The Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance website has a list of anchor books teachers can use in their lessons. The books are specifically about the Syilx people, which is the community’s land on which I teach. For my final project, my partner and I researched how to use anchor books authentically in teaching. We will look to use some of these books as we develop our lesson plans.
While this is not an Indigenous story, the idea of using anchor texts to start conversations can be very powerful. They All Saw A Cat could be a fantastic simple story that could be used at even middle school or higher levels with the right structure around it as a starting point to looking at perspectives. It would be a great time to talk with students about the perspectives that are taught in Canada now and historically (Euro-centric) and how we are attempting to honour and learn through other perspectives as well. Following a discussion about this book followed by a book or story from your local Indigenous nation and seeing how the perspectives might be different would be powerful and a safe entry point for teachers.