In the last twenty years a great deal of research into training for creativity has been conducted (Blank, 1982). Guilford (1950, 1959, 1962) and Warren and Davis (1969) reported that productivity increased with training for creativity using the morphological synthesis technique. Research in creativity training has been concerned generally with white middle class school children. There has been no research on training for creativity in Canadian Native Indians (Blank, 1982). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of training for creativity on fluency, flexibility, and originality of Canadian Native Indian children. Children from the Chahalis Indian Reserve of British Columbia (grades three through six) were assigned to control (n=7) and experimental (n=7) groups. The control group received no training for creativity while, the experimental group experienced two weeks of training (20 minutes per day) for creativity with blocks, sticks, and tanagrams. Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were used to assess creativity. Pre-training scores of the control and experimental groups were compared using one-way ANOVAs. Group differences were deemed non-significant. These results indicated that the assignment of children to the groups was not biased in favour of the more creative versus the less creative and that the post-training results of the groups could be compared for gains in potential creativity since both groups had exhibited similar levels of creativity before training. The results of post-training one-way ANOVAs indicated significant gains in originality scores of the experimental group for the Incomplete Figures Test and the Circles Test. ANCOVAs, which included pre-training scores as covariates, had the same outcomes as post-training one-way ANOVAs. Paired t-tests comparing pre- and post-training scores within groups indicated that there were no significant improvements in control group test scores. The experimental group showed significant, improvements in flexibility and originality scores of the Circles Test and in originality scores of the Incomplete Figures Test. Factors which influenced the results of this study were discussed and suggestions for further research were given. In spite of these factors, the results of the data analyses indicated that creativity of Native Indian children will improve with training. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The present study attempted to examine reading and writing behaviors of Musqueam Indian children in kindergarten and grade one to see if a similar profile of reading and writing behaviors existed within this urban unilingual Native Indian population. The relationship these behaviors had with parental provision for literacy activities during the preschool years and school attendance was explored. It was hypothesized that there would be no similar profile of reading and writing behaviors within the Musqueam population and that there would be no correlation between the variables, the index of parental provision for literacy activities during the preschool years, total school absence and reading and writing performance in kindergarten and grade one. Individual administration of the Diagnostic Survey (Clay) at kindergarten and grade one yielded a description of reading and writing behaviors. Subtests measuring knowledge of letter identification, concepts about print, sight words, and writing vocabulary were administered in both grades. Subtests including oral reading of passages, writing level, and dictation were added in grade one. Group means, standard deviations and range of scores were calculated for the Diagnostic Survey subtests at kindergarten and grade one and examined for similarities. A questionnaire was used to establish an index for parental provision for literacy activities. Total school absence was obtained from school records. The relationship subtests of the Diagnostic Survey had with the Index of Parent Suppport for Literacy Activities and School Absence was explored using Pearson Product-Moment correlational analysis. Results indicated that no similar profile of reading and writing behaviors existed within the Musqueam population. Excluding the sight word subtest at K, Pearson Product-Moment correlations between all subtests of the Diagnostic Survey and the Index of Parental Provision for Literacy Activities were found to be significant (p < .05). No significant correlations were found between survey subtests and total school absence. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

In this thesis I have set out to examine the historic change in the primary unit of Kwakiutl property tenure as it reflects the changing character of social relations between the members of this society. In order to follow this particular development the units of Kwakiutl social organization have been situated within the history of the period under scrutiny. This study commences with the speculative reconstruction of Kwakiutl social organization just prior to direct European contact. The namima is presented here as a property holding descent group with an inalienable attachment to an exclusive estate composed of specific territories, supernatural powers, and prerogatives. As a unit of economic production and consumption the namima was able to derive all of its material sustenance from this estate. The relations between individuals and the degree of access to the fruits of the harvest were organized according to the hierarchical order within each of these descent groups. The Kwakiutl became involved in the fur trade before the end of the 18th century as European entrepreneurs extended their trans-continental network. The wealth gleaned from this trade was integrated into the Kwakiutl economy to the enhancement of the existing social order. European settlement on the Northwest coast introduced the option of participation in the wage economy. This economy offered individual Kwakiutl men and women the experience of creating wealth outside of the traditional economic unit. Individuals began to seek status on the basis of their achievements. This change exemplified the new mode of relations. Individuals who had previously related as members of a descent group were now distinguished on the basis of their acquired wealth. While namima members of high birth maintained their title to traditional properties, these properties no longer, figured significantly in the native economy. In the 1880's the Department of Indian Affairs imposed units of property tenure upon the Kwakiutl without regard for the traditional native units. The populations identified within each administrative units were forced to recognize the imposed structure in order to represent their interests. In the years following 1830, then, the namima declined as the primary unit of Kwakiutl property tenure. The Kwakiutl redefined the units of social interaction as the character of social relations changed due to the introduction of new forms of wealth and land tenure. Today the namima is a specialized concept shared by a few Kwakiutl elders, anthropologists, and several Kwakiutl individuals involved in cultural revitalization. As the Kwakiutl acquire greater political and administrative independence in the near future it is certain that the namima will continue to be redefined. