Promising Practices in Aboriginal Education

Summary: Lessons from the Land is a collection of online cultural explorations based upon the traditional travel routes of the Northwest Territories’ Aboriginal peoples. This online exhibit will explore the relationship between people and the land and will highlight sites of cultural and historical significance throughout the territory. Our first trail, the Idaa Trail, is now online. More trails will be added in the near future.

The idea for this project began several years ago. After completing years of research on the Idaa Trail (a traditional route of the Dogrib), an archaeologist from the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre thought about turning his work into a CD-ROM with which students could take a virtual journey up the trail. This concept of a single virtual journey soon blossomed into something much bigger. Staff at the Heritage Centre decided to create an online exhibit that would feature traditional trails and journeys from around the Northwest Territories. The first instalment of the project is the Idaa Trail, which you can visit right now.

Issue 29
Multi Media
Project Naming

Source: Library and Archives Canada

Focus: Secondary Education

Summary: The goal of this project is the identification of Inuit portrayed in some of the photographic collections of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in Ottawa. It is an ongoing initiative, which enables Nunavut youth to connect with Elders and to better understand their past. It also helps to bridge the cultural differences and geographical distances between Nunavut and the more southern parts of Canada.

Project Naming is a collaborative effort among Nunavut Sivuniksavut, which offers a special college program based in Ottawa, serving Inuit youth from Nunavut, Nunavut's Department of Culture, Languages, Elders and Youth (CLEY), and LAC.

As a tribute to the importance of language in Project Naming, this Web exhibition is available in Inuktitut, English and French. To view Project Naming in Inuktitut, you will need a Pigiarniq font. This font can be downloaded for free in either PC or Mac fonts at: www.gov.nu.ca/english/font/.

The voices from Nunavut section includes written and audio material that provides personal accounts by Nunavut Elders and youth about the project.

The Inuktitut language section provides a history on the development of syllabics.

An overview of the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) photographic collections included in this project is available by visiting the photo collections section.

Visit the search the database section to access all images scanned for Project Naming. The database therein includes photographs of people who have been identified as a result of this project, as well as others in which the individuals are still unnamed. This section also highlights a selection of photographs of newly identified subjects, whose communities have been located on the map of
Nunavut. To date, the names of hundreds of people have been remembered by Nunavut Elders, and work continues on the identification of still more.

The naming continues section features selected images for which names are still missing, and invites users to submit information relevant to the photographs.

Project activities provides a description of some of the highlights and activities of Project Naming since the exhibition was first launched in October 2004.

Further research includes selected references to books, articles, theses, films and videos, and related websites.

Issue 28
Multi Media
Come and Play – Aboriginal Portal

Source: Government of Canada

Focus: E/S Students

Summary: In this section you will find a lot of on-line games about Aboriginal Peoples.

Issue 27
Multi Media
Omàmiwininì Pimàdjwowin - The Algonquin Way Cultural Centre: Learning Centre for Teachers and Educators

Source: The Algonquin Way Cultural Centre

Focus: Elementary, Secondary & Community

Summary: The Omàmiwininì Pimàdjwowin mission is to revitalize, reintegrate, enhance and protect the cultural traditions, customs, practices, heritage, language and arts of the Algonquin Nation.

The site is full of interactive stories, activities, resources and e-books that can be used in elementary and secondary classrooms.

Issue 26
Multi Media
Inuit Interactive Adventure

Source: The project represents a formal partnership between Acadia University, drumsong communications inc., the Houston North Gallery, the Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth (CLEY) in the Government of Nunavut, as well as a long-term collaboration with Nunavummuit, those who call Nunavut home. Funding was provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Partnerships Fund of the Canadian Culture Online program.

Summary: Explore the site to learn from Inuit of Nunavut who have lived on and cared for our land for 1000s of years.

Travel by ship via the interactive movie, with scenarios in which you will discover some of the beauty of the vast Territory of Nunavut, in the Eastern Arctic of Canada.

