Social Studies 5: Ways of Life: Indigenous

The Indigenous people of Canada a small but influential community that remind Canadians of their country’s ancient past and their contemporary responsibilities to its first residents.

A 2.5 minute animated video from CBC Kids News that explains what the word Indigenous means and how we use it.

This virtual exhibition looks at some facets of the history of Canada's Aboriginal peoples, underlining their fight for cultural survival and sharing many of their modern-day contributions.

An article from the archived Alberta Online Encyclopedia.

The flag of Nunavut has one on it and if you visit northern Canada, you’ll probably run into quite a few of them. It's an inukshuk (say i-NOOK-shook) and you might be surprised at the many uses Inuit people have for them.

In this short video, an RCMP officer watches an Inuit family build the Northern landmark (an inukshuk), a sign of human activity on the vast arctic landscape (1931).

In this short video depicting a scene from Canadian history, a family of Attikamek First Nations show a French Canadian family how to harvest the syrup of the sugar maple (1710).

Learn about the homes that the Iroquois Nation used in the past.

Isaac, from the Anishinabek Nation, talks about the sacredness of wampum.

Isaac, from the Anishinabek Nation, talks about the agreements that wampum is used to document.

The site presents the concept of laws as understood by the First Nations people through descriptions of aboriginal views on the governance of life.

Learn about how dogsleds came to be used for mail service in the Yukon.

This web series follows a young Indigenous boy on a rite of passage—a vision quest—where he learns about the Seven Sacred Laws. Available in English, French, and Anishinaabemowin.

An animated Ted Ed video that explains the way that snow can be used to keep you warm in the winter.

A resource with information in Blackfoot, English and French which features indigenous knowledge about healing plants.

A video about the traditional harvesting of sweetgrass that was produced by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

Isaac Murdoch of the Anishinabek Nation talks about promises.

Bella Morrisseau Whiskeyjack, a nine-year-old from the Saddle Lake Cree First Nation in Alberta, shares her story about Treaty 6 and life on the reserve.

Seneca faithkeeper Pete Jemison speaks on how the longhouse was constructed and what it means to the Haudenosaunee people.

This web page reviews the Blackfoot indigenous knowledge and philosophy.

This web page reviews the Blackfoot indigenous knowledge and philosophy.

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).

An experiential learning site that integrates Indigenous stories and ceremonies based in two land sites.

This website shares the culture and history of the Blackfoot-speaking people as they know and understand it. Learn how they lived with the land, the buffalo, and their families.

This collection of films from the National Film Board provide a portrait of the Inuit experience, past and present, in animated shorts and documentaries.

In the Haida culture, the cedar tree is known as the 'tree of life'. Traditionally, when babies were born, they were placed in cedar boxes. When people died, their bodies were also placed in cedar boxes. These trees are also used for one of the well-known symbols of Haida culture - totem poles.

In this short video, students will learn how to understand the information from a clan crest totem pole.

This feature-length documentary traces the journey of the Haisla people to reclaim the G'psgolox totem pole that went missing from their British Columbia village in 1929.

This 3-minute video describes the history and culture of totem poles. Learn about the style and design of totem poles and how the crests tell a family's story.

A sacred totem pole that has been in Victoria, B.C. museum for over a century has been returned to its owners, the Nuxalk Nation. CBC’s Wawmeesh Hamilton takes us through its repatriation back home to Bella Coola, B.C. and he tells us what this homecoming means for the community.

A great guide for incorporating indigenous perspectives throughout the social studies curriculum.

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

Lesson plans for grade 5 students that show how Métis ideas of community and kinship differ from mainstream Western ideas.

A lesson plan for grades 4-9 students from the Rupertsland Institute that explores the role of scrip Métis-Settler relationships.

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.