Indigenous Perspectives

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park offers a variety of school programs from K-12, including an overnight school group program for Grades 4-9. 

Developed in partnership by NASA and Salish Kootenai College, Living Landscapes contains valuable learning units for teaching high school students about climate change and its impact on Indigenous communities. The resource also contains a ten-episode video series explaining the impacts of climate change on Indigenous communities through the eyes of two high school students. 

In the high school learning unit, students can select a region to explore the climate science of that region. Although the regions are in the United States, the resource still provides valuable insight on the ways in which climate change impacts land and culture. 

Find tutorials for using the resource here, and gain quick access to the high school learning unit by clicking "Understanding Climate Science" on the home page. 

This Grade 4 inquiry was developed in collaboration with the Kainai Board of Education and Galileo Educational Network. The webpage includes curricular connections, information, examples, and instructions for using the web resource. Linked on the main page is the Kainai Plant Index. 

The guide focuses specifically on how to help engage First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) youth to take action to create change on an issue they care about, and how to respectfully incorporate FNMI knowledge and culture into your classroom or program. The Action Process has been designed to utilize and honour FNMI ways of knowing. We believe that this is integral to the creation of sustainable communities.

Part One of this guide provides information to help you develop a respectful understanding of FNMI people, culture and knowledge. Much of the information presented in these sections is geared toward readers who are not First Nations, Métis or Inuit, but who work with students/youth who are FNMI. For this reason, some of the information in this section of the guide may not be of as much benefit to FNMI readers who may already have a better understanding of the concepts discussed.

Part Two of this guide will be of benefit to all readers as it provides a detailed overview of an action process as well as activities to support each step in the design and implementation of your action projects. This section also includes suggestions for ways to develop a respectful understanding of FNMI knowledge with your students/youth participants and ways to incorporate traditional FNMI knowledge into your action project.

NEW Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults! 

Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beloved bestselling book has been adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. Monique is Cree, Lakota and Scottish, and is well known for her storytelling, spirit of generosity and focus on resilience. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us.

With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt (Navajo), Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults will help provide educators to bring Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation. This new version will provide the essence of this book in a way that better engages high school students. You can purchase it from the Outdoor Learning Store.

The second edition of Natural Curiosity supports a stronger basic awareness of Indigenous perspectives and their importance to environmental education. The driving motivation for a second edition was the burning need, in the wake of strong and unequivocal recommendations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to situate Indigenous perspectives into the heart of Canadian educational settings and curricula, most notably in connection with environmental issues.

The Indigenous lens in this edition represents a cross-cultural encounter supporting what can become an ongoing dialogue and evolution of practice in environmental inquiry. Some important questions are raised that challenge us to think in very different ways about things as fundamental as the meaning of knowledge.

Le présent document est un excellent outil pour l’enseignante ou l’enseignant de même qu’un incitatif pour l’élève à découvrir le monde qui l’entoure. Dans cette deuxième édition de Curiosité naturelle, on découvre plus en détail l’apprentissage environnemental vu par les Autochtones. Avec cette découverte, on ne peut que remettre complètement en question la place que l’on occupe dans le monde. Le point de vue autochtone de cette édition donne le coup d’envoi d’un dialogue qui permet à l’enseignante ou à l’enseignant de découvrir la vision autochtone des choses et à l’élève de tisser des liens durables avec le monde naturel. Vous pouvez acheter le ressource ici.

Full Circle Adventures provides field trip programs for Grade 5 and 7 students in various parks within or just outside of Calgary. Students will learn about traditional uses of plants, human impact, and different world views. 

The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada is an interactive website that allows students and teachers to explore First Nations, Métis, and Inuit history and contemporary events. For full text, the Atlas can be ordered through Amazon.ca or other retailers.

Resources 4 Rethinking offers an online searchable database of lesson plans for all grades and subject areas. Check it out! 

The North American Association for Environmental Education has a resource bank on their website, featuring interesting articles, websites, and environmental literature. Check it out! 

See also COVID-19: Resources, Tips, and Support for a list of resources designed to keep learners of all ages interested and engaged in environmental education during the COVID-19 crisis, from hands-on activities and lesson plans to websites, virtual tours, and more.