In the interactive movie, you will have roles and responsibilities to fulfill. When you successfully complete the challenges, including the computer games embedded in the video, you will have constructed your own virtual Inuksuk, a stone marker that shows how you have demonstrated your ability to see Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) can navigate your way forward in life.

Via the web site, you can explore the searchable databases of Inuit art, through which the digitized images of 100 carvings and 100 prints can be appreciated for their artistic merit, and which also offer insight into the deep respect Inuit have for Nature.

In another searchable database, you can watch and listen to Inuit Elders sharing the adventures of Kiviuq, a great hero and shaman in an Inuit teaching story that has been likened to Homer's Odyssey.

The web site includes a wealth of other resources, from a set of 360 degree Virtual Reality (VR) photographic images from a range of sites, from the Legislative Assembly of the Government of Nunavut to the dwelling of the ancient Thule people on beautiful Malik Island.

The website is in both English and Inuktitut, so there are opportunities to learn more than you may know about this ancient language.

Issue 25
Multi Media
Stereotypes of Native Americans: Essays and Images: Teaching Diversity with multi media

Source: The Authentic History Centre

Focus: Secondary Students and Teachers

Summary: The mission of this collection is to educate about the power of imagery in the stereotyping of race. By understanding how it happened, we can recognize it happening now. Once aware, we can make a conscious effort to avoid the messy thinking stereotyping promotes that leads to fear, prejudice, hate, and discrimination. Increasing sensitivity to these stereotypes can promote racial tolerance. Ultimately, civilization depends on learning to value the racial and cultural diversity of our histories, our nations, and the world in which we live.

Issue 24
Multi Media
Wapikoni Mobile

Source: Corporation Wapikoni mobile, National Film Board of Canada

Summary: 10 short films by young people from Aboriginal communities in Quebec.
Since 2004, Wapikoni Mobile has been giving young Aboriginals the opportunity to speak out using video and music. The following 10 films were made with the guidance of these travelling studios and are a mosaic of rich, contemporary and original works.

The Amendment
The Lost Children
A Mother's Dream
The City
Generation Mobilisation
The Little Prince
The Great Departure
Renaissance
She and I
Fighter

Issue 23
Multi Media
Our Language Cree

Source: Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre

Summary: An interactive digital collection of the languages of First Nations people in Saskatchewan.

Issue 22
Multi Media
An Archaeological Expedition to Kuukpak

Source: Canadian Heritage. Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre - Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Summary: This exhibit is part of the "Journey With Nuligak" on-line learning program prepared by the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre.

"Journey With Nuligak" is inspired by the real life experiences of Nuligak (Bob Cockney), an Inuvialuk who lived in the western Canadian Arctic from about 1895 until his death in 1966. Nuligak was one of the first Inuvialuit who learned how to read and write. His autobiography, "I, Nuligak", published in 1965, is an invaluable source of information on traditional Inuvialuit life.

The Kuukpangmiut were one of several groups of people whose descendants are the Inuvialuit of the western Canadian Arctic. They emerge from the mists of time in stories told by Inuvialuit elders, such as Nuligak.

Kuukpangmiut means People of ‘Kuukpak’, or ‘Great River’, the Inuvialuit name for the Mackenzie River. Kuukpak also was the name of a Kuukpangmiut village.

Issue 21
Multi Media
Arctic Peoples and Archaeology Interactive

Source: Inuit Heritage Trust, Government of Nunavut Department of Education and a Nunavut Land Claims organization along with Inuit Archaeologists and Inuit Elders.

Focus: Students and Teachers interested in studying the Arctic

Summary: Originally conceived of as a curriculum resource for Nunavut schools, this comprehensive interactive presentation provides an excellent introduction to the Arctic, and to the people who made this environment their home for the past thousands of years.

The presentation begins by introducing the Arctic environment. An interactive migration activity concludes this first section, encouraging the student to consider the challenges of a family at the turn of a season as they decide where to travel next to find the sustenance on which their lives depend. The next section introduces the arctic peoples, their tools, shelters, and their modes of transportation.

