Educational Resources

Source: FNSA BC

Focus:  New Principals

Summary: Through a question and answer format, this publication, What You Need to Know: A Resource for Principals Who are New to First Nation Schools In British Columbia Draft (2021), addresses common questions about teaching in a First Nation school in British Columbia.  It is intended as a resource for principals who are new to First Nation schools.

Source: Indigenous Corporate Training Inc.

Summary: This is an interesting junction in Canadian history as non-Aboriginal Canadians wake up to the harsh reality of the residential schools, as shown by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report. This new awareness could well be the catalyst for real, fundamental change, and where more effective than in the classroom.

Teachers (and school districts) with Indigenous students have the opportunity to provide transformative change, not just in the Indigenous students, but in the entire student body and the families of the student body. The ripple effect will eventually reach out into the community and beyond.

Source: Canadian Medical Association

Summary: A five-part film exploring the health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples living in Canada.

Sharing experiences of Inuit, Métis and First Nations peoples at various stages of life, this film was created to raise awareness, incite reflection and spark conversations about how to make meaningful change happen in health care.

Source: College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS)

Summary: This summary has identified many successful practices that are currently being implemented by school districts to support self-identified Indigenous students to consider teaching as a potential career. Barriers to a potential teaching career and recommendations for how school districts can overcome these for self-identified Indigenous students were also stated. These practices were collected by members of the CASS First Nations Métis and Inuit Education Action committee (representatives from Treaty 6, 7, and 8; Rupertsland Institute; Alberta Métis Settlements General Council; CASS Zones 1-6; AISCA; Francophone, and Alberta Education.)

Source: Vol. 62 No. 1 (2016): Spring   Martha Moon and Paul Berger – Lakehead University.

Focus: Educators and researchers

Summary: What does Indigenous student success look like in public school boards? Seven urban Indigenous educators’ interview responses to this question were interpreted and reported by the lead author, a teacher and researcher of English, Irish, and Scottish heritage – a Settler Canadian. The “Connected Beads Model” is the result of these educator-to-educator interviews. It shows how Indigenous students’ success can be promoted when Settler and Indigenous educators take a “We” stance alongside students, families, and communities through honoring story, relationship, and holism in school. The concepts embedded in the model and its practical applications are explored through participants’’ quotations and considered alongside related literature on Indigenous education.

Source: Brandon University

Summary: Elders, Knowledge Keepers, community members, and Indigenous organizations across Manitoba have ‘pulled together” to work alongside Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University, and Campus Manitoba to adapt the “Pulling Together Foundations Guide” for western Manitoba.

Originally created in British Columbia as part of a larger Indigenization project, the “Pulling Together: Manitoba Foundations Guide (Brandon Edition)” will provide a starting point for those who want to learn more about Indigenous Peoples in the Prairie region of Canada and those who wish to begin their journey of understanding Canada’s colonial legacy.

The “Pulling Together: Manitoba Foundations Guide (Brandon Edition)” is an open educational resource that can be found at http://pressbooks.openedmb.ca/pullingtogethermanitoba/.

Source: Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 44:3 (2021) www.cje-rce.ca    Danielle Tessaro University of Victoria, Laura Landertinger Hartwick University, Jean-Paul Restoule University of Victoria

Summary: This article seeks to contribute to the knowledge base regarding efforts to increase the supply of employed Indigenous teachers. In addition to supporting the learning and well-being of Indigenous students, increasing Indigenous teachers is critical for remote Indigenous communities with chronically understaffed schools.

This study was conducted as a scoping review of 50 Teacher Education Programs (TEPs) across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States that have enacted efforts to increase Indigenous teachers. The study found a range of effective strategies, and this article will depict three strategies that can be enacted by TEPs to support Indigenous teacher graduates as they transition to employment. The strategies are: (1) creating employment opportunities, (2) identifying community needs and collaborating over practicum placements, and (3) providing ongoing support. The article concludes with a call for collaboration, funding, and data collection for the continued evaluation and improvement of strategies to increase Indigenous teachers.

Source: University of Alberta

Focus: Classroom teachers and administrators

Summary: Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous Peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Topics for the 12 lessons include the fur trade and other exchange relationships, land claims and environmental impacts, legal systems and rights, political conflicts and alliances, Indigenous political activism, and contemporary Indigenous life, art and its expressions.

Source: ETFO – First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education

Summary: The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has released a poster (PDF | Word) for member awareness and learning that celebrates 21 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) women for their contribution in arts, education, politics, environmental and human rights. Other posters are also available.

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”!