Dr Tracy Bear & Dr Paul Gareau and all who were involved in this MOOC! I have learned so much about First Nations, Inuit & Métis peoples in Canada. This course has been very emotional & eye opening for myself. I truly think this needs to be added to all Canadian school curriculums. Every Canadian should know the truth about our country’s history and the genocide settlers attempted against the people who were here first. I’m hoping to learn so much more on my way to becoming a better ally for Indigenous Canada.

Thank you for this course! As a 5th generation settler, this course has helped me to sort out, piece together and fill the gaps in my understanding of the history of Indigenous peoples prior to and throughout colonial times; and, it has offered an honest perspective of how Canada came to be as it is today. I believe every person living in Canada ought to take this course, as it offers a cohesive account of historical and contemporary Indigenous experience and perspective. All peoples and the land (we call Canada) would benefit greatly by sharing the knowledge and understanding offered here.

The Indigenous Canada brought back many memories of History class in elementary school but it also raised many subjects that I do not recall ever learning in school. The course has highlighted important issues that I was 'aware' of through the media (i.e. moderate livelihood) but did not have enough knowledge to fully understand. Thank you for the opportunity to learn history from knowledgeable and interesting presenters, the course is well worth the time to learn more than what was available at the time I attended school and to appreciate the struggles that are being faced daily in Canada.

My understanding of Indigenous history, culture, worldview, and challenges has been greatly expanded and enhanced. I feel like it's been a missing piece in my life as a Canadian and that every Canadian would benefit from taking this course. There were times when I wasn't clear if there was a spelling error or if I was missing something, like the word Haida vs. Hyda. I appreciate and do forgive any errors in the original presentation and would like to suggest reediting the script at some point to support the clarity of the message in the work. This course was life-changing for me! Many thanks!

I am truly grateful for having the opportunity to learn about these elements of Indigenous history here in Canada. It is unfortunate that there was not more space to delve into further detail about each Indigenous group (First Nations, Metis, and Inuit) individually, but that may be an additional set of courses that can be organized at a later time to provide further insights into the experiences of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island, and their history with colonialism and settler society. Thank you again, and I hope to carry this information forward with me to educate others in the future.

Thank you for providing such a well thought out and well-researched course. It was very educational and valuable for our understanding of Canadian history and contemporary issues. We especially appreciated the inclusion of the lecture dedicated specifically to women and genderful people. We have recommended this course to our friends and family. One small suggestion that we have is to include a few more pictures of the artists' works in the lecture on indigenous art. Thank you so much for putting these lectures together and for allowing us to gain such invaluable knowledge from this course.

This course (long over due I am 60 ) fills in the gaps from my own elementary and high school text book learning. During the last 5yrs I have learned so much about the culture, sadness, and shocking mistreatment of indigenous peoples. It has sparked a need for me to learn and share this history. I am non indigenous..there must be many people like me who want something better and this is a way to know what direction you must take.. you can't ignore or undo once your aware of the pain, disrespect, and mishandling of our ancestral people. Thank you for this course. It was an eye opener.

I learned so much about indigenous Canadian history, but I also learned about different world views, and how patriarchal settle culture has colored everything I thought I knew. I learned to question the viewpoint and background of whoever is teaching any type of knowledge. It affects what is even considered “knowledge”. So it has truly expanded my worldview and my way of knowing. I am a better learner for having completed this course and it is helping with my expanding knowledge and recognition of the lack of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in all the ways we get knowledge.

This course was presented with grace and knowledge with a goal of educating the participants about the colonization effects on Canada’s diverse indigenous peoples. Hard topics were covered, such as marginalization, treaty failures, residential school abuses, the reasons for drug and alcohol abuse in native populations, land mismanagement and more. I really feel better informed as a white Canadian. I realize there is a long road to reconciliation and forgiveness. I will take future opportunities to support the native point of view. Thank you to all the teachers and guests for your efforts.

This course was eye opening, heart wrenching, humbling and inspiring. It was so informative, comprehensive, broad in the sense of history, subject matter, teaching styles (video, art, text, interviews) yet left me wanting to learn more and go deeper into the material. This course, delivered and studied a chapter each year, building on each of the previous years should be mandatory in schools across the country starting in grade 1 with a required completion in grade 12 in order to be able to earn a high school diploma.

For the time, passion, experience and knowledge shared, nya:weh.

