Educational Resources

Source: Royal Saskatchewan Museum

Focus: K-12

Summary: Tipis were the original homes of the Indigenous peoples of Saskatchewan. Join Theresa, our First Nations Program Specialist, as she tours the tipis in the First Nations Gallery. Learn how this versatile, portable structure was made by the women for their families. Tipis remain an important part of life for the Indigenous People of the Plains, with families putting up their canvas tipis for summer use in their backyards or at pow wows. (Length: 5:37)

Source: Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen’s University

Summary: The Pedagogy of Peace is a purposeful teaching and learning model that builds upon the three core teachings of the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace, which are peace, strength, and a good mind. It is a holistic model of teaching and learning and provides a framework that supports personal and professional growth, balance, and a growth mindset approach to both educational and life journeys. This approach infuses knowledge of cultural teachings, Indigenous Ways of Knowing, holistic well-being awareness and trauma-informed care, to create a compassionate approach that educators can adopt, adapt, and model to create inclusive learning environments and classroom communities for all students. In this session, Lindsay will explain the Pedagogy of Peace model and provide examples of ways it has been adopted and adapted across various disciplines at Queen’s University.

Source: Canadian Geographic

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: This resource has been co-designed by a national team of partners to educate students, teachers, and the broader public on the connection we all have with water, regardless of where in Canada we call home. Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world and approximately 20 per cent of the planet’s freshwater resources. This resource inspires us to better understand and take action to protect local waterways and the global ocean. Highlighted on this map are Canada’s watersheds, which include flow arrows to show the direction water travels to the ocean, as well as Arctic sea ice extent. In addition to the water layers on the map, the human element (the “us”) is also prominently featured through conservation layers and the different types of marine and freshwater protected areas. Villages, towns, and cities (heavily weighted towards the southern parts of the country) are also included, as well as particular illumination of Indigenous communities, treaties, and Indigenous languages spoken across the entirety of what we now call Canada.

Source: Canadian Museum of History

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: This virtual exhibition looks at some facets of the history of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples, underlining their fight for cultural survival and indicating the wealth of their modern-day contributions. It is based largely on information and artifacts presented in the First Peoples Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Neither pretends to be a comprehensive presentation of the history of all the Native groups in Canada. Rather, aspects of cultural identity are explored through four themes: the diversity of Aboriginal cultural expression; how the Aboriginal presence manifests itself within present-day Canada; the adaptation of traditional lifestyles to different environments across Canada; and the impact of the arrival and settlement of Europeans over the last 500 years.

Source: Media Smarts

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: Indigenous People remain highly stereotyped in most mass media, in ways that are sometimes less remarked upon than stereotypes of other groups. This section examines how Indigenous People are represented, and participate, in various media and how media education can help both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth understand the impact of stereotyped representations.

Source: Canadian Geographic

Summary: First Nations culture is rooted in storytelling. Since time immemorial, we have passed on knowledge from generation to generation through our Oral Traditions to teach our beliefs, history, values, practices, customs, rituals, relationships, and ways of life. Our culture and the teachings of our ancestors are preserved and carried on through the words of Elders, leaders, community members and young ones. These teachings form an integral part of our identity as nations, communities, clans, families and individuals.

Welcome to the stories of our people, beautifully showcased in this incredible Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. We are honoured to gift you with a remarkable and breathtaking array of our experiences and worldviews.

Focus: Elementary and Secondary students

Summary: A Curriculum Development Tool for Inclusion of First Nation, Métis and Inuit Perspectives Throughout Curriculum

Video: WÂHKÔHTOWIN: WE ARE ALL RELATED

Source: Invert Media Inc.

Focus: K-12

Summary: This Teacher Resource Kit is an educator’s guide to optimizing learning applications based on the Four Directions website. The curricula attached to the website include lesson plans designed to maximize opportunities for classroom activities that are immediately connected to the teachings found on the site. These lesson plans have been developed for junior grades (1-6), intermediate grades (7-9), and senior grades (10-12). Educators of Kindergarten children and adults will also find suitable exercises that can be used with relatively minimal modification. The kit was developed with the classroom teacher in mind, and without assuming any prior knowledge of Aboriginal cultures or traditions on their part. It is assumed that the teacher will be resourceful and flexible in coordinating learning activities.

Source: Climate Atlas of Canada

Summary: The Climate Atlas of Canada combines climate science, mapping, and storytelling together with Indigenous Knowledges and community-based research and video to inspire awareness and action.

Source: Indigenous Education: The National Centre for Indigenous Collaboration

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: Through the sharing of stories and ceremony, this lesson plan teaches texture as an element of art through hands-on learning in the outdoor environment.

The lesson explores the connection between art and life. It links Indigenous values, such as our connection to the water and our protection of Mother Earth, to artistic representation and to ceremony.