Educational Resources

Source: NunavutDepartment of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth

Focus: Students and teachers

Summary: The purpose of this site and this collection is to ensure the long term protection, conservation and development of Nunavut’s museum collection.

The virtual museum has been divided into: Arts and Crafts, Jewellery, Ceramics, Sculpture, Explorers and Textiles.

On November 26, 2002, as a result of the creation of Nunavut, the Governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories reached an agreement to divide the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre’s museum and archives collections. These priceless collections will be delivered to Nunavut from Yellowknife as soon as Nunavut has its own heritage centre.

Source: Virtual Museum of Canada
Focus: Researchers and students interested in learning more about the Innu culture and history

Summary: According to Innu oral tradition, the world is an island created by wolverine and mink after a great flood. The archaeological record shows that the Innu and their ancestors have occupied a large portion of Labrador and eastern Quebec for two thousand or more years. The Innu refer to this territory as “Nitassinan.”

Discover the heritage and tradition of the Innu through their stories and material culture which are presented on this virtual site.

Source: The University of Toronto Libraries, Memorial University Libraries and the Bibliothèque de l’Université Laval gratefully acknowledge the support of Canadian Culture Online.
Focus: Secondary teachers and students

Summary: This site provides information on the 250-year relationship between Moravian missionaries and the Inuit of Labrador. This interaction led to the establishment of settlements for a formerly nomadic people, their conversion to Christianity and exposure to aspects of North American culture. The information has been gathered from a variety of sources that shed light upon this unique adventure.

The teacher toolkit provides teachers with historical background, essays, pedagogical strategies and resource workshops designed to facilitate student inquiry into the relationships between the Moravian missionaries and the Inuit of Labrador. The educational resources section contains five instructional units for grades 7 to 10 covering a range of themes.

The student toolkit is a resource that enables students to explore the relationships between the Moravian missionaries and the Inuit, their ideologies, and the impacts of these cultural exchanges through the archival record and beyond. Included in these sections are historical vignettes, essays, and research and critical literacy workshops to help students look deeper into the world views of the Labrador Inuit and the Moravian missionaries.

Source: National Gallery of Canada
Focus: Teachers and students K-12

Summary: This lesson plan presents Canadian contemporary artists of Aboriginal ancestry. Six Aboriginal artists in Canada examine their past and present culture, and explore their place in the contemporary milieu.

All of the works are in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Source: The Cultures and Traditions Storytelling website development team consisted of five aboriginal youth who produced this web site and gathered the stories. The team was supported by staff at the Nechi Training, Research and Health Promotions Institute. Technical support was provided by an Aboriginal web design company called Brainhum Corporation. The team was supervised by staff from the Aboriginal Youth Network project.
Focus: Secondary students and teachers

Summary: Storytelling has always been a vital part of the cultural identity of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. Stories were told to teach lessons, give warnings, and keep history alive.

The stories found in this collection were gratefully collected from the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of this country. Collectively identified by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada as “Aboriginal,” each group self-identifies as separate peoples with unique heritages, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.

Source: Library and Archives Canada
Focus: Art students and the general education public

Summary:On this site you will see slides of the work of some of the outstanding pioneer artists of whom two (Kenojuak and Napatchie) are still alive and continuing to contribute their art to the unbroken tradition of the annual print collection. Many of these slides are linked to information on Inuit life and culture, and you can access this information by going to Inuit Cultural Perspectives.

Source: Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI) – in partnership with the Saskatchewan Department of Learning, the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online Program, the Canada Council for the Arts, SaskCulture, the Government of Canada and the University of Saskatchewan Division of Media and Technology.
Focus: Suitable for general information and for educators.

Summary: This website is a most comprehensive attempt to chronicle traditional Métis history and culture on the World Wide Web and contains a wealth of primary documents – oral history interviews, photographs and various archival documents – in visual, audio and video files. In addition, many resources such as Steps in Time and Gabriel Dumont: Métis Legend have also been added to this site.

Source: The National Film Board (NFB) in cooperation with experienced Aboriginal filmmakers.
Focus: Secondary Students – Native Studies, Media Studies

Summary: The Aboriginal Perspectives module contains 33 documentaries, a short fiction film, and 5 film clips on Canada’s native peoples. The user will find films on many important aspects of Aboriginal culture and heritage, its diverse communities, and some of the major issues and significant moments in its history.

All the films are available in English and French, and 18 of them include described video to allow blind and visually impaired people to fully enjoy their content. In addition, 27 films are available with closed captioning for hearing impaired people.

Source: Wonderville.ca – presented by the Science Alberta Foundation
Focus: Elementary aged students

Summary: This is an interactive animated site where children attend a pow-wow and learn how to build a tipi by following the instructions of the narrator. Join Hayley, Tommy and Marie as they observe a tipi raising. Experiment with the number of poles, construction materials, alignment and other parameters to learn how a tipi is built in this science construction game.

Wonderville is a site dedicated to getting kids excited about science through games, interactive and printable activities for students ages 6-12. The Science Alberta Foundation strongly believes that continuing professional development for teachers is key to continued excellence in the classroom. Their programs are designed by teachers who understand the dynamics of being in a class.

Source: Comics in the Classroom:Chad Solomon and Christopher Meyer – developers
Focus: Grade 1 – You and Your World

Summary: A series of Grade 1 lessons featuring the featuring the wild wacky exploits of two brothers, Rabbit and Bear Paws. The characters are mischievous and the audience learns enjoyable life lessons from their numerous pranks and mistakes while also appreciating the unity of the Native communities and how they related to one another peacefully.

Rabbit and Bear Paws are heroes that the developers created to share humorous adventures based on Traditional Teachings, to carry on the teachings to the youth who wish to explore their roots, while helping to share the wisdom of the Aboriginal community with the universal audience (non-Aboriginal).