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Indian water rights regarding irrigation agriculture and the construction o f storage and hydroelectric dams took shape from the 1870s to the 1930s and largely determined economic activities on and near reserves and reservations in Western Canada and the American West respectively. Although historians recently have provided extensive studies of American cases, Indian water rights issues in Western Canada have gained scant attention. The present study focuses on this neglected part of the history placing particular emphasis on the interactive roles Native peoples, government officials, agricultural businesses, hydroelectric developers and homesteaders played in "reclaiming" aboriginal landscapes for irrigation and water storage or hydroelectric dam projects. I explore the jurisdictional debates over water rights that these projects generated. Recognizing the importance of inter-provincial and international contexts, the thesis examines the extent to which American reclamation laws and practices influenced Canadian policymakers, bureaucrats, and technocrats. It also focuses particular attention on the development of water laws and policies in British Columbia and Alberta to identify similarities and differences that subsequently affected Native peoples. I accomplish this by providing four case studies. I note that the differences between these two provinces with respect to the development of Indian water rights were particularly significant before 1930. A key reason was that the federal government held title to Crown lands in Alberta until the latter date, whereas British Columbia entered confederation holding that title. My dissertation demonstrates that the idea of Indian water rights emerged in the late-nineteenth-century from political and legal philosophies and practices of colonialism that attempted to transform the "primitive" Native populations into the mold of yeoman farmers. It was also shaped by modifications of the common law that sought to address the needs of industrialists, miners, and settlers who developed the semi-arid and arid North American west. The water rights regime that emerged was based on a perception o f this resource that was very different from the holistic one held by indigenous populations. I note that as the Native peoples increasingly relied on the agricultural economy in the early twentieth century, and as the competition with neighboring settlers for water intensified, the question o f the extent to which the Native peoples were entitled to water became the subject of serious political and legal wrangling. Native peoples demonstrated that they had a strong desire to maintain control over water at a local level by actively carrying out irrigation projects, protecting their own reclamation works from the obstruction of settlers, fighting against the construction of storage dams by neighboring ranchers, and by successfully negotiating the terms of agreements for surrendering reserve lands to facilitate on-reserve hydro-electric projects. My thesis closes with a reflection about how these historical events help us understand contemporary Indian water claims. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

This study examines the conditions that contribute to the success of indigenous minority students in higher education by focusing on the experiences of 50 Alaska Native teacher education students who graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) between 1989 and 1993. Although the number of Alaska Native students enrolled at UAF has increased in the past 10 years, the percentage of graduates continues to be significantly lower than their percentage of the student and state population. The study addresses the question: what factors have contributed to the academic success Of Alaska Native teacher education graduates at UAF? It includes three components: a brief history of schooling for Alaska Native people; a description of the programs, student services and academic coursework at UAF designed to respond to the interests and needs of Alaska Native students; and a review and analysis of the experiences of 50 Alaska Native teacher education students based on data obtained through interviews, reviews of student records and participant observation. The study identifies multiple factors that have contributed to the academic success of Alaska Native students, including the following: a teaching and learning environment responsive to the interests and needs of culturally diverse students; student support services respectful of the interests and needs of culturally diverse students; strong family and community support; supportive prior school and life experiences; and exceptional individual efforts. Accommodations and adaptations by both the students and the institution were essential. Recommendations are made for institutions, faculty, students and communities who are interested in developing campus environments where Alaska Native, and other cultural minority students, can be fully represented, respected, involved and successful. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Limited research has been conducted into First Nations' healing, particularly in the area of First Nations' spiritual connection. First Nations' spiritual connection is perceived to be important from a counselling perspective. The intent of this study was to construct a fairly comprehensive guide of what helps and what hinders spiritual connection among members of British Columbia's (BC's) First Nations, through a First Nations' voice. Eleven adult members of First Nations living in BC were interviewed to obtain information in the form of critical incidents regarding what helps or what hinders spiritual connection. From these interviews, 29 categories were described as what helped or hindered spiritual connection. These are: ceremonial activities, Elder's teachings/guidance, establishing a connection with nature, prayer, family connection, changing thinking, spiritual beliefs, supernatural experiences, residential school, helping others, seeking help, dreams, role model, spiritual practices, self awareness/self acceptance, receiving your name, cultural preservation/ reclamation, sacred object, First Nations' traditional beliefs, alcoholism and drug recovery, visions, establishing social connection, creative activity, philosophy of life, joining organized religion, teachings/guidance, cultural connection/cultural awareness, relationship to the Creator, speaking a traditional First Nations' language. The findings of this study contribute to the field of counselling psychology by providing a reasonably comprehensive scheme of categories and themes that describe, from a First Nations' perspective what facilitates spiritual connection. