Chevron Left
Back to Indigenous Canada

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Indigenous Canada by University of Alberta

4.8
stars
21,725 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

MD

Jul 2, 2021

This course was very interesting and very informative. Not only did it help correct stereotypes or prejudices, it showed a wide range of subjects pertaining to global and specific Indigenous cultures.

LJ

May 5, 2022

I really enjoyed this course. I liked that it was taught by indigenous peoples from their perspective. I feel much more confident in my knowledge regarding indigenous issues and traditions. Thank you!

Filter by:

201 - 225 of 7,644 Reviews for Indigenous Canada

By Sherry P

•

Jan 8, 2022

This course was interesting, delving into details high school history books left out - thank you for filling the blanks and connecting the dots that no one was able to say publicly when I grew up. Sorry to hear things really went sour in the 19th century, generational trauma still reverberates, foreign legal and political establishments still seem adverse.

However, I am still seeking a way forward. As a second generation immigrant and an empath myself, I have always felt the darkness in Canada and sought to bring light to what really happened here. Sorry is but a word that implies I come from a privileged position immune from the collective, unspoken truth in this country, but the historical reality has brought me down as well. Being an immigrant to Canada still isn't easy, but when newcomers finally raise their noses from the grindstones, how can we (regardless of European, Arabic, East Indian, Asian, or African origins) approach Indigenous persons safely, without triggering anyone's historical pain?

I am more interested in training on Indigenous protocol, manners, and modern cultural achievements. As mentioned in the last module of this course, an overview of current literature, art, social media, movies, and perhaps natural medicine to highlight the strengths would be beneficial to everyone. For example, I understand storytelling is important, but do Indigenous cultures prefer the politically correct approach Canada advocates as a way to avoid painful truths and glairing differences between immigrant cultures, or is honesty valued in interpersonal relationships and how should that unfold and enrich an inclusive community?

By Murray C

•

Dec 24, 2021

Overal this course was very interesting. There was alot of information and I learned alot. With this said, I would like to make some suggestions as it relates to the content. I found some of the terminalogy used in this course to be confusing. Often I found myself looking up words to determine their meaning. Including during the quizes. I noted in some of the forums, others spoke of this as well. I would suggest reviewing and changing some of this language to use simple terms/language that is easier to understand. Compicated language causes confusion and stress and is demotivating to students. It is not necessary in my view. My moto has always been, "Let's keep this simple and not compicate things if we can". The second concern was when I read pops up that said things like, "42 percent of people did not pass this quiz on the first attempt, don't get discougaed you can try again". I found this disturbing. If the failure rate is this high, there is a problem with the quiz itself and something needs to change. This can be demotiviating as well to say the least. Another pop up was simliar and had a percentage of around 53% . I just don't recall the exact number but when these percentages are near or over half the entire group in the program that fail a quiz, that's a problem with the quiz/material and not the students abilities. Thank you for this opportunity. As mentoned, overal this was a great program and I learned alot. All the best to you all...

By Jane G

•

Jan 30, 2023

An enormous amount of information to absorb, but every Canadian needs to learn what this course offers. May be difficult for some - which probably means those are the ones who need it most. As a white settler who thought I knew how shameful our treatment of Indigenous people had been and still is, I learned it was even worse than I though.

I would have rated it as 5 star except the final module, on the arts, was not up to the standard of the rest. It was good on Indigenous visual art, but not one mention of all the fabulous books or plays by Indigenous creators. Minimal mention of music when there are so many wonderful Indigenous musicians. A long performance art video of when a short clip would have been plenty and that would have left time to showcase other performers.

By Sandra J

•

May 23, 2022

I found the course and hearing the Indigenous perspective on Canadian history very valuable. I have recommended the course to many others, e.g., colleagues, family and friends and will continue to sing it's praises.

One comment, if I may, some of the quiz questions are worded in a way that makes it difficult to determine what is being asked and thus difficult to answer.

Thank you for providing this opportunity to learn.

Sandy Judge

By Charlotte M H

•

Nov 15, 2021

I learned a lot from this course and found that some of the current events of today were more meaningful and relatable with the better understanding of Indigenous people, cultures and history (although I struggle to call much of what has happened history) that were taught.

