Material relating to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples, found in Saskatchewan cultural and heritage collections.
Socially-based Curriculum Unit
In this unit developed for NAC1O (Expressing Aboriginal Culture), students create a collaborative art piece that expresses Aboriginal identity in a variety of areas. The collaborative art piece consists of many individual pieces of art that form together to form the word “pride.” Each letter has a group assigned to it, and each letter is assigned a theme/idea (ie. clanship, land claims, traditional teachings, community activities, etc) that is researched and then expressed in the artwork of each letter and presented to the class.
Students are provided with an opportunity to discover why Aboriginal peoples identify and are concerned with certain social and political issues. They are also given the opportunity to research an assigned topic, express themselves creatively, work in a group setting, discuss salient issues, and present to their peers. The project also fosters a sense of classroom unity via large group collaboration.
This interactive Atlas focuses on historical written evidence of Inuit presence in most of the Canadian Arctic. It contains a selection of material obtained from hundreds of published and unpublished documents produced by explorers, ethnographers and other visitors who were in contact with Inuit during the early contact period or shortly before Inuit moved to permanent settlements. A very significant proportion of those trails and place names are still used today. The Atlas is a database, and the sources can be found through searches, or clicking on the features on the map. Each document has been given a geographic reference (which in some cases, it occupies the whole Canadian Arctic). Whenever possible Inuit place names and trails encountered in the documents were digitized separately.
This YouTube video addresses the issue of how history has effected the lives of Aboriginal peoples in our country. Presented by Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Lyrics:
From unmarked graves their bones cry out;
"Don't let what happened to us be forgotten"
Indian hunters were paid for each scalp by the government.
You have nothing to be proud of, my white friend.
but, it's your world. it's your world.
And, if ever there was a perfect crime...
if ever there was a perfect crime...
I grew up in an empty room in a foster house full of strangers.
every dream i had about going home never ever did come true.
They lie broken like the promises that litter every street and every alley in your world. In your world.
And if ever there was a perfect crime...
if ever there was a perfect crime...
From ourselves we hide, from the darkness deep inside.
You took away our pride. And you'll never know what you have done.
If ever there was a perfect crime...
If ever there was a perfect crime...
If ever there was a perfect crime...
If ever there was a perfect crime...
if ever there was a perfect crime...
From unmarked graves their bones cry out; "Don't let what happened to us be forgotten"
The goal of this publication is to honour the 150,000 Aboriginal children across Canada who endured the Indian Residential School system and their families, while educating Canadians about the atrocious history and ongoing legacy of residential schools.
This is a lesson designed to teach Elementary students about Treaty 6.
The script has been divided into four scenes, each taking place at a different location. To help students make sense of the locations, here is an outline map of Canada with capital cities.
I have listed the readers in each scene to allow you the opportunity to include all class members in the Reader’s Theatre experience.
New words and locations are identified by an asterisk * to give teachers an opportunity to stop the reading to discuss the term.
Photographs of the people involved in the Treaty process are included at the end of the script.
Resource by Jade Ballek
This course will help you envision how Indigenous histories, perspectives, worldviews, and approaches to learning can be made part of the work we do in classrooms, organizations, communities, and our everyday experiences in ways that are thoughtful and respectful. In this course, reconciliation emphasizes changing institutional structures, practices, and policies, as well as personal and professional
ideologies to create environments that are committed to strengthening our relationships with Indigenous peoples.
For educators, this means responding to educational reforms that prioritize improved educational outcomes for Indigenous learners. In addition, educators must support all learners to develop their knowledge and understanding of Indigenous people’s worldviews and cultures as a basis for creating equitable and inclusive learning spaces. To support these goals, teachers, administrators, young people, school staff, and researchers will learn from Indigenous Elders, educational leaders, and culturally relevant learning resources as part of their experiences in this course.
Reconciliation Canada hosted a series of six short films on the theme of reconciliation, produced by young Indigenous filmmakers with the help of Wapikoni Mobile.
The videos are:
- Tio’tiake Montreal
- The Power of Laughter (Maskwesiwin Papiwin)
- At the UN – Wapikoni Mobile Speaks Out
- The Path
- Correcting the Chalkboard
- The Joy of Living
Visit this Saskatchewan based site that offers lots of great lessons/units that focus mainly on integrating Aboriginal science and technology with the provincial science curriculum.
The CCSTU project has produced:
- strategies for teaching and assessing students (illustrated in the materials produced)
- 6 exemplary curriculum units (Wild Rice, Trapping, Snowshoes, Nature's Hidden Gifts, The Night Sky, Survival in Our Land)
- a prototype process for adapting any curriculum material to suit the local culture
- " Teacher Guide" for CCSTU
- "Stories from the field", a guide to involving community people.
