The Bering Land Bridge

"teaching the Bering Strait theory dismisses as myth Aboriginal conceptions of creation and delegitimizes land claims based on the presence of Aboriginal people on this land since time immemorial." (Dion 65)

I encountered this quote while reading chapter 3 of Dion's Braiding Histories.  After reading it, I was so distracted and disrupted that I had to re-read the pages that followed at least 3 times.   I respect Dion's position that curriculum which is purely based in Euro-centric perspectives can delegitimize Aboriginal ways of knowing, however I think this is a poor example.  I've tried to re-frame her assertion here:

Teaching the Bering Strait theory of evolution dismisses as myth Aboriginal Judeo-Christian conceptions of creation and delegitimizes land claims based on the presence of Aboriginal Judeo-Christian people on this land since time immemorial

We as educators will sometimes encounter grey areas when religious/cultural beliefs contradict science.  I think other than acknowledging these beliefs we cannot let them influence what we teach as curriculum.  However this quote also addresses the issue of land ownership that is an area of uncertainty for me as well (to be addressed in a future post).


Dion, Susan D., Braiding Histories: Learning from Aboriginal Peoples' Experiences & Perspectives. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2009.

Image credits:
http://soccermachine.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/land-bridge1.jpg
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/m/michelangelo/hands.jpg