Embedded Files
Each month we will be highlighting new authentic Indigenous resources. These are just suggested recommendations. Reviews of all the print resources have been completed using the FNESC review process. Descriptions are from the publisher websites.
Please find an archive of these resources at the bottom of the page.
Speaking Our Truth
Author: Monique Gray Smith
Publisher: Orca
Grades: K-12, Professional Resource
Cautions: n/a
In Speaking Our Truth, we are embarking on a journey of reconciliation. This isn’t a read-and-do-nothing kind of book. It is an active exploration of Canada’s collective history, our present and our future. It’s about how we grow as individuals, families, communities and as a country.
For some of you, this may be a time of significant change in your understanding of Canada’s history. It might be the first time you’ve thought about what reconciliation means and, more specifically, what it means to you and what your role in it is. Simply reading Speaking Our Truth is an act of reconciliation. So, good on you! I welcome you all to the journey.
In my Nihiyaw (Cree) language, we say tawâw, which loosely means “there’s always room.” For you, for me, for your friends, your family, your community. There’s always room. —Monique Gray Smith
*Teacher Guide Available
100 Years of Loss: The Residential School System in Canada
Author: Legacy of Hope Foundation
Digital Link: Teacher's Guide
Grades: 6-12
Cautions: some graphic details & language, students may find content emotionally triggering
One hundred years is an arbitrary number with respect to the history and legacy of the Indian Residential School System in Canada. More accurately, over 100 years of cultural and spiritual loss have been experienced by successive generations of Aboriginal peoples as a consequence of residential schools—without action, these losses will continue to affect generations to come in addition to the estimated 80,000 Survivors alive today.
*available in French
The Orange Shirt Story
Author: Phyllis Webstad
Digital Link: Orange Shirt Day Website
Grades: 6-12
Cautions: some graphic details & language, students may find content emotionally triggering
Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis’s account of losing her shiny new orange shirt on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually. The date was chosen because children are back in school and teachers have time to plan, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the year. Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and community agencies to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.
A variety of print resources including lesson plans, videos, and a Teacher's Guide are available for download
*available in French
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