Hot Topics

National Aboriginal Day : June 21, 2016

        

 

 

 

What is National Aboriginal Day?

National Aboriginal Day : Honouring Our Past, Building Our Future video

How did National Aboriginal Day start?

20th Anniversary : History of Aboriginal Day video

What does National Aboriginal Day mean to you?

NAD Video from 2010

NAD Video from 2012

Aboriginal Day Events:  There will be celebrations throughout the Lower Mainland and  in Mission.

Here are some events you can attend.

Fraser River Heritage Park, Mission BC : Tuesday, June 21, 2016 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

Trout Lake, Vancouver BC : Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Educational Unit Plan

Storytelling

Traditional storytelling is “used to teach about cultural beliefs, values, customs, rituals, history, practices, relationships, and ways of life. First Nations storytelling is a foundation for holistic learning, relationship building, and experiential learning.” (First Nations Pedagogy Online. Storytelling accessed 07.06.2016)

Here are some stories for borrowing.

People of the Land : Legends of the Four Host First Nations :  Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh : Beautiful photographs of recognizable places in BC compliment the traditional stories from each nation.  Text accompanying each story is minimal, leaving lots of white space on each page.  Each story reflects the importance and significance of land to First Nations people. (Gr. 4-12)

 

Raven’s Greatest Creation by David Bouchard : A story dreamed by this master storyteller.  It tells of how Raven creates a new animal, and gives the responsibility of teaching this new being to the animals. Each animal – bear, eagle, wolf, cougar, buffalo, etc. –  has a special quality to offer this newly created life. A CD of readings of this story in Ojibwe, English and French accompanies the book. (Gr. K-12)

 

 

 

Books by Robert James Challenger : Following are several books of original short stories by this prolific author.  Each story is a page or so long, and is accompanied by a simple picture.  Challenger’s stories are told in traditional First Nations form.  Each includes an animal, it’s environment and a teaching of one kind of another. (Gr. 2-8)

 

 

          

 

SWSW Digital Library Resources

Oral Story Telling

We have a section under the menu item “Meaningful Contributions” devoted to FNMI oral traditions. Here, you will find stories being told, and pedagogy and Pro-D about traditional stories and storytelling.

First Peoples Principles of Learning

Many of us in our MPSD Learning Community are familiar with the 9 First Peoples Principles of Learning.  Joanne Chrona is the Curriculum Coordinator for FNESC (First Nations Education Steering Committee) and has created this website to support a deepening of teachers’ understanding of these 9 FPPL.