Educational Resources

Source: John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights

Focus: Secondary students and teachers

Summary: In 2016, John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHC) engaged in a collaborative pilot project with five schools in Edmonton Catholic and Edmonton Public Schools called Advancing Truth and Reconciliation in Education. We have created a meaningful process whereby students explore reconciliation from a rights-based lens. The pilot program consisted of nine learning sessions and three student-led Call to Action sessions. We invited elders and community members to share their knowledge on a variety of important topics such as Indigenous language, worldview and treaty.

In addition, the 2019 Zine explores some of the themes and ideas in JHC’s Advancing Truth and Reconciliation Toolkit. Within these pages you will find perspectives from youth, knowledge keepers and community members we worked with in 2018/19. Art and dialogue were important tools for transformative learning throughout this project and helped participants understand and unpack some of the complex ideas related to our own role in advancing truth and reconciliation in our communities.

Source: Legacy of Hope Foundation

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: Who are the Métis?

Through the use of both archival photographs and actual replicas of clothing, participants will learn about the ethnogenesis of Métis people. For the purposes of definition, Métis are neither Indian nor European, but both; the mixed offspring of French fur traders from the North West Company or Scottish and English fur traders from the Hudson’s Bay Company and Cree, Ojibway, or Saulteaux women. Discuss how family names tie the connections to the fur trading companies operating out west; names like McLeod, MacIver, Macdougall, Campbell and Fraser often had ties to the Hudson’s Bay Company while family names like Morin, Lavallee, Bouvier, Chartier and Durocher had allegiances to the North West Company

Source: First Nations University of Toronto

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: This website presents educational materials created within the project National Science Laboratory Video Lessons for Indigenous Youth. The educational materials developed include interviews with Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and laboratory manuals and videos for high school Biology, Chemistry, and Physics classes. The experiments were conducted by students of Carlton Comprehensive High School (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan). The materials were stored on USB hardware and distributed among First Nations schools in Canada. The project was supported by the First Nations University of Canada and The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada within the Promo Science program. The Project was conducted in four phases.

Source: History Canada

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: In this lesson, students will explore the concepts of cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Students will look at contemporary Indigenous Peoples or groups to understand how they revitalize and bring to light aspects of their culture as part of the reconciliation process.

Source: Let’s Talk Science     

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: Exploring STEM-related careers from the perspective of Indigenous professionals, such as those in health care, business or natural resources, raises awareness of the positive impact that they have on their communities. This contributes to the spirit of reconciliation by strengthening understanding of the contemporary contributions of Indigenous professionals in Canada, and also by building empathy toward and respect for Indigenous people in these spaces.

In this lesson, students will explore careers from the perspective of Indigenous professionals. Students will watch videos and read profiles to learn more about the person’s career path, their motivation and how some individuals might connect their career to their Indigenous identity. Students will reflect on how learning about these career paths impacts their understanding of STEM-related careers. They will then share what they’ve learned through presentations.

Source: FNESC

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: With the increased inclusion of First Peoples’ content in the changing BC curriculum, there is a need to incorporate unappropriated First Peoples’ perspectives across the curriculum.  The First Nations Education Steering Committee and the First Nations Schools Association, in collaboration with teachers and partners, have developed the following Learning First Peoples series of teacher resources to support English Language Arts, Science Social Studies and Mathematics courses.

The resources reflect the First Peoples Principles of Learning as well as the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including the call to “integrate Indigenous Knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms” and “build student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy and mutual respect.”

Source: Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF)

Focus: Secondary Students

Summary: This project is the culmination of work done by 16 members of OSSTF/FEESO, most of whom are First Nation or Métis, or work extensively with Indigenous students.

The Métis Resource is an addition to the Common Threads V—Full Circle: First Nations, Métis and Inuit Ways of Knowing resource. This resource, published in 2021, is the culmination of work completed by a team of Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) members along with staff from the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO). To maintain consistency, the same format as the Full Circle resource is used so that there would be familiarity for those who have used it in the past.

The lessons are designed to be implemented in a range of courses, such as civics, history, social sciences, English, geography, business, careers, physical education, and science.  The resource has been produced as a PDF file on CD with an accompanying video on DVD.  Although the lessons are intended for use with high school curricula, the video and activity sheet may be of use to all Federation members who work with students.

As with any lesson plan resource, educators are encouraged to adapt what is written here to fit the needs of your students, and to address any curricular expectations in the course that you use them in.

Source: Native Land Digital

Focus: Secondary students and researchers

Summary: We are pleased to present our new and revised Teacher’s Guide, released March 2019. This version includes detailed instructions on how to use Native Land, as well as exercises for use by teachers of different levels, from kids to adults. The Guide discusses the pros and cons of the map itself, the importance of learning more about colonialism, and provides resources for teachers to learn more.