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The Canadian urban cultural mosaic is made up of many different ethnic groups. These groups came to Canadian cities over time and used different means to help themselves in the adaptation process, to a new way of life. These groups included not only those from around the world, but those who migrated within the borders of Canada, seeking new and better lives in urban locales. This paper will explore the issue of urban migration in the years following the Second World War and the concomitant means used in the adaptation process. Although the experience of overseas immigrants will be examined for issues of contrast and comparison, this paper will specifically explore the experience of Canadian Aboriginal people. As natives moved to Canadian cities in the decades after 1945, Aboriginal friendship centres sprung up across Canada to assist them in adapting to, what was to them, a totally alien culture. This paper will explore the friendship centre phenomenon, particularly the role of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre - the largest of its kind in North America. How and when the friendship centre grew, who was involved in its formation and growth, and what import it had on incoming native people to Vancouver, will be the main issues considered in this work. Although some primary and secondary sources were used in research, the lack of such sources has led me to rely on oral interviews for information for this project. Since the interviews were conducted with surviving founders of the Vancouver Friendship Centre, the use of such first hand information has proved most valuable and insightful. The Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre played a key role in the adaptation of the native to big city life. The centre started small, grew, changed with the times, and provided much valuable assistance to natives seeking help at a time when they often had no place else to go. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

The Sto:lo people face many challenges and issues as they create a government and justice system based on prior ways of governance and justice. Some of these challenges and issues include the documenting and synthesizing of current understanding of judicial practices, establishing principles of membership or citizenship, legitimizing their own institutions, and establishing the scope and mandate of the House of Justice. The Sto:lo people are deciding what they want their justice system to look like. They face a multitude of existing judicial models and the importation of legal practices from elsewhere. Members of the Sto:lo Nation negotiate their way through various levels of federal and provincial government bureaucracy as they form relationships with these government bodies and establish their place among them. Yet, Sto:lo members must also temper their own bureaucratic growth with the need to remain flexible and responsive to the needs of the community. Current understandings of Sto:lo justice practice frame the expectations the Sto:lo people have of their own justice system. Discursive features of previous justice practices and contemporary Sto:lo issues include the importance of elders in community decision making, the importance of community and cohesion, the strength of the family and the desire to settle problems internally without external interference, the importance of sharing resources, and the Sto:lo's connection to the spiritual world. In this paper I study the inception and growth of Sto:lo nationhood, and the creation of one of the Sto:lo Nation's emerging institutions, the House of Justice. I refer to the ethnonationalist literature of Benedict Anderson, Stanley J. Tambiah and John L. Comaroff Anderson's "imagined community" is the central metaphor for this paper. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Aboriginal people in Canada experience disproportionately high rates of family violence, suicide, substance abuse, and mental health problems such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. However, although culturally based healing resources for aboriginal people are inadequate to meet the need, available mainstream mental health services are underutilized by aboriginal clients. Therefore, while building on previous research looking at the problems faced by mainstream services and non-aboriginal counsellors in engaging and helping aboriginal clients, this research assumed there have been successes and examined aboriginal experiences of successful engagement and healing within such contexts. The methodology for this study is a narrative based approach that meets the mandates for ethical and appropriate indigenous research as described by those of authority in the field of indigenous research, and answers the question: How do aboriginal clients develop, experience, and maintain successful healing relationships with non-aboriginal counsellors in mainstream mental health settings? Narrative analysis of interviews with seven aboriginal mental health clients who believed they had a positive counselling experience in a mainstream setting produced findings that suggest common themes of interaction and discovery mark successful counselling relationships. Generally clients described an increased sense of connection and belonging, harmony, integration of traditional aboriginal and non-aboriginal practice and beliefs, self-acceptance, understanding, and balance as critical. However the defining characteristic of a successful counselling experience was expressed as the capacity of the counselling relationship to increase each client's clarification of how aboriginality is meaningfully and uniquely understood. These findings have implications for mainstream mental health services and indigenous research in general. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

A cross-sectional growth study was designed to obtain information on the growth patterns of British Columbian Native Indian children. The object of the study was to establish whether growth patterns of B.C. Native Indian children living in student residences correspond to those of non-Indian reference children. The study sample consisted of all children 6 to 17 years attending the six student residences administered by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. The total sample size was 734 children, representing 77 reserves in the province. Standing height, sitting height, weight, arm circumference, four skinfold thicknesses (triceps, subscapular, biceps and suprailiac), and head circumference were measured according to the recommendations of the International Biological Program (Weiner and Lourie, 1969). Arm muscle diameter, circumference and area were derived according to the method of Frisancho (1974). Individual findings were plotted, as scatter diagrams against standard reference curves, data for which was obtained from Caucasian children. Results indicate a considerable growth deficit in standing and sitting height in younger children which appears to be somewhat corrected by adolescence. Weight measurements, although falling predominantly below the Iowa mean, generally reflect adequate gain with age. Arm measurements indicate well maintained musculature throughout the age-range studied, with relatively low degrees of triceps adipose tissue. Head circumference displays an initial deficit in younger children which is largely corrected by adolwscence. It was concluded that protein nutritional status of B.C. Native Indian children living in student residences may be relatively better than calorie nutritional status. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate