Physical Culture as Citizenship Education at Pelican Lake Indian Residential School, 1926-1970

Pelican Lake Indian residential school, also known as Sioux Lookout Indian residential school, was an Anglican run institution that was a part of the Canadian residential school system; the school operated from 1926 to 1970. It is well established in the literature that the Department of Indian Affairs intended to evangelize, assimilate, and civilize its students, but the function of citizenship in the residential schools is less well known. The focus of this study was to examine physical culture activities, specifically sport, exercise, and recreation as a form of training for citizenship. In particular, I centered this research on the intent and purpose that local administrators at Pelican Lake School identified in their use of physical culture activities. I used archival sources about the school to examine the issue, primarily using correspondence between local school administrators, such as the local Indian Agents and the Principals at the school. Prior to World War II, Indian Affairs’ education policy was shaped by the ideas of assimilation, evangelization, and civilization, but after the War it changed to a focus on integrated education as the preferred policy option. This study of Pelican Lake School is contextualized by this policy change, and includes chapters that specifically examine physical culture at Pelican Lake School during the pre-War policy period (1926 to 1944), during the policy transition (1945 to 1951), and the post-War policy period (1952 to 1970). The central rationale for implementing physical culture activities at Pelican Lake School was to develop the character traits of a sportsman, predominantly in the boys, which was understood as developing the character traits of the desirable citizen. Despite the changes in the approach to citizenship within the residential school system, physical culture activities continued to attempt to assimilate the students into a Euro-Canadian vision of physical culture and citizenship. Interestingly, local level school administrators began to justify and value the use of physical culture activities because they believed it brought about enhanced control of the school by developing more disciplined and compliant students

Best Practices for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes and Obesity-Related Chronic Disease among Indigenous Peoples in Canada: A Review

AbstractObjectivesTo carry out a systematic review of interventions that have aimed at improving screening, treatment, prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and obesity-related chronic disease in Indigenous communities in Canada from 2008 to 2014, with the aim of identifying current best practices.MethodsA comprehensive literature review was carried out through an electronic database search using Medline, EMBASE, PubMED and Google scholar.ResultsWe identified 17 publications, comprising 13 evaluated interventions. Of them, 7 were school-based programs focused on children, 5 focused on adults, and 1 included both adults and children. Most interventions aimed at encouraging behaviour change, especially dietary change, but did little to address the underlying context of systemic marginalization and colonialism experienced in many Indigenous communities. Interventions focused on improving fitness were more effective than those aimed at dietary change. Overall, we found a range of successes among these interventions. Those that met with limited success reported that complex social issues and poverty presented challenges to effective intervention work in these communities. Participatory action research methods and community ownership of the intervention were found to be essential for project success.ConclusionsDiabetes-focused intervention research in Indigenous communities appears to be a low priority for Canadian funders and policymakers. More intervention research is urgently needed in these communities. To be effective, this work must take an approach that is historically deep and sufficiently broad as to enable the ideologic, policy and institutional changes necessary in order to achieve true equity. This will involve addressing colonialism, racism and social exclusion as broader determinants of health

A “Lack of Homelike Surroundings”: Resident Health, Home, and Recreational Infrastructure at Pelican Lake Indian Residential School, 1952–1962

Sport and recreation infrastructure was a central factor in the promotion of resident wellbeing at Pelican Lake Indian Residential School. Quite remarkably, sport and recreation amenities were primarily intended by local administrators to promote the resident’s social and psychological well-being—and not their physical health. School administrators focused their efforts on building a gymnasium that they believed would enhance school life and better care for youth by creating a sense of “home.” This article explores the complexities and contradictions of recreational activities that were often used by residents to improve and support their well-being, although they were experienced within an institution that was frequently a foundation of social and psychological trauma. Le sport et les infrastructures de loisirs ont joué un rôle important dans le bien-être des résidents Autochtone du pensionnat de Pelican Lake. Fait remarquable, le sport et les aménagements de loisirs étaient surtout conçus, par les administrateurs de l’endroit, pour le bien-être psychologique et social des pensionnaires — et non pour leur santé physique. Les administrateurs de l’école consacraient leurs efforts à construire un gymnase dans l’idée d’améliorer la vie scolaire et dans l’intention de prendre mieux soin des jeunes afin qu’ils se sentent « chez eux ». Le présent article examine les contradictions et le caractère complexe des activités de loisirs qui étaient souvent utilisées par les pensionnaires pour améliorer et renforcer leur bien-être, bien qu’ils l’aient fait au sein d’une institution qui était souvent au fondement de traumatismes sociaux et psychologiques.&nbsp

Effecting Affect: Methods for facilitating affective knowledge in the classroom

Bloom’s (Bloom et al, 1956) taxonomy of knowledge encompasses three central domains - the cognitive, the affective, and the psychomotor. University research and teaching, both historically and contemporaneously, validates objective and cognitive knowledge at the expense of subjective and affective forms of knowledge (Boler 1999; Cassell, 2002). This seminar aims to provide an argument for the use of affect, but more specifically, to provide practical examples of methods for implementing affect in classes, tutorials and laboratories. This interactive seminar will involve personal reflection, discussion, active learning activities, and will model a number of methods for using affect in the classroom

“What is the Spirit of this Gathering?” Indigenous Sport Policy-Makers and Self-Determination in Canada

In this article, I examine how the process of Indigenous participation in policy-making pertaining to the development of federal sport policy in Canada is connected to Indigenous forms of self-determination. By conducting semi-structured interviews with six Indigenous sport policy-makers, I investigate how their respective thoughts, experiences, and actions shape their perspective on self-determination. My analysis shows that a focus on relationships was at the center of the interviewed Indigenous sport policy-makers’ approaches to the promotion of Indigenous self-determination. Furthermore, the relational nature of Indigenous policy-makers’ identities was also central to their pursuit of self-determination. The promotion of family and community type relationships with government representatives could be used as an outcome of policy-making, in addition to traditional policy directives