Looking for a virtual field trip to a museum?

Have you heard of Aanischaaukamikw (Cree Cultural Institute)? They are physically located in Oujé-Bougoumou, Quebec but have an excellent online presence which students of many ages will enjoy exploring.

The institute’s main collection is of items belonging to the James Bay Cree. You can take a Virtual Reality Tour on their website or have students view and learn about individual items in their collections.

For instance, here’s a Baby Charm made by Bella Joly in the 1960s out of thread and wood, or this spoon made of bear hip bone by an unknown maker.

If you click “Browse” in the main menu, you can sort the objects by both materials used and creator.

Oujé-Bougoumou is itself a great community to learn about - as its design was guided in the 1990s by famed architect Douglas Cardinal.

Honouring Our Bundles YouTube Channel

Honouring Our Bundles has a YouTube channel with videos that feature stories from various Indigenous knowledge keepers and Elders. Below I have listed just three from Honouring Our Bundles that might be of interest to your students, but I recommend taking a look to see what might be of interest to your students.

Prior to sharing them with your students, I suggest watching this video where William Buck addresses teachers directly, and speaks about how to respectfully and accurately include Indigenous stories (or tellings) in your teaching.

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1. Trees in the Winter by Isaac Murdoch

   This is a short two-minute video from storyteller and knowledge keeper Issac Murdoch. Issac’s Ojibway name is Manzinapkinegego’anaabe / Bombgiizhik and he is from the fish clan and is from Serpent River First Nation.

2. Origin of the Canoe by Wilfred Buck

Wilfred Buck is a Cree astronomer and science educator.

3. The Moon by Tehahenteh Miller

This four-minute animated film is a telling from Tehahenteh Miller (Six Nations).

Author Read Aloud - It's a Mitig! by Bridget George

I was delighted to learn about this video read aloud with Anishnaabe author-illustrator and graphic designer Bridget George. I love the bright and lively images, and how the rhyming text flows seamlessly between Ojibwe and English. I think students from K to 3 might enjoy the story the most.

Bridget also includes a small introduction to herself and the book at the beginning of the video, and shares her aim for the book to help families who are (re)connecting with their culture.

The video is featured on X University’s (formerly Ryerson University) YouTube channel XU PowWow. You can watch Bridget read the book below and/or purchase this resource for your classroom at goodminds.com

Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again

Have you or your students heard of Mary Two-Axe Earley? Mary, a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) elder from Kahnawake, was an activist and a pioneer of the modern women’s movement on this land. You can learn more about her here, here, and here.

If you have access to a CAMPUS subscription through the National Film Board, beginning this month you will be able to view Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again and have access to the study guide which connects this film with Civics/Citizenship and Indigenous Studies, and is geared towards students aged 14+.

Watch the trailer, which includes footage of Mary standing her ground against an obstinate Prime Minister P.E. Trudeau.

Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again looks at gender discrimination in the Indian Act and connects it to the crises in Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, by centering Mary’s story of activism.

In this clip, members of Mary’s family read the letter from the Superintendent of Indian Affairs which informed her that she had been stripped of her Indian Status after marrying a White man.

More links and information

Here is a link to the Q & A with the filmmaker, Courtney Montour, herself a Mohawk woman from Kahnawake. Montour explains the context behind the film, including the use of the term “Indian” and Canadian law under the Indian Act. You can also read this interview with Montour from October 2021 from the Toronto Star.

  The film has won multiple awards including

• Best Documentary Short American Indian Film Festival (2021)

• Documentary Short imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Toronto, Canada, (2021)

• Best Director Weengushk International Film Festival (2021)

Finally, you can view this short video from Historica Canada, who highlighted Mary Two-Axe Earley as part of their Women in Canadian History series. This video might be suitable for older Primary students as well.

Watch the Historica Canada feature on Mary Two-Axe Earley.

Missisakis : On The Indigenous History Of The Tkaronto Islands

If you are hoping to centre the knowledge of Indigenous peoples in your teaching and bring social studies, geography, or history alive for your students, I think you will find this new short film VERY useful.

This month, the Bawaadan Collective released Missisakis: On the Indigenous History of the Tkaronto Islands. I loved watching this beautiful film and immediately thought it would be a wonderful resource to use in Junior, Intermediate, and Senior classrooms

• To discuss the limitations of the land acknowledgement

• To learn more about treaties and modern land rights from a Mississauga perspective

• To understand the significance of the Toronto (Tkaronto) Islands to the Mississauga people and how it has been used throughout time

• To introduce the concepts of land stewardship and revitalization.

The first voice you hear belongs to Darin Wynbega, who is the Traditional Knowledge and Land Use Coordinator of the Mississauga of the Credit First Nation. He is followed by Margaret Sault who is the Director of Lands, Membership and Research, also at the Mississauga of the Credit First Nation.

I have often heard about the sacredness of the Islands to the Mississauga people, and this video is a wonderful testament to this long history. I am so grateful that this video was produced.

If you are teaching in or around Toronto, I think this is a must-watch.

Here is the description text from the Bawaadan Collective, who created this video.

Moving beyond land acknowledgements, Missisakis explores the history and significance of the Toronto Islands from a Mississauga perspective. As with any short film, we present an introduction to history that spans centuries. We encourage viewers to continue to explore this history, learn from Indigenous historians who can share this history, and attend to their calls to action. We wish to express sincere veneration to the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Massive Miigwetch / Nya:wen to Darin Wybenga and Margaret Sault for their supreme trust and generosity. Our approach to the research, development and concept of this video was led by our combined understanding of community engagement best practices with Indigenous partners and First Nations.

Missisakis : On The Indigenous History Of The Tkaronto Islands

Written / Directed / Score

Darin Wybenga / Margaret Sault / Bawaadan Collective

Produced in partnership with - Waterfront BIA / City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation