In Returning Home, we call young people to connect with and understand the movement and intention behind the Bear Clan. There is a printable pdf containing information on the Bear Clan with three quick comprehension questions. Part 2 of the worksheet consists of guiding questions to support students in doing a case study on Tina Fontaine. The case study encourages students to engage more deeply with issues such as intergenerational trauma and Missing and Murdered Indigenous people.

*Note: her case may be upsetting to students so please be familiar with her case before asking students to research so you may prepare and support them adequately.

Objective:

• To learn more about an Indigenous group and how they are contributing to Edmonton’s community.

Bear Clan:

Give students the following worksheet and pdf. Have them read about the Bear Clan and then answer the Part 1 comprehension questions.

• Worksheet Link: Bear Clan Information and Case Study Worksheet

• You may choose to show a video after they have read and completed Part 1 to change pace and provide some inspiration;

• Vice Newsvideo about the Bear Clan across Canada (5 mins): The Bear Clan Patrol Are The Protectors Of Indigenous Communities In Canada (HBO)

• JHC video done about Edmonton’s Bear Clan (50 second): Street Stride on Vimeo

Research:

Have students engage in research by doing a case study on Tina Fontaine. The given worksheet contains guiding questions in Part 2 that will support students' research.

Enact Call to Action:

After learning about the Bear Clan, ask students how they wish to show support for the Bear Clan.

• Bear Clan actively requires donations and support in different ways, reach out to them and see if a volunteer can come talk to your class or school.

• This would make a great social justice project: fundraise or collect clothes and food for winter when more support is needed.

In the early 1990s, Indigenous grandmothers in Winnipeg, concerned with the safety of young women on the streets and the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirits, created a community based patrol approach to be present and witness on the streets for those that are most vulnerable. In 2014, the Winnipeg Bear Clan gained strength and intention with the loss of Tina Fontaine, a 15 year old Indigenous woman whose body was found wrapped in plastic in the Red River. Tina’s case was similar to so many Indigenous women who have gone missing and have been murdered.

Today, Bear Clan has spread across Canada with patrols establishing themselves as Indigenous led movements. Supporting the Bear Clan is an opportunity to stand up and stand with local Indigenous leaders who are doing the most difficult work of supporting on the frontlines. They are an example of a community in action and people making a real difference every day.

Bear Clan is grounded in a First Nations Code of Ethics:

• Wisdom - comes from relationship with self, family and community.

• Appreciation - for the life you have been given and for the life of all others.

• Reflection - on what you have done and how you could have reacted differently.

• Courage - ask for the strength to be courageous in daily life and for others.

• Respect - To feel or show honor or esteem for someone of something, the well-being of others and to show them courtesy. This respect is the basic law of life.

The Bear Clan had traditionally protected people by acting as warriors, guardians, healers, and caretakers of the community history.

Bravery - aakwa’ode’ewin - is represented by the bear.

The mother bear has the courage and strength to face her fears and challenges while protecting her young. She shows us how to have a balance in life with rest, survival and play. She teaches us how to incorporate rest and rejuvenation through her ways of life in various seasons. She also calls upon us to awaken the potential within and to stand up for what we believe in. She teaches us to face life with courage, find inner strength, defend what you believe in and what is right for your community, family and self. Make positive choices and conviction on your decisions, face your fears in order to allow yourself to live your life. Finally, let nothing stand in your way of doing the right thing.