Learn
Whether you are a member of First Peoples or not (students, teachers, parents, or other interested parties), you will find here various resources and learning activities proposed by members of First Peoples. As this project is in continuous development, do not hesitate to revisit this page regularly; new content and updates will follow.
Explore the worldviews of First Peoples in the following themes:
- Spirituality
- Philosophy and values
- Legends
- Traditions
- Lifestyles
- Relations between Nations
The goal
- Gain an informed and authentic perspective on historical and contemporary issues that affect First Peoples.
- Share different ways of learning that build on the worldviews of First Peoples.
These ways of learning
- Are developed in a holistic, reflective, experiential, and relational approach;
- Are based on four fundamental aspects: intellectual, spiritual, physical and emotional;
- Are rooted in the local setting - the territory - memory, the past, stories and are based on myths and legends, ceremonies and rituals;
- Are carried out from a perspective of learning within a community. They are based on the family, the Elders, the Bearers of knowledge; the community, the language, the Nation to which the individual belongs;
- Favour models of knowledge transmission where orality has a privileged place as well as diagrams, symbols and images which are often preferred to the written word;
- Take into account that the individual is the master of his or her own learning; learning as primarily lifelong self-development;
- Prefer models based on observation, handling and imitation;
- Recognise that some knowledge is sacred and will only be shared with special permission and in certain circumstances.
In order to address the ways of learning developed by First Peoples both within and outside of Canada, a symposium: Bâtir des liens : Mobiliser les histoires autochtones pour le changement social. Building Connections : Mobilizing Indigenous Histories for Social Change was developed in partnership with the University of Ottawa's Institute of Indigenous Research and Studies. Workshops on Indigenous pedagogy were presented, via video-conference, throughout the Fall and Winter 2021-2022 sessions. They will be available soon.