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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Indigenous Canada by University of Alberta

4.8
stars
21,776 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

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.

SW

Jun 23, 2021

Very informative, I really enjoyed this course. The perspectives presented were eye-opening, and it was nice to be able to learn more about Indigenous peoples and what they have endured on their land.

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6801 - 6825 of 7,658 Reviews for Indigenous Canada

By Beth F

Oct 2, 2020

Thank you so much for this valuable course...it has been an important addition to my limited knowledge about Indigenous history. As many have said before me "it has provided me with a history of "Canada" I was never taught in school". I have recommended this course to many people in my work and personal life. If there was one piece of critical feedback I could provide, it would be that there is very little content or focus on the eastern areas of Canada. Kind regards and thank you again.

By Craig S

Feb 21, 2021

Good high level overview. Obviously would like to get into more specific examples but difficult given the time frame. In particular, showing more of the actual works in the last section would have been good (“google time”). Also, could not find the list of musicians, authors etc you mentioned in the video. That would be a nice kick off for further exploration. Thanks for putting together the course. Definitely has me thinking of things from a different viewpoint and inspired discussion.

By Melanie D

Nov 1, 2020

I learned a great deal. Thus course has given me a new perspective on how Canada was settled and the importance of the indigenous story. As a descendant of settlers and living in Nova Scotia, this has helped me have a more balanced view on the current situation between indigenous and non-indigenous lobster fishermen.

I give it 4/5 because some lessons were too long and I found it hard to absorb all the content. I would have found more value from it being broken up into smaller parts.

By Sarah G

Sep 2, 2020

I really liked this course! I learned a lot about the way the opposing worldviews of settlers and Indigenous people clashed and influenced historical events, as well as modern proceedings. My only criticism is that occasionally I felt the phrasing was odd, or a word or term would not be defined before they were used. Sometimes I would rewind, feeling like I missed something, only to find an explanation was never given for that word or term. Nothing Google couldn't help me with though!

By Yvonne L

Aug 16, 2021

I learned so much about the history of this country that was not taught, but should have been, when going to school. It has been a long time since I have taken a course so it took me a while to get through it and now I want to go over the whole thing a second time because my retention is not as good as it used to be. I really enjoyed the material and it has made me want to continue learning about the First Peoples of this country so I can be an ally in the quest for reconciliation.

By Jenna S

Apr 13, 2018

I found a lot of value in this course, however I do have some complaints. I found that the first half of the MOOC was A LOT about the settlers and colonialism, I am aware that this is a major part of Canada's history but I do remember learning a lot of it in school but the addition of the indigenous population and they're hardships was very beneficial for my own knowledge. Also, the course notes I found were very hard to read due to poor punctuation and sentence structure. Thank yo

By Kate L

Sep 28, 2020

the content was absolutely fantastic! I would have loved to have seen more art work and illustrations / pictures throughout the course, particularly in the last module. I think having more interviews would be great instead of listening to primarily one person talk throughout the course, though she was great! Thanks for making it available! (FYI - two different friends heard about course through CBC radio and told me about it due to my interests... great job getting the word out!)

By Sheila D

Sep 16, 2021

I learned a lot and I feel inspired to continue my learning . In the last section of Art and Indigenous culture, I wished that they highlighted some examples of art and culture as they were speaking as a focal point to make it more engaging. Overall, I feel that there is still a lot to learn and I've only scratched the suface of my learning and will try to take my new knowledge out into the world and try to see life from more of an indigenous perspective from now on. Thank you

By Marie J

Jan 4, 2023

This course filled an important gap in my education by creating a greater awareness of the social, cultural and political challenges that the indigenous nations faced, and continue to face, through colonization. It has inspired me to learn more and share with others. This is only step one in my journey and I am excited to see where it will lead me. A big thank you to the University of Alberta for developing this course and the Coursera community for making it so accessible.

By Beth H

Aug 10, 2022

Really great information, far more history than I learned in school, and quite accessible. I really enjoyed how the artist's conception of the topics was integrated throughout. My only complaint is that there could be additional visuals and information along with the speakers in the videos. There was quite a lot of just watching speakers talk, and I found it harder to absorb the information that way. Being able to read along while watching the video was helpful at those times.

By Danica B

Sep 30, 2020

Other than trying to keep all the names straight...

As a “white settler” , third generation Canadian I gained knowledge about all aspects of the course. There was so much that I don’t know, and I imagine many my age don’t know. Keep educating people. I think that is the only way issues will finally get resolved. It will take many more years, but progress is being made. Thank you for the work you all have done. I have grown from this course and I feel I am a better person for it

By Brian F

May 10, 2021

Great presentations. Well delivered and good pace.

The Quiz in chapter 10 seems way out of step with the other quizzes though. It asks vague questions which are not well covered in the reading material. The answers I got right I went back and tried to find what they referred to in the transcripts and the link was not good. For questions of a multiple choice style, I think you can't have nuanced interpretation of your writing.

Thanks for making this course. It is really good.

