Abstract
Indigenous populations in North American populations are commonly recognized as social minorities, as they were largely impacted by the historical colonialism of European settlers. Although the current high school curriculum educates the youths on the historical events that led to the sufferings of many Indigenous people, the teaching of cultural practices of Indigenous people and their current, post-colonial struggles tends to remain vague. Since systemic discrimination towards Indigenous people remains in various sectors of society, it is important for non-Indigenous people to fully understand the culture of the Indigenous community and their social struggles to support the removal of the unrecognized discrimination. This digital art project aims to help fill the knowledge gaps widely spread amongst many non-Indigenous people in Canada, by illustrating the common myths surrounding the Indigenous people, their current social problems, and a few cultural discrepancies between the White and Indigenous populations. This project compiles the illustrations produced by a non-Indigenous artist (the author) who studied the ‘Sociology of Indigenous Peoples’ course taught by an Indigenous instructor at the University of British Columbia. The primary literature or other media (e.g. podcasts related to the Indigenous community) were analyzed, and its understandings by the author were used to help illustrate such ideas in digital drawings.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Understanding Indigenous Community, Ethnicity, Educational Gap, Gap in Societal Awareness
