Education Booklists

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): Kindergarten – 12
This resources is designed to answer a number of questions, including what is meant by Aboriginal education and by Aboriginal worldviews and perspectives; what is required of teachers and of the education system in order to provide appropriate and authentic teaching in line with the First Peoples Principles of Learning; and where teachers can turn for guidance and support in modifying their practice to incorporate new content and approaches. Specifically discusses connection to land as a characteristic of Aboriginal worldviews and perspectives and the need to incorporate this in the classroom. (eBook)

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): Kindergarten – 12
This book supports science teachers, teacher candidates, and science educators preparing to implement science curricula that recognize Indigenous knowledge as a foundational way to understand the physical world.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 8 – 12
Lesson plans which encourage teachers to incorporate First Nations, Métis, and Inuit ways of knowing into the classroom in the four thematic areas of identity, health, Residential Schools, and land. Includes lesson plans directly related to Indigenous peoples’ connection to land.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): K - 5
The calming rhythm of the words echoes the rhythm of the land in this picture book about the moon calendar of the northern Cree. Highlights how we are all connected to the seasons and the cycle of nature. Written in English and northern Plains Cree y-dialect.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 1 - 3
Set in the Cariboo Chilcotin region, Dipnetting With Dad is a delightful and colourful story of a father teaching his son the Secwepemc method of fishing known as dipnetting. Together they visit the sweat lodge, mend the nets, select the best fishing spot and catch and pack their fish through rugged bush back to the family home for traditional preparation.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): Préscolaire – 2 (PreK-2)
A Day With Yayah is a story sharing the special relationship that is built when a child learns from their Elders. Set in the Okanagon, BC, a First Nations family goes on an outing to forage for herbs and mushrooms. Grandmother passes down her knowledge of plant life to her young grandchildren.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 1 – 4
The story of a determined Ojibwe Grandmother (Nokomis) Josephine Mandamin and her great love for Nibi (water). Nokomis walks to raise awareness of our need to protect Nibi for future generations, and for all life on the planet. By her example Josephine invites us all to take up our responsibility to protect our water, the giver of life, and to protect our planet for all generations.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): Préscolaire – 2 (PreK-2)
A young child, her grandmother and mother are going out to pick wild yarrow. As Grandmother gets ready, the child and her mom wait. Grandmother leads the way to the field of blossoms, where they can finally start to pick … only now they have to wait for Mom! The simple story, written in Cree and English and accompanied by rich acrylic illustrations, shows the patience, love and humor involved as three generations accommodate one another on a family outing.

Through the Squamish language and cultural traditions, learn about Indigenous plant relationships and how we are all connected to nature through plant-based foods, medicines, and materials.  The best way to learn about plants is through observing and interacting with living examples. Join Held by the Land author Leigh Joseph and her children in The Land Knows Me, an educational, hands-on journey to discover all the wonderful uses and gifts of the plants around us. Through the Indigenous traditions of Squamish culture you'll learn how to ground yourself on the land, how to introduce yourself in the Squamish language to your plant relatives, and the many teachings about plants, cultural stories, and learnings related to the flora seen on your walk. This essential and colorful introduction to Indigenous plant knowledge includes informative sidebars, reflection questions, and plant names in both Squamish and English so children can learn a new language.  The Land Knows Me concludes with a 15 plant profile directory featuring detailed plant illustrations and kid-friendly botanical drawings to aid in learning about the many great uses for plants and the native history behind them. You'll meet plants like: Ḵwiĺayus (kw-ill-eye-os), Red-Flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum Ḵ'emeláý (k-em-ill-eye), Bigleaf Maple, Acer macrophyllum Séliýaý (s-elle-ee-eye), Oregon Grape, Mahonia nervosa Xápaýay (hey-pie-eye), Western Red Cedar, Thuja plicata Ḵwe7úpaý (kw-oh-pa-eye), Pacific Crabapple, Malus fusca And more! The directory also includes important safety and proper harvesting information for parents who are looking for more opportunities to educate and engage with kids while getting to know the secrets of the land around us. Including mindfulness activities, how-to crafts, and yummy treats, The Land Knows Me calls you back again and again to learn something new with each engaging read! Follow the stream, cross the field, and step into a forest full of rich, botanical diversity rooted in history and tradition.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 3 – 5
A Métis grandmother takes her granddaughter out onto the land to teach her about how to pick traditional medicines.The granddaughter learns about the Métis connection to the land and the traditional Métis beliefs and stories of plants as food and medicine. Text in English and Michif-Cree. Comes with CD of the book narrated in English Michif-Cree.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 2 – 3
To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the sockeye salmon is more than just a source of food. Over its life cycle, it nourishes the very land and forests that the Skeena River runs through and where the Gitxsan make their home. The Sockeye Mother explores how the animals, water, soil, and seasons are all intertwined.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 2 – 4
This book explains how each Coast Salish family played a traditional role in taking care of our Mother Earth. From controlled burning to ethical hunting and fishing practices, the Coast Salish people were, and still are, taught by their elders to respect Mother Earth.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 3 – 8
Created by Indigenous educators and advisors from across Canada, these inquiry-based books explore how First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities are connected to the land they live on. Includes 16 student books and a teacher’s guide. Part of the Take Action for Reconciliation series

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 4 – 6
From the past and into the future, this book reveals the role of Indigenous peoples in taking care of the land and using it responsibly. Part of the Indigenous Life in Canada series.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 9 – 12
Through words, archival photographs, and 86 full-color maps, the book details the mythic beginnings of the St :lo people and how white settlement turned their homeland into the bustling metropolis of Vancouver.

Niveau scolaire (Grade level): 11 – 12
Near the Ontario-Michigan border, Canada’s densest concentration of chemical manufacturing surrounds the Aamjiwnaang First Nation. This book reveals how the colonial legacy of inflicting harm on Indigenous bodies persists through a system that fails to adequately address health and ecological suffering in First Nations communities, including a failure to acknowledge and respect Indigenous connections to land and place. (eBook)

Grades 7-9
I could hand you a braid of sweetgrass as thick and shining as the braid that hung down my grandmother's back. But it is not mine to give, nor yours to take. Wiingaashk belongs to herself. I offer, in her place, a braid of stories meant to heal our relationship with the world. As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer is trained to use the tools of science to ask questions of nature. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces plants and animals as our oldest teachers. Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, Kimmerer demonstrated how when we listen to the languages of other beings--from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen--we are capable of understanding the generosity of the earth and learn to give our own gifts in return in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth's oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults highlights how acknowledging and celebrating our reciprocal relationship with the earth results in a wider, more complete understanding of our place and purpose.