I spent my Friday afternoon at the Spadina branch of the Toronto Public Library. They've got a really great collection of Aboriginal resources that I was happy to be able to pick through and bring back to the classroom for Monday. In looking at books, I'm trying to access resources that represent different Native groups from across Canada, so that students understand that Native culture isn't monolithic--Native peoples from different regions have cultures and traditions that may look quite different.
Here are some authors of picture books I personally like and the communities they talk about. (As teachers, sometimes these resources are tricky to come by, so it's nice to have a list) It's by no means exhaustive and not all of these authors are themselves from the communities whose stories they are telling, but they are all beautifully written and illustrated:
Paul Goble (connected to the Yakima and Oglala Sioux)
Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd (connected to various Northwest Coast Native communities, like Haida, Tsimshian, and Heiltsuk peoples in British Columbia)
Paul Owen Lewis (connected to Northwest Coast First Nations)
Chad Solomon (connected to the Henvey Inlet Ojibwe First Nation in Ontario)
Tomson Highway (connected to Cree First Nations from the Prairies)
Jose Angutinngirniq (connected to Inuit peoples in Nunavut)
Qaunaq Mikkigak and Joanne Schwartz (connected to Inuit peoples in Nunavut)
I'm also really cautious about giving an exclusively historical look at Native cultures, so I was lucky enough to find several books talking about the way life looks on different modern reserves in the Northern Territories by Fifth House Publishers: Come and Learn with Me.
As we continue to explore Roles and Responsibilities and move into our next science unit on Living Things, we'll also continue to talk about some of the challenges facing Native peoples, especially looking at how many Native peoples have taken on a role in championing land and water rights. For good reason, too, I mean, we hear about the pipeline blockade at Standing Rock and the issues with pipelines in British Columbia in recent news stories, but the ongoing issues of safe water fly under the radar. For example, this is a map I hope to share with my students showing that over three quarter (84%) of Native reservations in Ontario have drinkable water issues:
Ontario Water System Risk map from National Assessment of First Nations Water and Wastewater Systems (2011)
Forgive me if this particular post seems a little more academic, but I promise pictures of smiling children in my next post, demonstrating our recent math adventures. Enjoy your weekend.
Sincerely,
Lisa Goegan