RjP

Thanks for your presentation on this all important Canadian and international subject. This has given me a greater understanding of the history of our First Nations peoples and their struggles and peaked my interest to further explore this rich history. Along with the many struggles, I have confidence that through perseverance, learning, art, and other forms of communication, we will get better at collaborating outcomes that foster positive relationships in our world. Thanks to all that participated in building this course and to the excellent presenters on explaining this complex topic.

While I was impressed by the depth and sensitivity of this course, I wish it was more up to date. This became most apparent when the census info about Indigenous people in the city was cited. I realize this would be a huge project to take on - but I wonder if one final installment could be added which addressed some of the major changes since the course was written.

This was a super way to educate myself about some of the important challenges for Indigenous people in Canada. Naturally I need to keep learning to stay abreast of the current landscape.

I will recommend this course to others

I liked this course a lot. The content was informative and well presented, accessible and understandable. I liked the lectures, but also and maybe a bit more the broad range of "Interviews" with elders and academics. They gave the course an increase in authenticity. Again the lectures were also well done, informative and insightful, but the interviews for me were the strongest part. I found I felt more connected to them, drawn in. Thanks to all of you, I hope there will be subsequent courses, because my sense is that I still have a lot to learn. With respect appreciation and admiration.

This course was extremely meaningful to me. I am a Metis woman living in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. I currently work as an Educational Assistant in our public school. Many of my co-workers are also Indigenous. We have all been directly affected by the St. Micheals residential school that once stood here. Leah Dorion is highly regarded in our school and has on occasion, worked with our students on art projects at the local museum. This is the first University class I have taken in 30 years and I'm glad I started with this one! Thanks for making this so relevant and worthwhile to me!

I thouroughly enjoyed this course. As a relatively new settler to Canada, I felt it was important to take on these studies. The course provided informative lessons on the history, as well as contemporary issues from an Indigenous lens. Thank you to all who created the lessons. I know how much work goes into creating such engaging curriculum. I am thankful to have been able to take on this opportunity to learn more about my adopted homeland. I hope that Canada continues to reconcile the 'wrongs' that have been placed upon our Indigenous peoples. May we grow together in a positive way.

Thank You! You need to fight to get this into Public School Systems as part of the Education curriculum. As a born Canadian I had no idea about many of the course topics, this has provided me a better understanding of so many things and a much deeper appreciation for the rich a vibrant culture of indigenous peoples. I will pass this on to everyone to take and participate.

If I could give one small item of feedback certain course elements cover a lot of information and by the time you take the quiz your head is spinning; consider breaking up the quiz into quizzes after video segments.

My aunt who is a Metis knowledge holder, told me about this course. I have always been fascinated by my dad's heritage however it was only passed on to us in a very limited way. Unfortunately it was not something they were brought up to be proud of. My dad has learned a lot from his sister who has taken on a proud role in spreading knowledge about Metis history. Even though I am almost 50 I figure you are never to old to enrich your life with more knowledge and information. I appreciate that a quality course like this is available to anyone interested in learning new perspectives.

An exceptional opportunity to gain access to the actual history of indigenous experiences. The history of this land started well before any human being populated this geography. To limit our knowledge to what happened here since 1492 is inaccurate storytelling of our collective past. While geologist can tell me what happened here millions of years ago, it turns out there is enough resource amongst current people to tell the story of human population of the Americas. The question isn’t; why do I need to know what is in the content of this course? the question really is; why don’t I?

This was an excellent course and offered me a different, and sometimes troubling view, of the country that I love and call home.

While I cannot fix the wrongs that were made in the years prior, I am taking from this a notion that indigenous people’s culture, teachings and view on sustainability and overall environmental health need to be incorporated into our modern way of thinking, if we are to continue to share this land, and all it provides, for us all to be able to live harmoniously together. Thank you for allowing me to learn from this course.

Sincerely;

Patrick Jackson, Toronto

I’m very pleased with this informative indigenous course. I’ve learned a lot about issues affecting indigenous - First Nation and politics . I’ve learned a lot about the affect that land has on indigenous culture and a little about trieties and the politics involved. It’s help me develop language and open

my mindtjank up to the abuse that took place and how and why it’s important for them to be heard and understood as a community . I love the storytelling approach and that they leave people to learn at their own pace and that woman detained a lot of power in their comminittees 🙏