The third section introduces the science of archaeology along with the regulatory environment for accessing archaeology sites in Nunavut today. The final section focuses on a rich archaeological site in the High Arctic. This section is also interactive, requiring the student’s assistance to identify objects and make decisions about the Tuniit and the Thule who were known to have occupied this site.

This interactive site is available in Inuktitut, English and French versions.

Issue 20
Multi Media
Shielded Minds – A video

Source: Canadian Grass Roots Exchange

Focus: Secondary students

Summary: The Canadian Roots Exchange is an innovative youth inspired program that addresses the need for reconciliation within Canada.
A group of 20 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students set out on a 8 day road trip across the Canadian Shield in their attempt to find out more about Aboriginal peoples and communities in Canada. This video documents their journey and provided the opportunity for discussion among students of the issues and stereotypes that have prevented reconciliation from occurring.

Issue 19
Multi Media
Métis Artists

Source: Canada Council for the Arts

Focus: Secondary visual art students and teachers

Summary: This site is dedicated to Métis artists working in the visual arts. It is a site that was set up for information purposes to highlight some interesting work being produced by Métis visual artists in Canada.

The images and text found on each artist’s page is excerpted from various sources available on-line.

Issue 18
Multi Media
The Virtual Keeping House: A First Nations Gallery

Source: SchoolNet Digital Collections, Industry Canada

Summary: The Virtual Keeping House is a means for Aboriginal peoples and those interested in Indian culture in Saskatchewan to view the Saskatchewan Indian Culture’s permanent Aboriginal Art collection and also its collection of artifacts.
Culture is enriched by these virtual reminders of rich heritage encompassing the traditions of the three Cree-speaking groups in Saskatchewan (Plains, Swampy and Woodlands), the Dene of the North, the Saulteaux (Plains Ojibwe) and the Souian tribes of Dakota, Lakota and the Nakota.

The Cultural Centre is firmly linked with the past through its artifact collection. It also maintains a link with the contemporary perspectives of Indian people through its art collection which reflects the tremendous changes Indian people have experienced since European contact.

Images of cultural revitalization, concern with past traditions and the struggle for Indian people to maintain their identity is repeated in the images within many artists’ work.

Issue 17
Multi Media
Virtual Museum of Nunavut

Source: Nunavut Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth

Focus: Students and teachers

Summary: The purpose of this site and this collection is to ensure the long term protection, conservation and development of Nunavut's museum collection.
The virtual museum has been divided into: Arts and Crafts, Jewellery, Ceramics, Sculpture, Explorers and Textiles.

On November 26, 2002, as a result of the creation of Nunavut, the Governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories reached an agreement to divide the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre's museum and archives collections. These priceless collections will be delivered to Nunavut from Yellowknife as soon as Nunavut has its own heritage centre.

Issue 16
Multi Media
First Voices: Language Legacies Celebrating Indigenous Cultures in Canada

Source: First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation

Focus: Elementary and secondary teachers and students

Summary: FirstVoices is a group of web-based tools and services designed to support Aboriginal people engaged in language archiving, language teaching and culture revitalization.

Issue 15
Multi Media
Tshinanu – All of Us - Quebec

Source: Tshinanu TV

Focus: Senior students and teachers

Summary: The aim of the Tsinanu website is to provide a better understanding of Aboriginal culture in Quebec and participants’ opinions on the subjects featured on the television series of the same name. Its content is an assemblage of textual, photo and video elements fostering an appreciation of the work and lives of the First Nations today. The programming on this site makes it possible to extend the experience of the Tshinanu (Us Together) magazine by offering a wealth of interactive content and regional conceptualization.

The site does not seek commercial intent; it takes part in an informational and educational process while emphasising an edutainment approach.

Issue 14
Multi Media
Tipatshimuna – Innu stories from the land

Source: Virtual Museum of Canada

Focus: Researchers and students interested in learning more about the Innu culture and history

Summary: According to Innu oral tradition, the world is an island created by wolverine and mink after a great flood. The archaeological record shows that the Innu and their ancestors have occupied a large portion of Labrador and eastern Quebec for two thousand or more years. The Innu refer to this territory as "Nitassinan."

