Coronavirus (COVID) and Indigenous communities
Summary: The Government of Canada supports First Nations and Inuit communities in preparing for, monitoring, and responding to COVID-19.
Le coronavirus (COVID-19) et les communautés autochtones
Sommaire: Le gouvernement du Canada aide les Premières Nations et les Inuit à se préparer pour la COVID-19, à la surveiller et à y réagir.
Source: Healthy Aging CORE Alberta
Summary: The film Elders’ Room developed out of an educational initiative at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. Students received a scholarship to undertake an initiative at their high school operated by the Blood Tribe in southern Alberta. Kainai High School students, with their teachers and guidance counsellors, reached out to Elders and together they planned and realized Elders’ Room. When Shirley Steinberg, the director, learned about the initiative, she reached out to documentary filmmaker Michael MacDonald and together they worked with Kainai students, teachers, guidance counsellors, and Elders.
Source: Ontario Teachers’ Foundation
Focus: Elementary students
Summary: As teachers, we must ensure that today’s generation of Indigenous students, many of whom may be reclaiming their traditional language and customs, and non-Indigenous students have access to authentic opportunities to learn about Indigenous Peoples, perspectives, and experiences – past and present.
The suggestions are focused on supporting teachers in the classroom.
Source: Fédération des Enseignantes et Enseignants de l’Ontario
À l’intention des étudiants au primaire
Résumé: En tant que membres du personnel enseignant, nous devons faire en sorte que la génération d’élèves autochtones actuelle – dont bon nombre peuvent reconquérir leur langue et leurs coutumes traditionnelles – et d’élèves non-autochtones aient accès à des possibilités d’apprentissage authentiques sur les peuples autochtones, leurs perspectives, et leurs expériences – passées et actuelles.
Les suggestions qui suivent mettent l’accent sur le soutien du personnel enseignant en classe.
Source: National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Focus: Secondary students
Summary: Their Voices Will Guide Us is an education initiative of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Our intent is to facilitate critical thinking, purposeful reflection, and dialogue around the perceptions and lived realities of Indigenous women and girls, including members of 2SLGBTQQIA communities. This initiative is designed to engage students and teachers in meaningful learning about the important roles of Indigenous women and girls in their families, communities, and nations, highlighting their strength, agency, and traditional responsibilities as Indigenous women and girls as well as to engage students and teachers in examining the impact of the high levels of violence that Indigenous women and girls experience. This guide will help learners understand how violence violates Indigenous women’s and girls’ inherent, Treaty, Constitutional, and human rights. These rights must be upheld for Indigenous women and girls to reclaim their power and rightful place in Canadian society. We all have a role and responsibility for ensuring that Indigenous women and girls are respected, valued, loved, and protected, recognizing their strength, agency, and leadership in the broader societal context of decolonization, transformative social justice, and reconciliation.for
Source: L’enquête nationale sur les femmes autochtones disparues et assassinées
À l’intention des étudiants au secondaire
Résumé: Leurs voix nous guideront est une initiative pédagogique de l’Enquête nationale, dont l’objectif est de favoriser l’esprit critique, la réflexion ciblée et le dialogue sur les perceptions à l’égard des femmes autochtones, y compris les membres des communautés 2ELGBTQQIA, et sur les réalités qu’elles vivent. Cette initiative vise à faire participer les élèves et les enseignants à des expériences d’apprentissage enrichissantes concernant le rôle important que jouent les femmes autochtones au sein de leur famille, de leur communauté et de leur nation, tout en soulignant leur force, leur capacité d’agir et leurs responsabilités traditionnelles. Son objectif est également d’inciter les élèves et les enseignants à examiner les conséquences du niveau élevé de violence subie par les femmes autochtones. Le présent guide aidera les apprenants à comprendre la façon dont la violence porte atteinte à leurs droits inhérents, constitutionnels et issus de traités. Ces droits doivent être maintenus pour que les femmes autochtones reprennent leur pouvoir et leur juste place dans la société canadienne. Nous avons tous le rôle et la responsabilité de veiller à ce que les femmes autochtones soient respectées, valorisées, aimées et protégées. Pour ce faire, nous devons reconnaître leur force, leur capacité d’agir et leur leadership dans le contexte social élargi de la décolonisation, de la justice sociale transformative et de la réconciliation.
Source: O’Sullivan, J.T. (2021) Model Schools Literacy Project: Investing in Children. Martin Family Initiative: Montreal, Canada https://themfi.ca/investing-in-children
Summary: First Nations want their children to know their own language and culture, be proud of their identity and have the literacy skills necessary to pursue unlimited options and opportunities for their lifetime. For over 10 years, First Nations schools have partnered with the Martin Family Initiative (MFI) to improve early literacy for their children. This report captures what we are learning together in the Model Schools Literacy Project (MSLP, or project), both since its expansion in 2016 and continuing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings are relevant to all those working to ensure First Nations children inherit their right to read, a critical tool to fully understand, question and influence the world around them.
The Model Schools Literacy Project is a partnership between First Nations schools and communities across Canada and the Martin Family Initiative. It focuses on improving early literacy achievement within the broader context of school improvement. The goal is for 80% of children to read and write well enough at the end of Grade 3 to support continued school success.
Source: Artists in Canada
Focus: Intermediate and senior art students
Summary: The heart of Canadian culture, Canadian aboriginal art is varied from the Haida of the west coast to the Inuit of the North. These Aboriginal artists work in traditional and contemporary art forms such as soapstone, woodcarving, mask making, weaving, leather work, and painting.
Source: The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF)
Focus: Elementary and Secondary teachers
Summary: ReconciliACTIONs
A reconciliACTION is the answer to Gord’s call to “Do Something”. Do something to raise awareness, do something that improves the lives of Indigenous peoples, do something that improves the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples. Students and educators recognize that change starts with every single one of us, and that everybody can make an impact. Here are some examples of reconciliACTIONs from Legacy Schools throughout Canada. We hope these wonderful examples inspire you to “Do Something”!
Source: RBC
Summary: Over the next decade, 750,000 Indigenous youth will move through the education system and into early careers. What will they need to thrive in the Canadian economy of the 2020s? Advanced technologies are transforming every sector in the country. From mining and forestry to retail and entertainment, the demand for digital skills is accelerating—and disrupting old jobs and ways. Traditionally, financial capital was seen as the main driver of economic development. Now we know, there’s a need for capital, technology and skills to all work together. Drawing on our ongoing effort to understand the skills challenges facing all young Canadians, this report will focus on the human capital and skills needed for Indigenous youth to thrive in a technology-rich economy.
