PME 811 Blog e-Journal What resources can be used to support Indigenous Education & Perspectives in the Classroom? Entry #8
In this blog post I will share some ideas of teacher resources that I have come to learn about that can help to support the infusion of Indigenous education, knowledge and perspectives in the mainstream classroom.
I have created a list of beautiful resources, websites and texts that could be helpful to classroom teachers when planning for the infusion of Indigenous knowledge and curriculum in classrooms. It will also help to support me in my work with the Indigenous student success teachers and all School based Leaders. I am so thrilled to find such a rich variety of resources that can be used to support the integration of Indigenous education in the mainstream classroom.
1. The Power of Story in the Classroom
In Indigenous cultures one of the most important teaching strategies is story telling. David Robertson, a Cree author based in Winnipeg, writes books for readers of all ages. He has curated a list of 48 books by Indigenous authors that can be used to support classroom programming and learning about the Indian Residential School system. Below are a few of the books on his list that might be helpful to move along on your learning journey. Please keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list. There are more stories out there and this is a beautiful beginning!
- Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
- The Orange Shirt Story & Phyllis's Orange Shirt, both written by Phyllis Webstad, illustrated by Brock Nicol
- Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell, illustrated by Kim LaFave
- Shin-chi's Canoe by Nicola I. Campbell, illustrated by Kim LaFave
- My Name is Seepeetza by Shirley Sterling
- Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
- Dear Canada, These Are My Words: The Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens by Ruby Slipperjack
- In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier
- The Train by Jodie Callaghan, illustrated Georgia Lesley
- Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes
- I Am Not A Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis & Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Gillian Newland
- When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett
Curated Book List by Indigenous authors about residential schools, curated by David A. Robertson:
Cree Pronunciations for Relative Names (my grandmother, my uncle, relatives, my grandchild) Book: When We Were Alone
For Educators: Cree Pronunciations from When We Were Alone
From Sea to Sea to Sea: Celebrating Indigenous Picture Books
2. Websites and Videos
- Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
- The Orange Shirt Story & Phyllis's Orange Shirt, both written by Phyllis Webstad, illustrated by Brock Nicol
- Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell, illustrated by Kim LaFave
- Shin-chi's Canoe by Nicola I. Campbell, illustrated by Kim LaFave
- My Name is Seepeetza by Shirley Sterling
- Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
- Dear Canada, These Are My Words: The Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens by Ruby Slipperjack
- In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier
- The Train by Jodie Callaghan, illustrated Georgia Lesley
- Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes
- I Am Not A Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis & Kathy Kacer, illustrated by Gillian Newland
- When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett
Curated Book List by Indigenous authors about residential schools, curated by David A. Robertson:
Cree Pronunciations for Relative Names (my grandmother, my uncle, relatives, my grandchild) Book: When We Were Alone
For Educators: Cree Pronunciations from When We Were Alone
From Sea to Sea to Sea: Celebrating Indigenous Picture Books
- The Moose hide Campaign Learning Journey
- Show me your Math
- Lessons from the Earth - Storytelling, Art, Indigenous Knowledge Grades K to 3
- Going Beyond a Land Acknowledgement
- Every Child Matters: Orange Shirt Day
- Indigenous Canada MOOC University of Alberta
- It's our Time: First Nations Education Tool Kit
- Spirit Bear's Guide to the TRC Calls to Action
- Adolescent-Friendly Version of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- The Longest Named Place In Canada | CBC Kids - YouTube
- How to be an ally to Indigenous Peoples in Canada | CBC Kids News - YouTube
- The word Indigenous - explained l CBC Kids News - YouTube
- Canadian Cities Rooted in Traditional Indigenous Territories
3. Land Based Learning Pedagogy
- Indigenous Land Based STEM Education
- The Birch Bark Canoe Project Navigating a New World Grade 5 to 9
The Benefits of Land Based Learning Experiences for Students ~ "The Why"
Indigenous land-based education engages Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and teachers in authentic, participatory, experiential learning where they discover the interconnections between the land and people, how to build responsible citizenship and the intersection of Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of knowing (Actua, National InSTEM Program, 2021, p.7).
💓💓💓💓💓💓
- Empowers Indigenous youth.
- Unites communities.
- Revitalizes languages.
- Respects the land.
- Creates global thinkers.
- Provides experiential learning opportunities
- Transfers knowledge.
