Even when exploring virtually, it is important to start with local knowledge and traditions. Traditional teachings are rooted in relationships to land and place. The following links are suggestions to help students understand the rich history and culture of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people of Canada.
Please connect with your Aboriginal Resource Teacher for more information or support in incorporating Indigenous content into your curriculum.We are happy to help!
Information on the First Peoples Principles of Learning:
- Jo Ann Chrona’s site is designed to help educators in British Columbia understand how they might incorporate the First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL) into their classroom and schools
Map of Indigenous Communities Across BC:
- Map of Aboriginal communities in BC – English
- Map of Aboriginal Communities by Territory
- Book: Stó:lo Historical Atlas – an amazing historical document that has numerous maps of the Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
Send your students on their way with three guiding questions and encourage them to support their thinking with evidence from their virtual trip:
- What did you learn that you didn’t know before?
- What was the most surprising part of your visit?
- What changed, challenged or confirmed your thinking?
VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS:
Whose Land – Whose Land assist users in identifying Indigenous Nations, territories, and Indigenous communities across Canada. The app can be used for learning about the local territory, finding information for a land acknowledgement, and learning about the treaties and agreements signed across Canada. Educational videos are available to watch that will give you a better understanding of why land acknowledgements are important, and the way Indigenous people view their relationship to land.
Sq’éwlets: A Stó:l?-Coast Salish Community in the Fraser River Valley – Kwelches – Welcome! Our Old People tell us we have always lived in S’ólhTéméxw (Our Land). We are Stó:l? (People of the River), a nation of tribes along the Fraser River. As Sq’éwlets, we are one of 30 Stó:l? communities. Sturgeon is our ancestor and we live where the Harrison River rounds the bend and flows into the Fraser River. This website shares our journey from ancient times to the present. Join us as we tell you our sxw?xwiyám (origin stories) and sqwelqwel (personal stories), through our own words in video, song, vision and memory
SFU: A Journey into Time Immemorial – Created by the SFU Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology with active participation from local Sto:lo Elders and knowledge keepers, this interactive website allows students to explore a pre-contact Sto:lo community and listen to Elders being interviewed on many topics such as weaving, First Salmon Ceremony, Welcome Song, and more.
Hauyat: Explore Our Territory – Discover ancient clam beds, archaeological digs and more in this virtual tour of Hauyat Territory, located on Hunter Island in Queen Charlotte Sound, BC.
Welcome to Naikoon Park – An interactive website that allows students to hike Naikoon Park located in the traditional territory of the Haida Nation.
Shake Up: Preserving What We Value – This MOA’s exhibition explores the convergence of earthquake science and technology with the rich Indigenous knowledge and oral history of the living cultures represented in MOA’s Northwest Coast collection.
Voices of the Canoe – This MOA exhibit provides students with the opportunity to learn about the canoe traditions of the Fijian, Squamish, and Haida helps us understand the historical and ongoing importance of canoe culture for these Indigenous peoples. This website presents a range of evidence – photographs, maps, interviews, historical texts and short films – to assist educators and students in understanding the importance of canoes for the Fijian, Squamish, and Haida peoples.
One Mind, One Heart – Learn more about the fierce opposition by the Heiltsuk Nation to the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and oil-tanker traffic in their ancestral waters. One Mind, One Heart features films, photos of Heiltsuk territory, and community protests during the Project Review Panel’s visit to Bella Bella. The MOA installation shows the ancestral guardian of the undersea world, ’Yágis, swallowing an oil tanker trespassing in Heiltsuk waters. ’Yágis, the mask was created by Heiltsuk artist ’Nusí to invoke ancient Heiltsuk teachings and the law of Káxláya Gvi’ílás in order to protect their land and seas for the future.
Living Traditions: The Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch on the Northwest Coast – Since time immemorial, the Kwakwaka’wakw have hosted potlatch ceremonies, and potlatching continues to play a central and unifying role in community life today. The repatriated Potlatch Collection at the U’mista Cultural Centre tells an epic story of the resistance and resilience of the Kwakwaka’wakw.
Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture – This website provides a detailed look at Metis history and culture sharing Metis stories, interviews, photographs, and various archival documents
Back to Batoche – This is an interactive tour on the colourful history and culture of the past and present Batoche. The website features video interviews with elders, video and photo highlights from the annual Back to Batoche festivals, Métis music, games, quizzes, photo albums, virtual tours, hundreds of pages of text to learn from, as well as a series of interactive personalized guided tours
Morning Star – Explore Alex Janvier’s masterpiece Morning Star, painted on the dome of the Haida Gwaii Salon in the Museum
Inuit Prints from Cape Dorset – Canada’s national collection of Inuit prints from Cape Dorset – the birthplace of Inuit printmaking. Offered in French, English, and Inuktitut
Iningat Ilagiit – Iningat Ilagiit, means “a place for family.” Inuit artists from Kinngait (Cape Dorset) have created thousands of drawings. Almost 4,000 of these drawings, as well as 250 photographs, are available online here. Not only can you browse the collection, but you can also build your own collections of favourite artworks in order to create your own virtual exhibitions to share with others
The Raven’s Call – “The Raven’s Call” is the most comprehensive website dedicated to the life and work of Bill Reid
Nature Lab – Virtual Field Trips – Virtual field trips allow students to travel the world and explore natural environments without leaving the classroom. Each virtual field trip contains a video, teacher guide, and student activities. Spotlight: View from a Canoe.