A Study On The Ethnography Of Canadian Aboriginal Policy And Education

This thesis is an ethnography on the education in Canadian colleges and universities. The thesis, based on the case study in the Faculty of Native Studies in the University of Alberta regarding the university founding background, its department reforming as well as the cultural revival within its departments, reveals the ability in construction process of Canadian aboriginals in the field of "local" educational reform as well as the historical practice in which the Canadian government pushes for multi-cultural policies regarding national education.Since 1970, there have been great political, social and cultural structure changes in Canada. Under these circumstances, there appears a rise of aboriginal movements that have been always marginalized by the mainstream society. The development of the aboriginal higher educational institution that the author of this thesis studies is a minimized picture manifesting the achievements that the aboriginals gained in the past 40 years as well as the socio-historical changes in Canadian society. The author of this thesis believes that, although Canada’s multi-cultural policy has still been encountering many challenges so far, the recent achievements allows us to be confident that the multi-cultural education and policy that Canadian government is carrying out have indeed brought an important contribution to the reinforcement of a harmonious society and the development of the aboriginal communities.The thesis includes the Introduction Chapter, the main body and the Conclusion Chapter. As the start of the thesis, the Introduction Chapter discusses the purpose of this research, related research and the methods of this research. The Chapter One is written as a background which summarizes the history of the multi-cultural policy and describes the going-up-and-down process of the Canadian aboriginal education course.Chapter Two and Chapter Three make the main body of the thesis. Chapter Two reveals systematically the fieldwork conducted by the author in the Faculty of Native Studies in the University of Alberta, using a micro-ethnographic form. Basing on the ethnographical analysis, this chapter indicates the institute, as an multi-cultural education and research unit, on one hand promotes communication between the aboriginals and the Canadian government regarding education and cultural inheritance aspects, therein lessening misunderstandings and conflicts between both sides; on the other hand, the institute also serves as a cultural space for the aboriginals to hold together their feelings and identity construction. The teachers and students from the institute during their interaction and gaming with the mainstream society not only express their appeals but also hold their identity. Chapter Three, starting from discussion on the Canadian colonial period as well as the "Residential School System" carried out during an earlier period, and how the First Nations’ University of Canada was proposed to be established, points out that this all is the process of the Canadian aboriginal educational ability construction.Chapter Four is the conclusion of the thesis and attempts to reveal the two following points:the first one is, to quote the experience summary in the book Politics in the Vernacular by Will Kymlicka- a Canadian authority in multicultural policy. He believes that the multicultural policy in Canada since 1970 is the political reform of Canadian nation state as well as the second construction of citizenship; the second point is, to combine with the achievements of new China regarding ethnic aspects, therein indicating the similarities between the ethnic policies of China and Canada as well as the inspirations that Canadian experiences brought to Chinese ethnic work.