By Claudine T

Jul 17, 2017

Extremely well-presented and thought-provoking course that I found brought light to a lot of colonization processes that had many experiences in common with Māori in New Zealand. Every Canadian should engage with this course! As a scientist and science teacher, I found the commentary on gender-driven science particularly interesting. I will incorporate some of the indigenous views on gender and genderful people into a study topic for Year 10 students genetics (14 year-olds).

By Scott S

Dec 14, 2022

This course provided me with great insight into the history of the indigenous people of Canada. While doing the course, I had the opportunity to watch the film 'Bones of Crows' with members of the Penticton Indian Band. It was an emotional and moving experience to sit with residential school survivors. The coursework prepared me to understand better the storyline of the film, and the film helped to solidify the understanding gained from the course.

My eyes are now open!

By Andrea V

Aug 12, 2020

The course was helpful for building my understanding. I appreciated the faculty and their expertise and objective viewpoint. I did struggle personally with Week 9, Indigenous Women, Girls, and Genderful People. While I can appreciate the varying lifestyle's represented in current culture. I struggle with the implementation of mainstream societal ideologies to meet current political and social norms. I saw the value of the many roles not specifically assigned to a gender.

By Barbara F

Nov 29, 2020

I learned so much that I hope young people are being taught in our schools across the country today. Thank you for providing this course. Some of the wording in the quizzes were a tad confusing but that could just be my old brain not necessarily the wording, but you may wish to revisit that to clarify the questions and the potential answers. I reread the notes to try to help me but in some instances either none of the choices seemed to fit or all of them sort of did.

By Yvonne H

Sep 19, 2020

So much interesting information! Thank you for presenting such a comprehensive overview of Indigenous Canada. If you were to update the course, my suggestion would be for the three narrators to move around instead of staring straight at the camera all the time. Make it seem more like they're teaching a class! I really appreciated the art work by Leah Dorion, and her comments on her own creations. Many thanks to the entire team for putting together this wonderful course.

By Daniel R

Nov 3, 2021

Many of the subjects and details were familiar to me as I have taken a dozen or so courses this past year on Indigenous peoples here at Employment and Social Development Canada. The courses included interactive lectures, webinars and documentary films. However, this course provided much new information, historical background and testimonials which only strengthened my deep respect for and gratitude towards the unbowed First Nations, Inuit and Métis. I am very grateful.

By Linda T G

Sep 1, 2020

Although I have taken other courses on line to deepen my knowledge and understanding of Indigenous world views, this course offered me a new perspective. It really covered a wide range of historical facts that had not been covered in other courses as well as a contemporary aspect that has got me thinking more, wondering more and wanting to know more.

I will definitely look up some of the resources that were mentioned.

Thank you for this opportunity to join in this class.

By Maureen S

Nov 21, 2020

I learned so much! Thank you for providing this course!! If you want help with editing the written pieces for typos, grammar, spelling and punctuation, I will happily do that free of charge. I think if these aspects are fixed, the U of A (my alma mater :) and the Indigenous Studies Dept. will look more polished and professional. I'm a retired English teacher who wants this course to reach a wide audience. I'll send a note to that effect to the dept. Thanks again!

By Renee M

Jan 7, 2022

So well presented! Appreciated the multi media approach to teaching, including guests speakers. I imagine it was hard to narrow down who to bring in; this course could have SO much more community and cultural involvement I am sure. Hope to have more time to dig into the resources, and look forward to getting lost in a few rabbit holes!

I was not able to get the media playing on the Leah Dorion paintings; not sure if this was d/t my browser.

Thank you so much! Migwetch.

By Shawna M

Nov 15, 2020

This course added to my understanding of Indigenous People, their culture and the many events that they have dealt with and continue to deal with. The topics were varied and very relevant . It allowed me to reflect and gain a better understanding and appreciation for Indigenous People. This course is just the beginning, a good introduction to the many topics at hand, as each module could be a course in and of itself. The discussions groups were also very helpful!

By Jerry Y

Sep 6, 2022

This course is very insightful on the Indigenous culture, in which I've learned a lot from it! I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about First Nation. However, I would caveat that I find the questions in the quiz at times to be difficult to understand what it is asking. Also, there were a few questions that felt like it was a continuation of the previous question, which felt a bit incomplete if you were reading the question on its own.

By Mark C F

Feb 9, 2021

Thank you for the opportunity to take this course. It is very important for all of us. While the content was excellent the style of delilvery could be made more dynamic and have less of a "read my notes" feel! As a settler, I had hoped the information would be communicated in a more indigenous style rather than the traditional settler lecture style! That's a lot more work I know. The stories, interviews and artist commentary were a lovely asset to the course.

By john e

Dec 12, 2021

The information was well presented and extremely informative. I loved that is was done from the Indigenous perspective which was not what I was taught in public school. My only dislike was how some of the questions were worded. They seemed design to trick you. Even though I felt I had a good understanding of the subject matter the wording of the question occasionally had me marking an incorrect answer. Better or clearer wording would have been appreciated.