Mi'kmaq Studies courses are designed to familiarize native and non-native students with the history, language, culture, and socioeconomic development of the Mi'kmaq First Nation. Instructors, times, and locations will be posted as they become available. [As listed in the 2007-2009 Cape Breton University Calendar.]

**Courses awaiting approval.

MSIT Courses

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All courses include three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratories per week. MSIT 101/103, 201/203, 301/303, and 401/403 are compulsory within the Bachelor of Science Community Studies (BScCS) four-year degree concentration in Toqwa'tu'kl Kjijitaqnn/Integrative Science.

Mi'kmaq world view: This course will provide an opportunity for students to appreciate Creation and attain skills to restore the traditional thought of co-existence, recognizing that balance and harmony are embodied in First Nations' traditions, and that First Nations' perspectives on the environment reflect consciousness and therefore create attitudes. The Mi'kmaq language will be discussed, along with the spiritual ecology, mythical, and environmental foundations of Indigenous education (sensu Cajete).

Western science: Discussion will focus on the brain basis of human consciousness, how "things" in the external environment are detected, the importance of pattern recognition by the brain, the occurrence of patterns in nature, and the scientific pursuit to understand nature's patterns. Insights into human consciousness as provided by the biophilia hypothesis, multiple intelligences theory, and integral psychology will be mentioned.

Mi'kmaq world view: This course will provide an opportunity for students to appreciate that spiritual connectedness is deeply embedded in First Nations' thought and that the Mi'kmaq world view is one pathway towards this understanding. Traditional ecological knowledge will be discussed, along with the visionary, artistic, affective, and communal foundations of Indigenous education. (sensu Cajete).

Western science: The importance of asking questions in the scientific pursuit to understand nature will be discussed, along with the major questions asked by modern cosmology, physics, chemistry, geology, and biology. Emphasis will be placed on the connectedness found within their answers, using a "parts and wholes" approach to understanding patterns in nature and in science.

The suite of courses, MSIT 211- 251 and MSIT 351, form a collective entitled "Organisms & Ecosystems". One description of the Mi'kmaq conceptual world view serves for all these courses, whereas a separate description of the Western science is provided for each.

Mi'kmaq world view: These courses will offer the First Nations' understanding that the natural world and all of its resources are immersed in sacredness. Although there is much diversity one must educate oneself that there is a direct and enduring relationship with the environment. There must be a realization that we are one, connected and part of the Great Scheme.

Western Science: This course will explore the major ecosystems and biological communities of Cape Breton: Acadian forest, taiga, peat lands, rocky intertidal, beaches, rivers, and lakes. Questions to be asked for each unit include, for example, how the physical environmental has shaped it, what the critical component species are, and what the historical changes have been. The understanding of how each community functions will help in assessing the impact of logging, acid precipitation, oil spills, land use changes, and other possible challenges to the integrity of the communities in the future. Field trips. Normally offered every other year.

Western Science: The weather, rocks, soils, hills, and valleys that make up the physical environment shape the lives of the plants, animals, and people of Cape Breton. Emphasis will be on the geological origin of Cape Breton Island and how weathering and the changing climate have modified it into what we see today. Field trips will examine evidence left by recent storms, historic glaciers, and prehistoric continental movements. Offered pending faculty availability.

Western science: This course will examine the terrestrial animals that are integral to the functioning of Cape Breton ecosystems and that are important in the spirituality of the Mi'kmaq. These will range from eagles to black flies, from bears to spiders. For each species, way of life, relationships to other organisms, present distribution and population, economic value, as well as its historical context and future prospects on Cape Breton Island will be examined. Field trips. Offered pending faculty availability.

Western science: This course will examine the aquatic and marine animals that are integral to the functioning of Cape Breton ecosystems and that are important in the spirituality of the Mi'kmaq. These will range from whales to lobsters, from eels to salmon, from seals to snails. For each species, way of life, relationships to other organisms, present distribution and population, economic value, as well as its historical context and future prospects on Cape Breton Island will be examined. Field trips. Offered pending faculty availability.

Western science: Vegetation is the biological substrate on which most terrestrial organisms depend. The vascular plant families of our Acadian bioregion will be studied. The Ethnobotany of Mi'kmaq First Nations will be considered: plants for food and drink, medicines, tools, and other uses, both practical and artistic, which are pertinent to Indigenous life styles. Emphasis will be placed on acquiring this knowledge in the field and visiting the various habitats characteristic of Acadian forest ecosystems. Normally offered every other year.

Mi'kmaq world view: This course will explore First Nations' views on the cycle of life and life forms, with emphasis towards education as the tool to investigate and respect the cosmological forces which influence thought. Varieties of energy and energy forces in natural cycles and patterns will be discussed.

Western science: Cycles, rhythms, and transformations in nature will be discussed using a complex systems science approach (parts and wholes and evolutionary change). Examples will be drawn from various natural phenomena in internal and/or external environments, with special attention given to issues in Atlantic Canada.

Western science: The study of Acadian forest systems will continue with an in-depth view of plant assemblages and the relationship to habitat, process, structure, and function. Studies will be extended to the non-vascular plants. Relationships and differences between major plant divisions and plant-animal interactions will be considered. Emphasis will be placed on acquiring this knowledge in the field. Normally offered every other year.

Mi'kmaq world view: This course will offer the belief instilled in First Nations' thought that everything comes from a single whole and that there is consistent change or flux. There are two kinds of changes, (the coming together of things and the coming apart of things) both types of change are necessary and all things are interrelated with everything connected. The four human aspects (mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual) must be in balance for one to be whole and therefore healthy; this process is also evident in all of Creation.

Western science: The concepts of wholeness and change will be discussed using the topics of health, healing, and evolution at the organismal, population, and ecosystem levels.