Eleven of the ninety-four Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) final report are specific to education. Call to Action 63, “Building student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect,” challenges Canadian education systems to focus on students’ understanding of Indigenous human rights and social justice initiatives. Non-Indigenous students are now beginning to learn about the truth of residential schools, treaties and other long-standing issues facing Indigenous communities such as lack of clean drinking water, housing and food shortages. Truth and reconciliation is a spiritual and emotional journey required of all students and educators – from the head to the heart – that will unfold differently for everyone.

This short video from CBC talks about how to talk about Indigenous people in Canada.

Through traditional ecological knowledge and ocean navigation, understand how the indigenous peoples around the world succeeded on their lands well before modern science and technology were invented. Compare this knowledge to modern ocean navigation by diving head first into the Volvo Ocean Race, a sailing race across the globe with sustainability at its heart. Discover the incredible things which all peoples are able to accomplish through their understanding of place, nature, and the ocean.

"Human rights stories are all around us. We explore contemporary and historic human rights stories, from Canada and around the world."

This resource from The Canadian Museum for Human Rights explores numerous stories about Indigenous Perspectives (treaty education, witness blanket, UN Rights of Indigenous, Mincome, reconciliation, veterans, etc. ), Social Justice (BLM, misogyny, racism, genocide, antisemitism, Holodomor, refugees, etc.)

Each story contains information, artifacts, images, and questions to guide your thinking. It also links to related stories for further exploration.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in an igloo?It would be pretty cold compared to the houses we live in now. Could you imagine living with over forty other people in one big house? Living with that many people would be like sharing a house with your whole class and all the teachers in your school!

The environment that we live in affects everything that we do. Canada is a country with a lot of different environments. There are parts of Canada where the temperature is freezing and all you can see is snow for most of the year. There are places where it rains a lot of the time and places where it is very dry. There are places that have mountains and some that are flat. There are rivers, lakes and oceans. Canada has a very diverse landscape.

In the past, First Nations were the only people living in Canada.They are the First Nations because they were the first occupants of North America. In Canada, each First Nation had to adapt to their environment in different ways. The houses they built, the food they ate, and the activities they did were all greatly affected by the environment they lived in.

Here you can look at three different aboriginal cultures from three different parts of Canada: the Huron, the Haida, and the Inuit. You can compare them to see how different their ways of life were because of where they lived.

Teaching resources available.

An excellent collection of FNME Resources from Alberta Education.
This includes:
*Online print resources
*Curriculum resources
*Professional learning resources
*First steps for professional development

Youth who participate in the art and essay stream can submit an art piece, essay, or other representation to express their vision of a reconciled Canada and what they hope others will learn from their submission.

Youth who participate in the project stream are asked to go one step further and submit a plan on how their project will address Reconciliation in their community or school.

Youth from select projects in both streams will be invited to participate in virtual leadership training exercises.

At the end of the school year, a national celebration will be held to honour up to twelve projects from the art and essay stream and up to fifteen projects from the project stream.

As stated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and by numerous writers, activists, politicians, poets and Indigenous peoples themselves, a nation’s culture is central to its identity and viability. To understand how a culture can be affected by the presence of external forces, it’s important to understand the complexity of the word “culture.”

In this video from 2008, Nokomis Josephine Mandamin vividly recounts her walk around the Great Lakes. Along with her contagious passion and leadership, it is evident that Nokomis was also a gifted storyteller and a natural educator—leading relentlessly by example and with heart. Nokomis used every fibre of her being to advocate for not only her own Peoples, but for all life on Earth. Her love and spirit of life will flow through coming generations, rippling into relationships of reciprocity all across Turtle Island. We wish her spirit a peaceful journey home.

Carrying Her Message
• See how Nokomis supported and inspired one Thunder Bay teacher and his classroom of junior water walkers (and eventually, the whole school) to infuse science and technology into their water inquiry, in partnership with the Google Earth Educator Community. Read Peter Cameron's blog post, and explore #juniorwaterwalkers' awesome Google Earth project.
• See how Nokomis inspired our past Burtynsky Award winner, Jennifer Baron, to lead a water inquiry with her students in partnership with York Region District School Board's First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Curriculum Leads, Towana Brooks and Hayley Williamson. More than 200 students led a water walk around Lake Simcoe.
• Primitive Entertainment has made WATERLIFE, a documentary about water that features a small part of Nokomis's story, narrated by Gord Downie, free online for an extended period of time.

The Children’s Health and Well-being Measure (ACHWM) is a tool that gives Indigenous communities and organizations an overview of the health and well-being of children and youth in their communities.

The measure offers insight into children's Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, and Mental wellness.

The survey is completed on a tablet that engages children and acts as a catalyst for honest conversation. The results are shared with each child or youth in a visual form on the Balance Chart.

The National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education connects communities with each other to share their stories about Indigenous education across Canada and around the world.

Playlists of short films are available.

This site includes the following: (plus other information pertaining to Aboriginal Education in Manitoba and Canada)

It's Our Time: First Nations Education Tool Kit Teacher's Guide (National and Manitoba)
Creating Racism-Free Schools through Critical/Courageous Conversations on Race
Critical/Courageous Conversations on Race: What your child is learning at school and how you can help

This document helps support students and teachers wishing to engage with Indigenous perspectives in science. It also covers why it is important to connect to local Indigenous communities, provides suggestions on how to develop student understanding, and shares examples of how student science research can directly connect to the
Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.

Also check out the Indigenous Engagement Starting Points Checklist which provides a list of Indigenous groups and/or individuals you/your students can reach out to, to start this connection. A question checklist is also provided to help support those starting discussions.

More and more Indigenous communities are looking into agriculture as an economic opportunity and what it means for First Nation’s people and their future.

In this video, the leaders of Pelican Lake First Nation talk about the positive effects farming has had on their community including the creation of jobs and the long-lasting benefits for their younger generation.

More and more Indigenous communities are looking into agriculture as an economic opportunity and what it means for First Nation’s people and their future.

In this video, the leaders of Pelican Lake First Nation talk about the positive effects farming has had on their community including the creation of jobs and the long-lasting benefits for their younger generation.

This site features over 300 videos of fireside chats with Indigenous leaders across Canada and their careers.
Many videos include reflection and discussion guides.
You can explore by Career, location or community. Click on the fire to get started.

In honour of Truth and Reconciliation Week, the Canadian Olympic School Program is proud to feature the stories of two distinct Indigenous Team Canada athletes, Jesse Cockney and Jillian Weir. Through their personal growth and achievements, they have brought Indigenous voices to the forefront.

Students will explore the themes of gratitude and inclusion, making links between their world, curriculum and stories.

Athlete Stories are available in two different reading levels, Kindergarten – Grade 3 and Grade 4- 6. Each story is accompanied by discussion questions and learning activities that teachers can easily integrate into their curriculum.

Indigenous people from every region of Canada served in the armed forces during the Second World War, fighting in every major battle and campaign of the conflict. To serve their country, Indigenous people had to overcome unique cultural challenges. Their courage, sacrifices, and accomplishments are a continuing source of pride to their families, communities, and all Canadians.

This site outlines the many outstanding accomplishments of Indigenous people in WWII.