This activity explores the role of the buffalo in the lives of the American Indians of the northern Plains. For centuries, the American bison--commonly called the buffalo--has been revered by various Native American peoples. The buffalo still plays a central role in many American Indian cultures. Stories passed from generation to generation--by spoken word and by pictures painted on animal hides--record the history of American Indians and the buffalo.

Website sections include:
- You be the historian
- What can you make from a buffalo?
- Background Information
More about the buffalo hide painting
Meet the artist
Map of the Plains Indians
- Classroom Materials
Make your own buffalo hide painting
Student worksheet
Teacher guide

Some grade six students at Aqsarniit School in Iqaluit, Nunavut did a project on some of their favorite Traditional Inuit Games (phys. ed. type activities). They hope other students will learn how to play some of them where they live. The games are:
The Kneel Jump
The Back Push
The Airplane
The Sitting Knuckle Pull
The Legwrestle
The Knucklehop
The Mouth Pull
The Musk Ox Push

Everyone benefits when there is a greater understanding and appreciation of Treaties and the Treaty relationship.

This issue of Canada’s History explores the history of Treaties and the Treaty relationship and is an important first step in sharing First Nations perspectives.

It has been developed with contributors who have helped to incorporate the spirit and intent of Treaty making. The contributors, drawn from across the country, bring expertise and insights that help us to understand the continuing relevance of Treaties and the Treaty relationship.

This Curriculum-based Educational Bundle includes:
- Walking With Miskwaades
- Walking With A’nó:wara
- TURTLE ISLAND CONSERVATION Miskwaadesi and A’nó:wara CURRICULUM-BASED ACTIVITIES GUIDE

Toronto Zoo's Turtle Island Conservation programme (TIC) respectfully shares the hopes and goals of First Nation partners in our committment to the preservation of biodiversity. TIC partners with First Nation communities to preserve community knowledge and significant natural and cultural landscapes.

For students and teachers grades 1 to 6.

TAANISHI!
On behalf of the Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI)’s Board of Governors, Staff and Students welcome to The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture.

This website is the 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 of our proven resources such as Steps in Time and Gabriel Dumont: Métis Legend have also been added to this site. Finally, new material, suitable for general information and for educators, has also been commissioned for The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture.

In this 14-minute video, First Nations elders, an Inuit elder and a Métis senator share personal stories of tragedy, experience, wisdom and cultural identity. Their words underline the importance of understanding our Canadian history and the experiences First Nations, Inuit and Métis students bring to our classrooms.

These stories will help educators enhance their professional knowledge and practice.

Download Unit Plans that include lessons and classroom activities.

The themes include:
What is Indigenous Knowledge?
What is Historical Consciousness?
What is Evidence and How Do We Use It?
Cultural Expressions of the Canoe
Colonialism and the Canoe
Canoes and Ancient Civilizations
Mapping
Oral Tradition and the Canoe
Origin Stories and the Canoe
Resources and the Canoe
Witnesses to BC History: Evaluating Primary Sources

The learning guide was developed in collaboration with a Mi'kmaw Advisory Committee to ensure that the activities provided are culturally relevant. The video, Wabanaki: People of the Dawn (Part One) provides a snapshot of the history and culture of the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia as revealed by the discovery of artifacts in the Mersey River area of Nova Scotia. It also begins to unravel the connection between the archaeological past and the lives of the Mi'kmaw as conveyed through oral history and traditions. The video gives us a glimpse of how the Mi'kmaq may have lived thousands of years ago and demonstrates the interconnectedness of the land and water with the lives of the Mi'kmaq.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit Perspectives in Curriculum - Alberta Education

The digital resource Walking Together: First Nations, Métis and Inuit Perspectives in Curriculum was designed to help teachers understand the holistic nature of First Nations, Métis and Inuit ways of knowing; to provide opportunity for Inuit, First Nations and Métis peoples to share their perspectives on topics important to them; and to demonstrate First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives in teaching and learning experiences.

This lesson is an experiential approach to Indigenous people’s history.

Grade Levels: 9/10, 11/12
Subject Area: First Nations, Métis and Inuit, Social Studies, History, Language Arts, Art, Social Justice

The module consists of learning material that is delivered through an Indigenous pedagogical approach. There is extensive context-setting in the form of introductory activities (talking circles, guest speakers, a field-trip to a museum) to front-load the main activity, which is literally, walking (and learning) on the lands of Indigenous people’s ancestors. The location of this “learning on the land” is situated in the Victoria School District, British Columbia, but the module can be applied in any territory in Canada provided proper protocols with respect to working with the Indigenous nation on whose land the school is situated, are established first. Anne Tenning models how teachers can use an Indigenous approach to teaching social studies. A possible outcome in so-doing, is that other disciplinary inquiries may be addressed simultaneously. Ms. Tenning also uses “real life” examples to illustrate how deeply students are impacted by Indigenous guest speakers, and she uses student testimonials as evidence. Ms. Tenning uses a first person narrative to explain how she conducts her classes.

The Sacred Relationship brings Aboriginal worldview right into your classroom and community. Download easy-to-teach lesson plans based on series of fifteen educational videos. The videos feature perspectives on water from Aboriginal Elders, leaders and Western Scientists.
Contact us and get access to the curriculum

Teachers across Canada can log in free of charge and get access to:
Grade 5 Science – Wetland Eco-Systems
Eleven Lesson Plans
Six Online Videos
Grade 5 Social Studies – Histories and Stories of Ways of Life in Canada
Four Lesson Plans
Four Online Videos
Grade 6 Science – Evidence and Investigation
Three Lesson Plans
Three Online Videos
Grade 6 Social Studies – Citizens Participating in Decision Making
One Lesson Plan
One Online Video

Jordan’s Principle is a child-first principle intended to ensure that First Nations children do not experience denials, delays, or disruptions of services ordinarily available to other children due to jurisdictional disputes. It is named in honour of Jordan River Anderson, a young boy from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. He encountered tragic delays in services due to governmental jurisdictional disputes that denied him an opportunity to live outside of a hospital setting before his death in 2005. Jordan’s Principle responds to complex systems for funding and delivering services, which treat Status First Nations children differently than other children in Canada. Responsibility for services to First Nations children is often shared by federal, provincial/ territorial and First Nations governments; in contrast, funding and delivery of these same services to most other children in Canada falls solely under provincial/territorial jurisdiction. Accordingly, First Nations children face unique challenges in accessing services, and Jordan’s Principle is an essential mechanism for ensuring their human, constitutional, and treaty rights.