Discover the heritage and tradition of the Innu through their stories and material culture which are presented on this virtual site.

Issue 13
Multi Media
Labrador Inuit through Moravian Eyes

Source: The University of Toronto Libraries, Memorial University Libraries and the Bibliothèque de l'Université Laval gratefully acknowledge the support of Canadian Culture Online.

Focus: Secondary teachers and students

Summary: This site provides information on the 250-year relationship between Moravian missionaries and the Inuit of Labrador. This interaction led to the establishment of settlements for a formerly nomadic people, their conversion to Christianity and exposure to aspects of North American culture. The information has been gathered from a variety of sources that shed light upon this unique adventure.

The teacher toolkit provides teachers with historical background, essays, pedagogical strategies and resource workshops designed to facilitate student inquiry into the relationships between the Moravian missionaries and the Inuit of Labrador. The educational resources section contains five instructional units for Grades 7 to 10 covering a range of themes.

The student toolkit is a resource that enables students to explore the relationships between the Moravian missionaries and the Inuit, their ideologies, and the impacts of these cultural exchanges through the archival record and beyond. Included in these sections are historical vignettes, essays, and research and critical literacy workshops to help students look deeper into the world views of the Labrador Inuit and the Moravian missionaries.

Issue 12
Multi Media
On the Path of the Elders

Source: The Mushkegowuk and Anishinaabe Peoples and Treaty No. 9.

Focus: Grades 4-10

Summary: On the Path of the Elders is a Cree Culture and History Education Game. It includes an interactive online adventure game as well as an extensive gallery of video, audio and photo collections. Teachers and students can register on line to begin their “quest for knowledge”. By registering, teachers can also receive regular updates on additional and new resources.

Issue 11
Multi Media
Aboriginal Voices in Canadian Contemporary Art

Source:National Gallery of Canada

Focus: Teachers and students K-12

Summary: This lesson plan presents Canadian contemporary artists of Aboriginal ancestry. Six Aboriginal artists in Canada examine their past and present culture, and explore their place in the contemporary milieu.

All of the works are in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.

Issue 10
Multi Media
Storytelling: Aboriginal Cultures and Traditions

Source: The Cultures and Traditions Storytelling website development team consisted of five aboriginal youth who produced this web site and gathered the stories. The team was supported by staff at the Nechi Training, Research and Health Promotions Institute. Technical support was provided by an Aboriginal web design company called Brainhum Corporation. The team was supervised by staff from the Aboriginal Youth Network project.

Focus: Secondary students and teachers

Summary: Storytelling has always been a vital part of the cultural identity of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. Stories were told to teach lessons, give warnings, and keep history alive.
The stories found in this collection were gratefully collected from the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of this country. Collectively identified by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada as "Aboriginal," each group self-identifies as separate peoples with unique heritages, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.

Issue 9
Multi Media
Using Aboriginal Media Sources to enhance History or Aboriginal Studies

Source: A collaboration between Saskatoon Catholic Schools, Saskatoon Public Schools, Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, Eagle Feather News and Indian and Métis Education Development Grant

Focus: Senior History and Aboriginal Studies

Summary: This site presents a series of activities requiring the students to act as researchers. The tasks focus on five areas that are necessary in order for the students to have a foundational understanding of Aboriginal peoples in an historical context and as present contributors to Canadian society. Students can use a variety of strategies to present their understandings.

The five areas are:

Aboriginal & Treaty Rights
Governance
Land Claims & Treaty Land Entitlements
Economic Development
Social Development

Issue 8
Multi Media
Inuit Art: Cape Dorset Artists

Source: Library and Archives Canada

Focus: Art students and the general education public

Summary: On this site you will see slides of the work of some of the outstanding pioneer artists of whom two (Kenojuak and Napatchie) are still alive and continuing to contribute their art to the unbroken tradition of the annual print collection. Many of these slides are linked to information on Inuit life and culture, and you can access this information by going to Inuit Cultural Perspectives.

