Teacher Education
Weaving a Story describes the importance of inkle looms to creating Métis sashes that are meaningful to individuals.
In the interview, Teresa Bryne discusses the meaning of the colours of the Métis sash. Through workshops, Weaving a Story tells the history of the sash, the creation of a sash on a loom, and how to create your own.
Cheyenne Chartrand, Spiritual Care Provider at Neecheewam Inc., explains Neecheewam’s approach to education.
Neecheewam Inc. goes beyond pedagogical programs in an effort to redefine concepts of treatment, emphasizing cohort and peer education through an “extended family” that results in whole person learning. Whole person learning requires moving beyond the text book to include academic, professional, emotional, and spiritual growth.
ITEP’s mandate is to build a community of knowledgeable teachers who understand and value the cultures, languages, and traditions of Indigenous students.
Since 1972, the Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP) has been providing culturally relevant K-12 teacher education programs leading to a Bachelor of Education degree and a Professional “A” teaching certificate. ITEP and its students endeavor to take back control of Indigenous education and provide an education that focuses on Indigenous languages, cultures, and traditions. ITEP is offered at the University of Saskatchewan with community-based programs in the communities of Beardy’s & Okemasis Cree Nation, Big River Cree Nation, Little Pine Cree Nation, Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation, Onion Lake Cree Nation, Poundmaker Cree Nation, Thunderchild Cree Nation, Canoe Lake First Nation, Battleford Agency Tribal Chiefs, Fort Smith in the North-West Territories, and Kahkewistahaw First Nation.
Revitalizing Dene language, culture, and identity through language reclamation in Fond du Lac.
Retired educator, Rose Pacquette, discusses the importance of reclaiming Dene culture and identity by learning the Dene language. Pacquette has witnessed the loss of Dene language in her community, and with the loss of language, Dene culture has been replaced by English and social media. She has been a teacher in her community, Fond Du Lac, Saskatchewan for many years and she stresses that language is the foundation of having a strong cultural identity, which is why it is crucial to teach Dene to younger generations. The Dene Nation needs to be reclaimed and the Dene people need to know the cultural traditions, their worldview, and the history of their people in order to be proud of their cultural identity. For Dene people, Indigenous education should reflect Dene culture, language, and traditions.
Students with a passion for science showcase their work at the Manitoba First Nations Science Fair
Rockford McKay has been flying to northern communities for over 20 years demonstrating science to students in remote communities. And he has never seen an Anishinaabe or Cree pilot, but that will change. The Manitoba First Nation Science Fair is now in its 18th year. Only 20 students came to the first fair; last year there were over 500. Many come once, say ‘I can do that’, and return with their own science projects. Rockford blends traditional and modern science. He uses a snowshoe to illustrate engineering and problem solving; he has a portable planetarium to demonstrate astronomy and navigation. It’s just a matter of time before students from the Manitoba First Nations School System are flying, building, and designing those airplanes.
Bridging the western educational world with local First Nation culture and traditions .
In this interview Francis Ross talks about the on the land learning program in Old Crow Yukon. This program is designed to achieve educational curriculum in a First Nation lens. This program fully utilizes local First Nation knowledge, culture, and traditions and fuses it with current western education curriculum. The approach allows students to become more comfortable by learning with familiarity using Fist Nations tools, methods and ways of life to meet educational goals. This program creates a bridge between the two worlds many First Nation people experience as a hardship.
This video depicts an activity designed by Theresa Benedict, a graduate from Indigenous Studies at Trent University. The exercise involves two stages. First, the group divides into a small group of Indigenous people and another small group of non-Indigenous people to brainstorm each group’s perceptions of what they bring into a relationship – the “baggage” […]
This video depicts an activity designed by Theresa Benedict, a graduate from Indigenous Studies at Trent University. The exercise involves two stages. First, the group divides into a small group of Indigenous people and another small group of non-Indigenous people to brainstorm each group’s perceptions of what they bring into a relationship – the “baggage” that they carry. The two groups then come together to compare the baggage they are bringing into a relationship.
This exercise is an excellent way to explore the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on reconciliation and discuss how and whether those differences can be overcome.
PLEASE NOTE: Themes and topics discussed in this exercise may be upsetting for some people. Viewer and participation discretion is advised.
This video was taken on November 9th, 2018 at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. The activity was undertaken by a group of Trent students; however, the exercise is designed for any group to provide insights into the nature of tensions in reconciliation.
The original class in which the “Baggage” exercise was developed included Theresa Benedict, Hilary Hodgins, Juliana LeSage, Robin Linn, Lauren MacLachlan, Taylor McDonald, Beverley Morgan, Victor Parker, Rashawn Pershad, Scott Somerville, and seven other Trent students enrolled in the Alliances course (INDG 4050) in 2017.
The first part of the video shows the exercise. The second part contains excerpts from three interviews: Theresa Benedict (Activity Designer), Robin Linn (participant), and Julianna LeSage (participant).
PLEASE NOTE: The audio quality changes in this video when the speaker is not wearing a lapel microphone.
Cheryll Welke shares about her community involvement volunteering in schools by talking about her Métis culture and identity.
Cheryll Welke volunteers in classrooms in High Level, Alberta to engage with students through the sharing of moose meat and bannock and talking about the significance of Métis contribution to Canadian society. Welke wants Métis youth to be proud of who they and understand how much Métis people have contributed to the development of Canada.
Aurora College’s Inuvik campus has two large McPherson tents where a variety of activities take place. Elementary schools, high schools, Elders, and community members use this space. Some activities include medicine walks, fish camps, and story-telling.
Aurora College’s Inuvik campus has two large McPherson tents where a variety of activities take place. Elementary schools, high schools, Elders, and community members use this space. Some activities include medicine walks, fish camps, and story-telling.
The Principal of the Dene Tha Community School, Carlito Somera, discusses the school’s commitment to holding fall and winter Cultural Camps for students in grades 4-12.
Carlito Somera is the Principal of the Dene Tha Community School located in Treaty 8, in the community of Chateh, Alberta, northwest of High Level. Somera discusses the Dene Tha’s Cultural Camps offered both in the fall and winter. During the fall camp, students from Grades 4-12 attend the Cultural Camp held over a five day period. There are many academic outcomes that are attached to the Cultural Camps. High school students earn and gain credits as part of the curriculum.
This land-based learning portion of the curriculum includes the Dene language and culture. With the leadership and support of local Dene hunters and language specialists, students learn how to prepare, cut, and dry meat. Students also participate in other cultural activities such as berry picking, willow gathering, storytelling, and playing traditional hand games. In the winter, the Cultural Camp is held at Bistcho Lake. Students travel by vehicle on ice roads to the summertime fly-in fishing location and stay in cabins during their visit. Some of the cultural activities taught are how to ice fish.
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