While looking around for resources, I came across the Building Brains Together website. It was a resource that had been previously shared within my school division. The main mission of the Building Brains website is, “to build adult capabilities to improve brain development and executive functions in children through research and education.” The part of the website that drew me to take a closer look was the area on Resources. Under the resource links, you can find Blackfoot Songs as well as Indigenous Games. Each song is shared in a video format and the games are a mixture of video and written instructions on how to play.
I wanted to take a closer look at these resources to see how their songs and games could fit with my project focus of Place Based Learning. The interesting part with the resource links is that the individual that helped to organize the creation and development of the songs and games is Mary Ellen Little Mustache who used to be an Educational Assistant at one of the schools in my school division. One quote stood out to me under the acknowledgement of the Indigenous Games resource and that was, “The Indigenous Games takes all people into account with great consideration to recognize other’s beliefs and practices. There isn’t a right way or wrong way to play the games, just different ways that reflect different societies.” I found it very powerful as a way to build in Indigenous culture into Place Based Learning.
Building Brains Together
Building Brains Together, (n.d.). Blackfoot children’s songs. Building Brains Together. https://www.buildingbrains.ca/blackfoot-songs
Building Brains Together, (n.d.). Indigenous games. Building Brains Together. https://www.buildingbrains.ca/indigenous-games