Issue 7
Multi Media
The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture

Source: Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI) – in partnership with the Saskatchewan Department of Learning, the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online Program, the Canada Council for the Arts, SaskCulture, the Government of Canada and the University of Saskatchewan Division of Media and Technology.

Focus: Suitable for general information and for educators.

Summary: This website is a 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 resources such as Steps in Time and Gabriel Dumont: Métis Legend have also been added to this site.

Issue 6
Multi Media
Aboriginal Perspectives

Source: The National Film Board (NFB) in cooperation with experienced Aboriginal filmmakers.

Focus: Secondary Students – Native Studies, Media Studies

Summary: The Aboriginal Perspectives module contains 33 documentaries, a short fiction film, and five film clips on Canada’s native peoples. The user will find films on many important aspects of Aboriginal culture and heritage, its diverse communities, and some of the major issues and significant moments in its history.

All the films are available in English and French, and 18 of them include described video to allow blind and visually impaired people to fully enjoy their content. In addition, 27 films are available with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

Issue 5
Multi Media
Building a Tipi

Source: Wonderville.ca – presented by the Science Alberta Foundation
Focus: Elementary aged students

Summary:This is an interactive animated site where children attend a pow-wow and learn how to build a tipi by following the instructions of the narrator. Join Hayley, Tommy and Marie as they observe a tipi raising. Experiment with the number of poles, construction materials, alignment and other parameters to learn how a tipi is built in this science construction game.

Wonderville is a site dedicated to getting kids excited about science through games, interactive and printable activities for students ages 6-12. The Science Alberta Foundation strongly believes that continuing professional development for teachers is key to continued excellence in the classroom.

Their programs are designed by teachers who understand the dynamics of being in a class.

Issue 4
Multi Media
Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws: Storytelling in the Aboriginal Community
Comics in the Classroom: Chad Solomon and Christopher Meyer - developers

Focus: Grade 1 – You and Your World

Summary:A series of Grade 1 lessons featuring the wild wacky exploits of two brothers, Rabbit and Bear Paws. The characters are mischievous and the audience learns enjoyable life lessons from their numerous pranks and mistakes while also appreciating the unity of the Native communities and how they related to one another peacefully.

Rabbit and Bear Paws are heroes that the developers created to share humorous adventures based on Traditional Teachings, to carry on the teachings to the youth who wish to explore their roots, while helping to share the wisdom of the Aboriginal community with the universal audience (non-Aboriginal).

Issue 3
Multi Media
Movie Gallery - Stories from Western Australia
Australian Museum

Focus: Elementary and secondary students

Summary: Aboriginal Storytelling: Min-na-wee - Why the Crocodile Rolls is a dreaming story from the GWINI people. Peace and harmony are essential in any community. Find out what happens when someone is determined to cause trouble. The story of Min-Na-Wee and why the crocodile rolls contains a powerful message for young people about the effects of their behaviour on others.

Issue 2
Multi Media
Windspeaker Canadian Classroom Edition
The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA) is an Aboriginal communications society dedicated to serving the needs of Aboriginal people throughout Canada. Incorporated in 1983 under the Alberta Societies Act, the AMMSA has served as the model for Aboriginal communications societies and organizations not only in Canada, but throughout North America.

Summary: Classroom Edition is a regular part of Windspeaker now called "Canadian Classroom". Each issue of Windspeaker dedicates two pages to exploring some critical issues. The information contained in Canadian Classroom can play an instrumental role in breaking down barriers and increase understanding between individuals, communities and cultures.
Various views on a single issue are presented along with thought provoking questions to encourage dialogue and open communication. Editorial cartoons and photos are utilized to further stimulate thought and dialogue.

Issue I
Multi Media
Aboriginal Story in Digital Media (English and French)
Horizon Zero Website, a multimedia Web magazine about digital art and culture in Canada; a bilingual virtual space devoted to creativity and critical ideas in a new media canon.

Focus: Secondary English and Native Studies

Summary: Issue 17 of Horizon Zero is an interactive digital collection devoted to Aboriginal storytelling.

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