My only wish would be that the course could be more interactive as I found it harder to stay engaged through all the videos that were largely lecture based.

By Amanda H

•

Jun 15, 2022

while the videos were well done, would suggest other methods of engaging the learner in other interactive ways to learn the material. To maintain full focus within each of the modules I prefered to complete in one sitting but there was a ton of video and I found it hard to retain as much information without a bit more interactive exercises. Overall, thank you for this course and for the learnings.

By Ariella Z

•

Aug 27, 2021

Strong start, however, difficult to follow the last half of sessions as there was a lot of talking but not enough visuals to drive home learning.

By Christine P

•

Aug 27, 2021

Very informative and thought invoking. Thank you filling in my missing knowledge and better perspective of our world = Turtle Island

By Victoria M

•

Aug 26, 2021

Very informative and elicited some good conversations. Touched on so many issues that require further learning. Thank you

By Dennis K

•

Nov 1, 2021

The course was well prepared and technically well presented. It was easy to navigate through as an "on-line" course. So, for that aspect I would give it 5/5. The quizzes were mostly well balanced and covered the range of material in the lesson. A few of the questions explored fine differences in wording, rather than the key points of learning, so for this area I would give it 4/5. Regarding content, I was rather surprised that there was no mention of the historical developmental reasons for how the treaties were established and developed. Canada were developed as a nation of many different peoples, including the Indigenous Peoples. I am still wanting to learn about the historical background of how all the treaties and Indian Act was developed and evolved. This course presented the one side, but I had expected to learn more of the broader picture. I am very aware from the media today of the concerns of the Indigenous People. I believe that a presentation of both sides of a story is the only way to make progress on an item of concern. I had thought that a course of this caliber from the U of A would give me a better view of the whole historical perspective. I did not find this. I recently read the book "Indian In The Cabinet" by Jody Wilson-Raybould. A very good book. While it dealt mostly with her time in the Cabinet, and forced removal, she did hint at broader issues for the Indigenous People that still needed to be addressed. That is what inspired me to take this course, as I wanted to get more historical background. I did not get it here, so I guess I need to continue my search for that broader historical background. As a Canadian, I am very interested in finding ways to make this great country of ours an even better place for all of our people. The strength of our country is in our people, all of our people. My overall rating of the course is 3/5 because I did not find the balanced content that I had imagined might exist in it. I would appreciate being pointed to other reading material that might provide a balanced historical perspective related to the Indigenous People of Canada. Contact me at dennis2651@telus.net Thanks.

By Dann O

•

Jan 2, 2022

I learned a lot from working through this material and am looking froward to the updated edition. There is much information to work through and I think I will sign up again once it is out.

I did find some disconnect between the quizzes and text, ambiguity of language, for example, that sometimes made it frustrating to complete the quizzes correctly which is the basis of my three stars. Two examples are: Module 12 question about improvement policy gaps for urban Indigenous residents, the text notes "permanent Indigenous affairs committees" while the correct answer referenced subcommittees. Committees and subcommittees are obviously related but also different. The other is Module 10, PINAI, the text indicates that Alex Javier thinks of Bill Reid as a member of the group but it is not explicitly stated that he is (is he?). The answer included both Bill Reid and one other artist so the user doesn't have the info needed to actually answer the question and has to guess a bit (I suppose I could have Googled it). A solid review of text and tests (pilot with someone who isn't very knowledgeable with the content) will work out these relatively easy to address, but frustrating, challenges.

Overall, I thought the visuals, content and presentation/instructors were great (5 stars for these). My favorite module was Module 12, maybe because of the agency/power/strength/optimism/resilience expressed, although there were nuggets of the same throughout. I also really appreciated the final comments by the instructors.

I really enjoyed the paintings and hearing about each. They were beautiful, informative and exciting and I appreciate that they were commissioned for the course (5 stars here too).

Thanks for this course, for providing it freely, and for the work it took to put it together!

