The Story of Indigenous Education

Please note: Each month we will add a new description of the learning for a grade.

Grade 1

This is a reflection on Indigenous-centered learning in Grade 1. It is also good learning for all as part of Truth and Reconciliation. The purpose of this letter is to help make connections for cross-curricular learning, build adult knowledge, and share some ideas. 

There is big learning happening in primary grades and there is work for us to do as adults. We want to ensure that we can find information, we can recognize which learning is for what age/stage, and we can take responsibility to better understand the continuum of learning for Indigenous education. This is about Truth and Reconciliation. We can bring to life the Principles of Indigenous Education at KPR by closing some of the gaps on our learning. 

This is an interpretation of the curriculum to show one way we can begin the work (and there are so many other options). Educators are always encouraged to review the curriculum more closely when developing learning goals.

Three Big Ideas for Grade 1

In Language, Grade 1 students will read texts by Indigenous authors to better understand the distinctness of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit people. A place to start is to build an understanding of the idea of COMMUNITY. Every community has something unique. Explore language, land, governance, and/or traditions. The Community Passport to ReconciliACTION would have some ideas. Starting with a focus on the KPR community is also an excellent idea. Which nations make up the Mississauga First Nations? Where can you learn more about Métis in your community? How are Inuit communities distinct? What does it mean to be Urban Indigenous? What does the word Indigenous mean and when is the best time to use it?

RELATIONSHIP is another excellent idea to explore in texts by Indigenous authors. In Grade 1 Social Studies, students learn about the Land Acknowledgement and the territory the school is on. How can teachers support students in understanding relationship with land? In understanding relationship with people? What is the relationship students have with the land that the school is located on? This is an opportunity to take students outside and begin with noticing. What do they notice about the yard? What plants are growing here? Which animals or insects might live here? What other living things do we share this space with? How does it change each season? Over time? How does land impact our lives? Next, educators can help students understand that we are able to enjoy these relationships with land today because they have been cared for by people since time immemorial. How do people care for the land? How can we express our gratitude to those who were here before us for taking care of the land so we could enjoy it today? How does listening to the Land Acknowledgement each day help ground us in these truths about relationship? 

Finally, exploring the idea of IDENTITY will help students to better understand community, relationship, and what it means to be distinct. Before students can explore how First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities are reclaiming and revitalizing identities lost due to colonization, students will need to understand what an identity is, how does identity become, and when does identity change. Students can explore their own identity first.  As students in Grade 1 begin learning about residential schools, a possible entry point may be looking at how students were not able to be themselves at school. Students in residential schools were unable to dress to express themselves, wear their hair the way they wanted, or sing the songs they learned from their families. We want to go gently into this learning with primary students. There are some good picture books to help. My favourite book to learn about residential schools for Grade 1 students is When We Were Alone by David Robertson.

Grade 2

Students continue to explore the big ideas of Community, Relationship, and Identity introduced in Grade 1. They build on their understanding of the distinctness of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit people through texts in the Language curriculum. Each grade progresses from the learning in the previous grade. Review the big ideas from Grade 1 before moving into the big ideas in Grade 2.

Three Big Ideas for Grade 2

CULTURE is a big idea that connects to Language, Science, and Social Studies. Begin by looking at what is culture? What do you know about your own culture? How does culture connect to the way communities and families celebrate? How do we express who we are and what is important to us through culture? What do we know about First Nation, Métis, and Inuit cultures? Some possible areas of focus could be reading books like My Powerful Hair by Carole Lindstrom and Steph Littlebird or What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me by Alexis Bunten and Nicole Neidhardt. Authentic texts can lead this learning. Educators can help students understand that culture is a way of life, a way of learning, and a way of being in the world. How does culture express community, relationships, and identity? 

TRADITIONS is a big idea in the Social Studies curriculum. What traditions and celebrations do First Nation, Métis, and Inuit families value? What are ways that First Nation, Métis, and Inuit families and communities are reclaiming traditions and teachings? How is cultural learning passed to each generation through family traditions and celebrations? Educators will need to guide students through learning about what reclamation is and why it is important, given the impacts of colonization and the ways that First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities were discouraged or prevented from practicing their traditions. You can learn about bannock or Pow Wows or the Métis jig or ice fishing. There are many possibilities. Build on the learning from Grade 1 about the Land Acknowledgement, guiding students to learn about the traditions on this territory. Together explore the websites and social media pages for Alderville First Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, and Hiawatha First Nation. What insight do the communications and images from their communities share about their traditions? Then explore the Métis Nation of Ontario site and some of the resources the department has gathered about Inuit communities.

WATER is another area of focus for Grade 2. Connect learning about water to Community, Relationship, and Identity as well as Culture and Traditions. The Passport to ReconciliACTION about water is a good place to start. Read The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson. It has an excellent teacher guide too!   To better understand the impact of human activities on water and air in Science, students can explore how water and air are integral to First Nation, Métis, and Inuit cultures. For example, Métis communities formed along waterways. Water influenced food, traditions, and music. Did you know that during the fur trade, Métis voyageurs who had the best singing voices were paid the highest? The Métis sash has its roots in life on the water as it was used as a multi-purpose tool on canoe trips along the fur trade routes. Did you know that when the sash is shaped into a bowl and lined with beeswax, it was used for Métis carry water? Both music and the sash are now integral to Métis culture and traditions across distinct Métis communities in Canada. First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities relied on fishing as a food source and included water in Ceremonies. Today there is a ‘Water is Life’ movement promoting the importance of protecting water. Read We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom or Nibi is Water by Joanne Robertson. Explore the idea of water and its connection to culture and tradition through the art of Christi Belcourt, Isaac Murdoch, or Kenojuak Ashevak. Connect to the KPR Science Resource for more resource options and prompts.