The Government of Canada website has teaching resources related to Indigenous cultures and traditions! They have several resources related to Indigenous Peoples Day, treaties and agreements, classroom games and activities as well as lesson plan resources. I was paying closer attention to The Learning Circle resource set, which includes a combination of classroom activities and guiding questions for different age groups. This will be a great resource for building my lesson plans for my final project as well as in my classroom for the next school year! Here is an activity I found very interesting:
During course discussions, I recall discussing the importance of addressing open-ended questions and providing opportunities for students to share any stereotypes or misconceptions of Indigenous cultures. I can see this as a valuable activity in a lesson to help students explore and learn more about how Indigenous cultures are portrayed and build a culturally inclusive educational environment.
This would bring about deep discussion in schools in my area as the football team in Edmonton has just currently gone through the name change from Eskimos to the Edmonton Elks. The change has been embraced by the majority but there has been some nasty commentary on social media by those that did not see it necessary.
Seo-Whi,
I’m really looking forward to seeing the lesson plans you produce for your final project! This seems like such a wonderful resource, and discussing sports teams is an effective way of challenging dominant Western perspectives in “everyday” societal aspects many take for granted. Openly discussing stereotypes and misconceptions of Indigenous people and cultures can also help to foster a greater sense of intercultural understanding and empathy among students!