- Develops teachers.
- Develops connections.
- Integrates learning.
- Key element of reconciliation.
💓💓💓💓💓💓
4. Indigenous Games Pedagogy
5. Inviting the Gifts of Elders & Knowledge
Keepers into the Classroom
The Elders are historians, teachers, spiritual caregivers, language experts, advisors and are highly respected and regarded as Leaders within their communities. When teaching Indigenous content in the classroom, it is ideal to have Elders and cultural leaders assist in areas that are being taught for insight and clarification. Elders are a valuable resource to benefit and compliment a classroom. It is important to build positive relations with nearby First Nations communities as all will benefit from sharing with one another, an important Treaty principle.
In Manitoba, through the beautiful work of the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, they have engaged with 228 Elders from 7 Treaties to co-create an oral history project teaching series. The goal of this series is to help educate the general public on Elders' perspectives of the history of the Treaties and First Nations people.
The series includes four volumes including:
- Who We Are: Treaty Elders Teachings
- Our Relations With The Land: Treaty Elders Teachings
- Our Relations to the Newcomers: Treaty Elders Teachings
- We Are All Treaty People: Treaty Elders Teachings
Hi Julie!
ReplyDeleteWOW :) This is an awesome list of resources. I feel like I need to bookmark these. I also blogged about an Indigenous resource this week. I wrote about the FNESC website (http://www.fnesc.ca/), which is a resource we have here in BC.
I have read and used quite a few of the books you've listed. I love using books no matter the grade level, as these stories are so important to tell and keep telling. One of the frustrations is some of the books are hard to find or have been out of print.
I really like the Keepers in the Classroom resource you listed. This is something I have not come across before and will look into. Is there a link to these volumes? I'm sure I can Google it and find something. I also like the videos you've listed. I'm especially interested in the Indigenous games. I have played some Indigenous math games in the classroom before and the kids always enjoy them. Thanks for this plethora of resources! :)
Cheers,
Sara
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing all of these wonderful resources! I am familiar with some of them and have used some in my class, but many of them are new to me and I will have to check them out. I would also love to learn more about the land based learning pedagogy as this is something I have heard of before but I am not too familiar with it. I look forward to checking out all of these resources in more detail!
Hey Julie,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great anthology of resources and information. It seems as though that you are well on your way towards incorporating more Indigenous material within your classroom context. After this weeks readings and research it has become even more apparent how easy it is to sprinkle in some Indigenous material into most subjects. I came across this resource, which I chatted about on my blog.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/kindergarten-to-grade-12/indigenous-education/awp_moving_forward.pdf
A great document that helps teachers and educators to have some more first person accounts of how the BC curriculum can be inclusive of Indigenous education. I hope it helps if you haven't come across it already in your travels. Thanks again for sharing.
Cheers, Sascha
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to finally be commenting on your blog! I have enjoyed reading it since your very early and open posts of the first week, and you’ve continued to build steam with your question over the course of the semester! You should be proud of creating such a great resource for yourself and others.
I wanted to comment on this post in particular because while the sheer number of resources that you’ve presented are very impressive (as many of your colleagues have also mentioned), it brings to mind something more fundamental for me.
What I mean is that I continually read in this course (particularly in posts/comments on Module 4), and even throughout the different blogs and discussions, a great desire by the majority of those taking this course to find a way to authentically incorporate Indigenous education and perspectives into their own contexts. That said, I have simultaneously observed a general trepidation and sense of loss as to where to begin for those new to this. I think that is natural, of course, because the more we recognize the importance and necessity of doing this, the more pressure we can feel to ‘do it right,’ to do it well and with sensitivity. It can be intimidating as a teacher trying to navigate this, particularly for the first time.
That’s where I think collections of resources like this are so essential and important. Making these types of resources available to teachers at a broad level is a great way to create an entrance point for beginning to incorporate Indigenous education and perspectives into the classroom. It shows how ‘simple’ it can be to begin to incorporate stories, authors, videos, voices, etc., without creating an imposing amount of extra pressure (or work) on teachers. We can all begin small, begin in our respective spheres to create awareness and to introduce these perspectives into our particular educational contexts.
Creating and facilitating points of entry for teachers is a great way to ensure the growth of Indigenous education and perspectives. So great work with your blog this semester!
Yours,
Matthew