By Wanda C

•

Jun 8, 2022

I learned so much. Sometimes it was difficult to listen to the narrators for long periods of time. It would have been nice to have visuals of what was being narrated instead of just looking at a person speaking. I really enjoyed the artist explaining her work, and the interviews with scholars. This course has sparked the desire to learn more about Indigenous issues and to connect with communities. I recently attended my first pow wow and have been trying to listen to more indigenous music and read books by indigenous authors, and research environmental issues spearheaded by indigenous communities. Thank you for this valuable learning experience.

By Joshua C

•

Dec 23, 2022

I really enjoyed this course but to get a totally generic certificate stating that I'm a basic 'coursea learner' totally sucks. Its not hard to automate my name on to the certificate. I have to sign my name at the end of every test so its not like you don't know it.

Great course, but a real lacklustre ending. Not cool, guys.

By Mary M

•

Jan 8, 2021

Not what I expected. It is difficult to watch the talking heads reading a script that we actually had available. There could have been more pictures, to emphasize the point. It appeared that this course was someone's thesis. The material is a bit outdated with nothing past 2015. There are many subsequent cases such as Ipperwash , Caledonia and the current Lobster Industry in the Eastern provinces that should be discussed. The quizzes did not reflect salient points of the weekly modules and many times poorly constructed. I do commend you though for trying to enlighten those who have no understanding of the historical horrors that occurred .

By Paul L

•

Aug 1, 2021

An interesting topic presented in a rather dry and boring way. The lecturers are mainly reading the script without much enthusiasm

By Kent T

•

Oct 28, 2021

How do you write the history of a movement when you are still a part of that movement? Whom do you believe when leading participants in those historical events disagree strongly not only on why things happened, but also on what happened? What imparts the ring of truth to a people’s history? Let the records speak for themselves!

The contributors to this initiative have failed drastically in this endeavour. This presentation is rife with inaccurate information that is consistently presented as fact. The biases of the contributors are glaring. Often these opinions are spoken in the most acrimonious of terms. This project certainly fails in providing a platform for truth and reconciliation.

By B A - J B C

•

Jul 3, 2021

This course downplayed the atrocities of colonialism and especially residential schools; I'd heard such good things from other people who'd taken it, but it really was nothing new that I hadn't already heard in high school. They made it sound like children just happened to die at these schools and colonialism itself was responsible for genocide, not actual people who intentionally tortured and murdered. I guess it's great to focus on the art and accomplishments of modern Indigenous people, but I'd really hoped they'd acknowledge that the European settlers were responsible for so much death and destruction, rather than it just unfortunately happening somehow.

By Cheryl G

•

Mar 3, 2021

The two students were excellent communicators. Tracy Bear needs to learn how to speak without moving her hands in such a distracting and off-putting manner.

The course does an excellent job of providing an overview of the negative impact of colonization, but completely fails to mention any indigenous issues from before colonization, instead characterizing everything as perfect prior to colonization. Some mention of Iroquois slavery or other historical issues would paint a much more balanced picture. Note that I do not condone the horrible treatment from colonization.

By Alix A

•

Jul 1, 2021

This waa awkwardly terrible and contained racist phrases like "enthusiasm for war" re: indigenous people. It often tried to justify colonialism and used passive language, for example that children were hurt or lost their lives at residential schools, rather than priests and nuns murdered them. It often felt as though the presenters had never read the scripts before, and they were clearly written for indigenous people to recite by someone with a vested interest in sugarcoating the past. This was not at all acceptable in 2021.

By Tara V

•

Jul 26, 2021

I enjoyed the video lectures, very informative and well presented. But the quizzes have random questions, and the answers are not given in the lectures. I wrote dozens of pages of notes and re-watched the video lectures. The answers to the tests were not in the lectures. It is too bad because the history is very informative and relevant, but because of the random test questions I did not finish the course after the third week.

By KIP B

•

Apr 17, 2023

Deeply disappointing - portrays Indigenous as victims of everything and everyone - If you are looking for a balanced historical and educational perspective on this complex issue, this is not the place to find it.

By Luke T

•

Oct 1, 2020

Could not follow lessons. Information in the videos is very scattered.

By ken c

•

Jan 30, 2021

Not worth finishing. Mostly redundant info.

By Carter B

•

Sep 19, 2021

Totally politicized from start to finish

By Elizabeth E

•

Mar 6, 2022

very biased