The main site can be accessed at https://education.usask.ca/ccstu/main_menu.html
Valuing the Aboriginal Learner: Seven Living Principles
This monograph explores the relationship between Aboriginal students’ self-esteem and educational attainment. The key questions that guide this discussion are: 1. What strategies currently work for Aboriginal students, and why are they so important for creating meaningful change? 2. What are the day-to-day implications for educators endeavouring to ensure Aboriginal student needs are met?
The seven principles explored in the resource are:
1. Respect
2. Love
3. Bravery
4. Wisdom
5. Humility
6. Honesty
7. Truth
Residential Schools is a three-part podcast series that aims to honour the stories of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Survivors, their families, and communities.
This workbook is designed to assist First Nations language advocates, educators and communities to develop a clear vision for language education, fully understand their current language situation and resources, and exit with a comprehensive plan for achieving their vision.
Topics include background information for language planning, understanding how new language speakers are created, language education planning steps, engaging parents, teacher training and education, curriculum building, funding and more.
Available as a free pdf.
In this unit students will learn about the mixed media artworks of artist George Littlechild who addresses topics of identity, history, story, and memory. Students will be asked to research and represent role models that reflect their own identities, cultures, and communities. Students will collect photographs or create drawings of their role
models and will develop personally meaningful symbols and colour palettes in order to create a mixed media collage representing their own identities. Students will explore collage processes, symbolism, and layering.
The videos below are based on some of the most popular in-person programs at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum:
- Family Life (Grade K-2) - Based on the winter camp diorama in the First Nations Gallery and the importance of oral tradition and storytelling during the winter months.
- Winter Whys (Grade 1-3) - Discover what our Saskatchewan animals do to prepare for our long, cold winters.
- Discovering Fossils (Grade 1-3) - Students learn about different types of fossils and discover how Royal Saskatchewan Museum paleontologists study fossils to learn about the past.
- Slice of Life (Grade 4-8) - Explore the differences in climate, landforms and biodiversity between the present ecozones of Saskatchewan and compare to the biodiversity, landforms and climate of Saskatchewan in the Late Cretaceous to see how our province has changed over time.
The RSM also offers many classroom resources for all age groups that you will want to check out. They include:
- PreK-1 - Feathered Friends
- Gr 2 - Family Life
- Gr 1-3 - Winter Animals
- Gr 1-3 - Discovering Fossils
- Gr K-5 - Storytelling with Elder Hazel
- Gr 4-8 - Slice of Life - Adaptations
- Gr K-8 - Sacred Teachings
- Gr K-12 - Artwork in the Galleries
- Gr K-12 - The Tipi
- Gr K-12 - Scotty the T-Rex
- Gr 5-12 - Museum Careers
- Gr 5-12 - Traditional Knowledge Keepers
This video is produced by community and program partners celebrating the SEAS (Supporting Emerging Aboriginal Stewards) community initiative.
"In the heart of the Great Bear rainforest, traditional territories of the Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, and Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nations, there is a year-round program that is inspiring the next generation of leaders and stewards." This video gives information about that program.
The mission of the SICC is to strengthen and support the overall education, retention and revitalization of the five First Nations languages in Saskatchewan.
This Virtual Keeping House displays paintings and artifacts from our First Nations people. It will be a significant First Nations’ museum, art gallery, library and archives.
The site includes information on:
Events and Programs
Elders
Language
Culture
Gift of Song and Dance
Launched in 1996, Saskatchewan Sage is a news publication specifically designed to serve the Indigenous people of Saskatchewan.
The Science First Peoples 5-9 Teacher Resource Guide provides educators with resources to support increased integration of the rich body of First Peoples knowledge and perspectives into classrooms and schools. Developed in British Columbia.
The resource guide includes 8 engaging multi-grade thematic units:
Unit 1 – Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Unit 2 – Plants and Connection to Place
Unit 3 – Power from the Land
Unit 4 – Bear and Body Systems
Unit 5 – Climate Change
Unit 6 – Shaking and Flooding
Unit 7 – Interconnectedness of the Spheres
Unit 8 – Ocean Connections
Each unit contains a brief intro, essential questions, enduring understandings, curriculum connections, cross-curricular links, suggested activities, resources, assessment activities, and suggested additional resources.
The Science First Peoples Teacher Resource Guides for Grades 5-9 (2016) and Science First Peoples Teacher Resource Guide Secondary (2019) were developed by the First Nations Education Steering Committee and First Nations Schools Association.
These guides support educators integrating the rich body of First Peoples knowledge and perspectives into Science courses and other curricular areas.
Bravery and sacrifice defines our new nation, as war erupts across Europe. Canada, as a British Dominion, joins in the fight - a young country seeking to find its place on the world stage. It’s not long before nearly half a million Canadians, including thousands of Indigenous soldiers, travel to Europe to serve beside their allies in the First World War.
Francis Pegahmagabow
Soldiers of the Soil