Games and Gamification

Based in Behchokǫ̀, Northwest Territories, this website explains games of the Dene people and their cultural context. Intended for teachers, the site also includes a "tea and bannock" page for feedback.

This report on a Dene Hand Games tournament shows that, although it was traditionally a men's sport, Dene women and girls are also participating in the games today.

Descriptions of 5 traditional Indigenous games in Canada that can be played with children.

These games were collected from many tribes to provide teachers with a rich source of material for the construction of lessons that include Indigenous perspectives.

Growing Up Ojibwe invites players to learn about Ojibwe history, language, treaty rights, and tribal sovereignty, while also better understanding connections between people and the environment (with activities including maple tapping, spearfishing, and wild rice harvesting).

From the archive of the Beaton Institute on Cape Breton Island, this video preserves the Mi'kmaq history of Waltes with a teaching of the game. Duration 38 minutes.

This teaching resource from Minecraft explores Indigenous treaty rights from pre- to post-contact.

3 Minecraft Education lessons developed for classrooms about Anishinaabe history, worldview and culture, in consultation with Knowledge Keepers.

Na'he'tse'ah is a traditional Dene hand game, played today at cultural events like the Dene Tha' assembly at Bushe and Meander River. The Royal Alberta Museum brings us this video of the game as part of their "What Makes Us Strong" gallery.

A collection of games from the Plains Cree that were documented as part of a project funded by Industry Canada. Intructions and equipment used to play the games are described in a modified method on this site. Equipment has been adapted to fit material easily accessible today.

The Mi'kmaq dice-and-bowl game Waltes, played since at least before settler contact, is experiencing a resurgence. This article briefly explains the game and focuses on the importance of games as part of cultural heritage.

An educational article that explains how games are used in Indigenous cultures to develop skills and teach values.

Set on Earth in the far distant future, this 2-player cooperative video game explores what first contact between Indigenous and Settler peoples might look like thousands of years from now. Game must be downloaded to a desktop.

In the 2D sidescroller Thunderbird Strike, fly from the Tar Sands to the Great Lakes as a thunderbird protecting Turtle Island with searing lightning against the snake that threatens to swallow the lands and waters whole.
This game is available for free on Android, IOS, and PC.

The Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association and the Be Fit For Life Network collaborated on this
project to share traditional games with our partners in Alberta.

A teaching resource from Minecraft. Students will be part of an indigenous clan living prior to the 1700s. Their clan is tasked with building a traditional house.

This Indigenous-created free video game is downloadable to desktops. It is a point-and-click game that educates players about the impact of colonization on Indigenous communities in the 1890's.