I work hard to be inclusive and respectful of the history of aboriginal peoples in my lesson planning. For example, I use stories from First Nations, Inuit, and Metis to introduce topics. I asked the school Librarian and the Aboriginal Educator for advice when I was developing a lesson. For example, I asked them for information or asked them for their opinion on the aboriginal content I selected. I also researched several aboriginal stories for each exercise and chose the ones that I thought would best appeal to the young learners. In my opinion, there are many options for including aboriginal content into one’s lessons, and I am curious to discover more information. I think it is important to be open to learning about aboriginal culture, and when I show my curiosity, it is contagious to the students. Here are two examples of how I applied aboriginal culture into my lessons. When teaching nighttime and daytime activities, I told the young learners a First Nations legend about Mother Moon and Father Sun. The students asked questions, and we discussed the importance of myths as a way of making sense of the world. Second, I made a strong effort to show how aboriginal culture has practical applications. When I gave a lesson on Canadian money, I used the art work of Bill Reid, a prominent First Nations artist, to show the importance of aboriginal art. The students recognized the importance of Haida art on the Canadian collectible coins that I brought to show them. I noticed that many students at the school had implemented a culture circle where the students talked about aboriginal culture. One student noticed the First Nations symbol for a bear, which was on the coin I was using as an example. This shows the students are gaining a deeper appreciation and knowledge of aboriginal culture. By integrating aboriginal culture into my lessons, I think I showed that I value and respect the history of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis in Canada. 

First Peoples Principles of Learning

A few links to start with or refer to:

First Peoples Principles of Learning – Poster – from FNESC
http://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PUB-LFP-POSTER-Principles-of-Learning-First-Peoples-poster-11×17.pdf

First Peoples Principles of Learning – Blog – by Jo Chrona from FNESC
https://firstpeoplesprinciplesoflearning.wordpress.com/

Learning First Peoples Classroom Resources – from FNESC
http://www.fnesc.ca/learningfirstpeoples/