User:Rilie917/sandbox

Article Evaluation

1) Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you? Everything is well laid out. The sub headings give a clear progression from past to present so it is easy to follow.

2) Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? The article mostly discusses the Indigenous families within the residential school system. While this is a main component of this topic, I think the article could benefit by going into detail about who was chosen to teach the Indigenous children and why they did it. Perhaps outline the salary and role the teachers played more.

3) Are there viewpoints that are over represented, or underrepresented? The viewpoint of the Indigenous peoples is very strong. I think the article would benefit from including more about Canadian societies reception of the residential schools. This would help the article to come off as less biased.

4) Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article? There are many citations and they work and they are properly lined up with the in text citations. There are a wide variety of sources and the article is very thorough.

5) Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? Everything is cited that I could tell. However there are a few news articles included within the sources that may not be the most reliable.

6) Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added? All information seems up to date and the article was last edited on October 8th 2017.

7) Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? There was some debate over the usage of the term "Indian" and political correctness. At the end of the discussion it was decided to add a disclaimer but to continue to use the term because of its connectedness to legal systems such as "The Indian Act".

8) How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? I could not find this information.

9) How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? The residential schools are a difficult thing to discuss. It generally causes a large amount of emotion and therefore it is hard to discuss such things in a class setting. The topic can cause a lot of debate but with the Wikipedia article it is straight forward. The article is also very detailed and thorough.

Article: Canadian Indian Residential School System. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system#cite_ref-85

Add To An Article: Rats

I chose to use the citation hunt tool to add to an article. The article that came up was titled Rats and there was a quote that needed to be cited, "In Britain, the government prohibited the feeding of any live mammal to another animal in 2007". Through my research I found this statement to be untrue and instead should read " Nowhere in the Animal Welfare Act of 2006 does it state clearly that the feeding of live mammals is illegal. Rather, section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act of 2006 is quite subjective, stating that there must be no unnecessary suffering from the animal being fed." . I was unable to add this piece of information to the article because the article was labeled as "semi-protected" and required me to have previously edited ten other articles in order to supply input to this article.

Illustrate An Article

I uploaded this image to contribute to the article Indigenous Decolonization by adding the image to Wikimedia Commons.

My Topic

     The article I chose to contribute too is Indigenous Decolonization. I hope to add a section to this article that outlines how Indigenous art helps with decolonization. Art is an important way of expression and can be used as a tool to strengthen communities. I hope to outline how Indigenous art is helping the Indigenous community to reclaim their culture. The sources cited below are a few of the articles I have found so far that I think will help in my research.

1) Garner, A. A. (2015). Visualizing decolonization in contemporary indigenous art

2) Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, Vol. 3, No. 1, Indigenous Art, Aesthetics and Decolonial Struggle, 2014, pp. 189-192.

3) The Canadian Journal of Native Studies, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2008, pp. 1-32.

Article Draft

Topic: The topic I am choosing to write about is Indigenous Art and decolonization as seen during Canada 150. I hope to focus on the new exhibit from the Canadian National Art Gallery Our Masterpieces, Our Stories. I also hope to focus on the reception of this art from within the Indigenous community.

Why Am I Researching This?: I am researching this because I am hoping to understand more about how the Indigenous community is perceiving the Canada 150 celebrations. I hope to figure out how art is making an impact, if in fact it is. I think art as a form of activism is underrated and that the presence of Indigenous artists in the Canada 150 can be seen as an empowering action. This topic relates to the wikipedia article “Indigenous Decolonization” but expands rather then adds in to a pre existing section of the article. I think this added section will provide context and specific examples for readers to the topic of “Indigenous Decolonization.

Research Question: Can the art being displayed during Canada 150 be used as a tool for decolonization? Is there adequate coverage of Indigenous artists and what are peoples response to this art? I am also hoping to find out how Indigenous art is being presented for Canada 150.

Hypothesis: Indigenous artists who showcase their pieces for Canada 150, are contributing to the decolonization of Canadian Indigenous communities and sharing Indigenous knowledge and stories. These pieces are sources of empowerment for the Indigenous community.

Methodological Approach: I hope to approach this research as an observer. I hope to convey facts and artist testimonials in my final project. I would like to analyze how Indigenous art relates to decolonization and reflect on actual exhibits. My research will include views from the media as well as my observations

Additional Sources:

Hopkins, C. (2017). We are always turning around on purpose: Reflecting on three decades of indigenous curatorial practice. Art Journal, 76(2), 39. doi:10.1080/00043249.2017.1367191

     This article focuses on the curatorial aspect of Indigenous art galleries. This article will help me to analyze and compare the exhibit in the National Gallery of Canada to other galleries in Canada. The article elaborates on past exhibits, their impact and their goals. I hope to relate these curatorial pieces to Our Masterpieces, Our Stories to show the impact over the years but also the continuing relevance of these exhibits.

Anger and reconciliation: A very brief history of exhibiting contemporary indigenous art in canada. (2017). 43(1), 108-115. doi:10.1086/692560

     This article provides an important history of Indigenous contemporary art exhibits and their reception. Though this piece does not directly focus on the Canada 150 celebration it gives an important framework for my research in regard to the impact of Indigenous art. Within this article, it focuses on the how “Indigenous artists, curators and activists in Canada have transformed long-held institutional discourses and practices” (Martin, 109). The impact of Indigenous art is an important point when arguing for it as a tool for decolonization. This article goes through past and present pieces that Indigenous artists have created in order to tell their story. This is an important article for my research because it elaborates on why Indigenous art and decolonization is important.

Sumanac-Johnson, D. (2017, February 07). Tell their stories or opt out? Indigenous artists torn about joining Canada 150 party. Retrieved November 07, 2017, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/indigenous-artists-canada-150-1.3968556 

     This news article gives an insider view on how some Indigenous artists are viewing the Canada 150 celebration. This article includes many interviews with Indigenous artists and the general consensus seems to be that the art that is being displayed is censored, and not the “full truth”. In this news article, Indigenous artists explain why they will not be participating in the Canada 150 celebration, the reasons mostly focusing on the view that the celebration of the founding of Canada is the celebration of the genocide of the Indigenous peoples. The article later goes on to outline the artist’s works and how these art pieces can be used to educate the public on Canada’s true history. This article will help my research because it includes personal interviews of Indigenous artists and will provide me with an insider view on the Canada 150 celebrations.

Telling their stories or opting out: Indigenous artists on canada 150 (2017). . Toronto: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

     This article is not incredibly long but includes quotes from Indigenous artists who are participating, and who are not participating in Canada 150. They all explain their views and their pieces. The article only include direct quotes from the actual artists.

Helmer, A. H. (2017, June 07). New collection of Canadian and indigenous art is National Gallery's largest ever. Retrieved November 07, 2017, from http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/new-collection-of-canadian-and-indigenous-art-is-national-gallerys-largest-ever 

     This article outlines the pieces included in the new Canadian and Indigenous Galleries at the National Gallery of Canada. The gallery includes almost 800 pieces and for the most part is displayed in chronological order. The most fascinating aspect of this gallery, in my opinion is the fact that as you make your way through the exhibit, it presents both Indigenous and Canadian species side by side. This is such an exciting way to approach the gallery because it shows both sides of the story of Canada as we progress through time. By doing this the viewer can really see the differences in storytelling in such a unique way. This article is helpful for my research because it outlines the general concepts of the gallery. While I will be visiting the exhibit myself, this article presents many facts about the exhibit that will be useful in my final project.