Websites to Explore!
This website is based in Australian Aboriginal content, but many of the issues are very similar to those faced in Canada. The site has many teacher resources, along with a lot of accessible information for students.
Kidstop - Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
Created by a federal agency, this website has great classroom resources, information, games, and multimedia appropriate for students. Students can listen to stories, play both online games and printable games with friends, and learn about and test their knowledge of Aboriginal peoples. There are also a lot of resources for teachers, including lesson plan ideas, videos, posters, and more!
The David Suzuki Foundation created the Blue Dot Project to continue their efforts to make the world a more sustainable place, create a plan for the future, and provide a beautiful world for generations to come. While the movement itself is not solely based in First Nations views, those ideas are certainly accepted as part of the movement. The ultimate goal of the project is to change government policies that continually destroy our natural environment. This website would be helpful in educating students about environmental concerns in Canada, and helping them develop skills in environmental activism.
This website speaks directly to the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline in BC and the movment against it. The site provides views from many people, including First Nations, and presnets information that could be utilized by students investigaing the concerns in the area.
The BC Treaty Comission has a role in addressing and maintaining the promises of treaties. Their site has a lot of great information about the treaties in BC, where there are many different types of treaty agreements. There are websites and articles that could be examined by students to deepen their understanding of different treaty agreements, and many other resources that would be suitable for teachers to include in lessons.
Home of the movement itself, this website has great information on the history, mission, and action plans for Idle No More. There are events to get involved in and read about, stories from around the world about how people are fighting for change, and numerous articles and images to examine how the movement continues to progress and change. While students may need some direction as to what aspects to examine while searching this site, the information provided is very accessible to middle years students.
Treaty 6 Web Resource by Living Sky School Division
This website is a great resource to learn about Treaty 6, but many of the same information can be applied to understandings of a variety of treaties in Canada. There are lots of stories that students can read about treties to increase their understanding of treaty relationships, and also a game they can play. There are also lesson plans for teachers that link to many curriculum areas.
CTV News Article and Videos
Common Ground Interview
Global News Article and Videos
GreenPeace Brochure
This collection of news articles, video and other media provides an excellent starting point for doing investigative reading on the issue of the pipeline, examining treaty and land rights, and creating opinions on the environmental concerns versus economic potential of the project. Some of these articles certainly contain different types of bias, but could be utilized to exmine the impact that bias has in the media.
Johnston, B. (2010). The Gift of the Stars. Wireton, ON: Kegedonce Press.
This is a wonderful book of stories from Mother Earth, which have passed down First Nations concepts of the land. The author describes how oral story telling is "meant for the ear, heart, spiritand mind" and gives a fantastic explanation of the purpose of oral storytelling, and how to use this book in the classroom. The stories could easily be read by students also as reading, or as prompts for other activities, such as drama, writing, or arts expressions.
Books to use in the classroom
Jeffers, S. (1991). Brother Eagle, Sister Sky. New York: Dial Books.
This book is a beautiful message about the First Nations belief that we do not own the land, but rather we belong to it as it is where we came from. Very simply put, in this book full of gorgeous images, students can connect to the basic understanding in First Nations cultures that we are one with the earth and that it is where life stems from. This understanding could then be put forward in discussions, writings, and further readings on the issues being addressed by the Idle No More movement surrounding envioronmental concerns like the pipelines. The juxtapositioning of a storybook and a news article about First Nations land concerns would be interesting to investigate!
Swamp, J. (1995). Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message. New York: Lee & Low Books.
While very simple, this book is a prayer of thanks to Mother Earth; a perfect example of the First Nations worldview of the environment. Even though it is a simplistic book, beyond the reading level of middle years students, this book could be used as a model to create other texts or presentations on First Nations worldview.
In the Media!
Duvall, D. (2006). Rabbit Plants the Forrest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
The other books I have included in this resource are from a human perspective of the land and nature. This story examines one of the hundreds of stories that have animal characters who have created the land that we experience today. Stories like this continue to epxlore First Nations worldviews of creation of the land, and how the structures and animals of the land came to be as we know them. A book like this could be used to examine those worldviews of First Nations people and compare them to those of other cultures, and also to explore how descriptive storytelling can give reasoning for the geography and topography of Canada.
Classroom Resources
Resources to use with your students!
These resouces are mainly aimed towards student use in the classroom.
Some ideas are suggested, but use these books, videos, and online articles in any way that suits your pedagogical styles and aims with your students.
Before books there was the land. It taught our ancestors what they needed to know in order to survive, it challenged our ancestors to use what they had learned to edify their spirits, souls, hearts and mind.
The land is one of our finest teachers and as abiding as the rocks. If all the books were to be destroyed by fire or rain or insects, there would still be the land to show us what we need to know to pick up the trail.
Basil H. Johnston
Videos to Watch!
Get students engaged with a brief commercial on the basic ideas of Idle No More.
This slightly longer video gives a bit more information about the Idle No More movement, which could give students a better grounding in what the movement is all about.
Still need more information? This 20 minute documentary sheds light on many of the issues faced by First Nations peoples and the major ideas behind the Idle No More movement.
This video outlines the concerns about the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipline. The video examines the major environmental concerns about the pipeline, and why many, including many First Nations groups, are opposed to the pipeline.
Some articles may be challenging for younger, or lower level students, so select with care for your students. Alternatively, check out Newsella or Newsella Elementary, an online news source which has articles that can be adjusted for a variety of reading levels! While there are limited articles, there are some pertaining to piplines and First Nations views that would be appropriate for the themes of this unit.