Simpcw Chief Dr. Nathan Matthew has been a member of the Promising Practices in Indigenous Education’s Advisory Group since its inception. On February 2, 2018, he was appointed Chancellor of Thompson River University.
Source: Helen Armstrong, Brandon University
Summary: This article tells a more academic story of a research program funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), under their Community University Research Alliance (CURA) initiative. Our program, entitled Community-Based Aboriginal Curriculum Initiatives, received funding from 2005 to 2012. There are interrelated stories, but the focus is the importance of indigenizing the curriculum and making a difference in schools for all children and youth as they learn about First Peoples. Addressing how the hegemonic story of Aboriginal peoples has been created in North America is important in providing the initial framework for this story of our research.
Source: Pamela Rose Toulouse
Focus: K-8 Teachers
Summary: Who This Book Is For
Every province and territory in Canada has a government agency (department or ministry) that is committed to education. Each of these departments or ministries has policies, curricula, or positions that focus on Aboriginal students, and each promotes the same basic message: Aboriginal student success in the classroom is important and highly valued. Unfortunately, resources about how to ensure Aboriginal students achieve this success are hard to find. Such information is urgently needed – especially given that the majority of teachers of Aboriginal students in Canada are non-Aboriginal.
Achieving Aboriginal Student Success has been written to help fill this dearth in educational resources. The book is for all teachers of kindergarten to grade 8 who have Aboriginal students in their classrooms or who are looking for ways to infuse an Aboriginal worldview into their curriculum. Teachers and educators in all settings will find innovative ways to engage their students with the teaching/learning pedagogy presented. Although the primary focus of the book is the needs of Aboriginal students, the ideas are best practices that can be applied in classrooms of any makeup.
Source: Library and Archives Canada
Summary: Aboriginal documentary heritage found in the holdings of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) reflects the exemplary contributions of Aboriginal peoples to this country’s political, social, economic and cultural development. First Nations, Métis and Inuit continue to participate in defining Canada as a nation. Their contributions can be traced over time—from the documentation of early Indigenous mythologies, archaeological finds of bone scrapers in the Yukon, and evidence of bison drives and jumps in Alberta, to today’s award-winning literature and films.
This material is available in all types of media and can be accessed on site or through online databases, virtual exhibitions and digitized documents. Researchers with experience using LAC resources and researching aboriginal subject matters may wish to go directly to our Resources for Researchers page.
Source: Inuktitube
Focus: Elementary and Secondary
Summary: A collection of Inuit video resources
Source: First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNGIC).
Summary: A new report released by the First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) provides unprecedented and exceptional insight into a wide range of early childhood, education and employment factors affecting life on First Nations reserve and Northern communities across Canada.
Now is the Time: Our Data, Our Stories, Our Future, The National Report of the First Nations Regional Early Childhood, Education and Employment Survey is the culmination of a landmark five-year survey process conducted by FNIGC, the premier source of information about First Nations people and communities, and its Regional Partners.
The most technically complex survey in FNIGC’s history, the report of the First Nations Regional Early Childhood, Education and Employment Survey (FNREEES, or REEES) shows strong associations between the importance First Nations people place on language, culture and family, and the educational, employment, health, and well-being outcomes in their communities.
“The results from FNIGC’s landmark First Nations-led survey process reveal the strengths, challenges and resiliencies of our communities across the country.” says Gail Mc Donald, Executive Director of FNIGC. “In the immediate future our hope is that the information contained in this report will serve as talking points for ways to improve and build-upon the existing strengths in our communities, while providing a rich data source that will inform our leadership and inspire researchers, policy makers and other decision-makers for years to come.”
Source: Anthropology Museum
Focus: Secondary Students
Summary: This section is designed for educators. Each unit plan is organized around a central theme and is based on B.C. provincial Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLOs).
Click on a unit plan title to read an excerpt and access a fully downloadable PDF. The themes include:
Source: First Nations Education Steering Committee FNESC
Focus: Grades 5-9
Summary: The Science First Peoples 5-9 Teacher Resource Guide provides educators with resources to support increased integration of the rich body of First Peoples (unappropriated) knowledge and perspectives into classrooms and schools in BC.
It is recognized that the wealth of First Peoples’ science knowledge is held by communities. The guide can be used in conjunction with locally based resources that are developed by, or in collaboration with, local communities. It is intended to be a starting place for educators.
The introduction of the resource guide includes information about the following:
