First Nations schools showcase modern way of life

Page 3

The six communities that comprise the Ogemawahj Tribal Council (OTC) have collaborated to produce a social studies curriculum for Grade 6 students that teaches how contemporary Native people live, both on and off reserves. The classroom activity package developed by two teachers was put together to help overcome old stereotypes still prevalent about Native people and because there were not enough relevant teaching resources available to counteract the stereotypes. Other social studies materials that include Native people, where they exist at all, are either American, outdated, or they focus on the way Native people lived in the past, said OTC Education Advisor Elizabeth Bigwin.

Bigwin said they found that in some cases, local school boards were using First Nations designed materials, but they were from cultures that were different from their own.

"The Six Nations area has a wonderful package for Mohawk-based materials, and we thought it was important that if you are living in Simcoe County, for example, you should be studying the Ojibwe... We wanted to try to get something that was geographically suitable for our area in particular."

The First Nations under the OTC umbrella are the Mississaugas of Alderville, Mississaugas of Scugog Island, Chippewas of Beausoleil, Chippewas of Mnijikaning, Chippewas of Georgina Island and the Pottawatomi of Moose Deer Point. The curriculum unit they designed and completed last September includes a booklet on each one of them.

Bigwin, a former teacher, along with researcher Art Beaver, and writer and former school principal Alison Bradshaw, worked with these communities to design an educational resource package that delivers a modern view of all six First Nations, and that gives students activities to do that reinforce the lessons. Other contributors to the project were numerous community members who reviewed the materials and offered suggestions for improvements prior to publication.

Although Bradshaw is not Native, she has worked her whole career in First Nations communities and organizations, has married into one of the OTC bands, and formerly was a principal in one of the OTC schools. She conducted the survey and wrote the material.

The writing job was posted, but there weren't a lot of takers. "We wanted someone competent, who could do the job without us babysitting," said Bigwin.

Bigwin added that they had to do a lot of editing because of the amount of input they got from the communities. One challenge was that the same people were not always critiquing subsequent revisions, therefore new suggestions arose late in the process. Each of the six booklets for students contains 36 to 40 pages. A much larger teacher resource package containing supplementary activities for the students accompanies the booklets.

There was a lot to do before writing of the curriculum unit was begun.

First, Bigwin said, they surveyed teachers to find out what materials they were currently using to teach social studies. Beaver worked with Bigwin on designing the survey. They put it out to the school boards through the superintendents, to ensure they got feedback from educators.

They targeted Grade 6 because that is the level at which the Ontario public school social studies curriculum is based on Aboriginal people.

"The materials are designed to meet the Grade 6 social studies curriculum," said Bigwin, "which is entitled Heritage and Citizenship, Grade 6, Aboriginal Peoples and Explorers." Because all Grade 6 classes in Ontario must follow the same program of studies, "We decided to jump on that and develop something," said Bigwin.

"The important piece to this is the voice. We thought if people are learning about Beausoleil First Nation, for example, then they should be hearing it from us, not someone else."

The classroom activity package's introduction sums up the OTC's rationale for designing the learning materials:

"We (OTC) believe that our involvement in curriculum development is o the utmost importance for we can offer the authenticity to the content that must be there. We feel that students should learn not only about Native people, but should be learning from Native people. It is our hope that, through this material, those who live alongside and among us will gain a deeper understanding of what our lives are about."

The colour-illustrated booklets discuss governance, contemporary life, issues and a resource section. The contemporary life section covers population, language, culture and tradition, religions, food, clothing, homes, buildings and services, transportation, employment and economic development, education and recreation. There is a little bit of history and some information on treaties, self-government and land claims. The resource section enables further study by listing friendship centres, First Nations and Aboriginal organizations, as well as Internet resources.

Curriculum Services Canada has endorsed the educational package with its seal of recommendation.

Ideally, Bigwin said, the materials will be used in a group setting, so the children can learn from each other and share ideas related to the supplementary activities.

The OTC published and distributed the materials through Goodminds.com to their own First Nations and sent copies to all the elementary schools governed by eight other southern Ontario school boards with which they have established partnerships. In addition, Bigwin said they followed up with visits to the schools, to see whether the material was being used. They found that in many schools it was received with enthusiasm, but in some schools it had been relegated to the library and teachers were not aware that the resource was available.

For more information, contact Bigwin via e-mail: lbigwin@ogemawahj.on.ca.