For people looking to learn more about Indigenous people of Canada, why National Indigenous Peoples Day is celebrated and the role that Elders play, a free online course will be available starting Monday, June 1.
The Indigenous Peoples of Canada course is offered by the Good Learning Anywhere (GLA) program from Sioux-Hudson Literacy Council.
Online educator and course developer Julie Mallon said the basis of the course is to provide some information to people looking to learn more about Indigenous people in Canada.
“It’s not really, really in-depth but it’s to provide people and learners with a quick overview of some content and some information,” she said.
Although the GLA’s courses are mostly targeted toward Indigenous people living in fly-in or remote communities, any adult living in Ontario can enroll.
It's a short course offered through a Moodle learning system. There are no assignments but it includes reviews and short true-or-false questions on some of the provided content.
“You can take as much time as you need to access the course. If you’re just working through little sections each day, it shouldn’t take you more than two to three weeks to complete the course,” Mallon said.
As the program is funded by the Ministry of Labour Training and Skills Development, all courses are offered for free. So far, six people have registered for the course.
After registration, students will be assigned an online mentor who will be guiding and working with them one-on-one towards their goals as well as helping with any questions.
The course instructor is Holly Kondreska, who will be overseeing and communicating with with people who register and checking in on their progress.
Once the course is completed, students will be awarded a certificate.
Researching and developing the course took Mallon a few months, she said noting she enjoys researching Indigenous-related content because she herself grew up not having a lot of basic knowledge of her Anishinaabe culture.
“I hope it provides some insight for people who may not be fully aware of Canada’s Indigenous people,” she said. “I hope it’s a success and I hope it meets the needs of our learners.”
Registration is now open, and the course will be available for access Monday, June 1. To register for a course, visit Good Learning Anywhere website.
