Resistance through Re-Presenting Culture: Aboriginal Student Filmmakers and a Participatory Action Research Project on Health and Wellness

Abstract

This article focuses on a participatory research project designed to promote student use of digital video to explore conceptions of health and wellness. We have viewed aspects of student resistance through the cultural perspectives that guide the Aboriginal education programs involved with the study. In presenting this piece, we have experimented with a number of different styles to represent the different cultural, ethical, and educational dimensions of the research project and to advance a form of resistance to standardized representations of research results. Through video re ‐ presentation of culture, students resisted the privileging of text and dominant cultural constructions of their personal identities. Key words: digital video, First Nations education, multiple literacies, health education, community and university partnerships Cet article porte sur un projet de recherche collectif visant a promouvoir l’utilisation de la video numerique chez les eleves en vue d’explorer diverses conceptions de la sante et du bien ‐ etre. Les auteurs analysent certains aspects de la resistance des eleves a travers les perspectives culturelles qui orientent les programmes d’enseignement a l’intention des autochtones compris dans l’etude. Dans leur recherche, les auteurs ont fait appel a differents styles de representation des diverses dimensions culturelles, ethiques et pedagogiques de l’etude et ont promu une forme de resistance aux representations traditionnelles des resultats de recherche. A travers la re ‐ presentation video de la culture, les eleves ont refuse d’accorder une place privilegiee au texte et aux constructions culturelles dominantes de leurs identites personnelles. Mots cles : video numerique, enseignement dispense aux autochtones, litteraties multiples, education en matiere de sante, partenariat entre la communaute et l’universite.