About this Resource
Welcome!
This resource was created by Laura Forsythe Red River Metis and Bachelor of Education Candidate at Simon Fraser University to help classroom teachers and staff better serve the needs of their students through the inclusion of Metis perspectives when introducing content specfic to the Metis. The process of development was one of information gathering of exsisting resources whose contributors include Metis Elders, teachers, historians along with members of Metis community throughout Canada.
Accent or no accent? Many people and groups, particularly in the West and the North, have dropped the accent in Métis. Both spellings are acceptable in English. It often depends on the origin of the Metis roots. Those who pay tribute to French lineage use Métis, and those with Anglo roots use Metis. In this resource I will use both as different associations and organizations have preferences.
Why is it important to hear the Voice of Metis people in the creation of our lessons?
The first—and most important—step towards understanding Métis history is to recognize that Metis people are strong people. Despite the severity of the many issues that individuals, families and communities face they demonstrate their resiliency. The shared history between Aboriginal peoples and European settlers differs from that of the Metis and this should be recognized. Generations of Metis peoples experienced profound, unsought and irreversible changes in their cultural and family life as a result of their position between these two groups.
These resources are from the Metis perspective due simply to the fact that the creators of each resource are Indigenous and Metis. This provides a more authentic resprestantion of the Métis experience. There is a critque of materials not authored by the Metis to explain the Metis expereince in both History and Politics of war due to the problematic bias and interpretation of those whose ancestors have not lived the experience.
Accessibility of the Sources
The resources were selected with the understanding that educators in K-12 required content along with lesson plans that can be updated to suit their classrooms and teaching styles. All resources can be altered and used in any range of classes within the BC education system. They are not specfic to any discpline and there is offering for most prescribed subjects such as Social Studies, English, Science, History, Physical Education, Mathematics, Political Sciences, Humanties and others.If utilized well they can meet any number of prescribed learning outcomes. The locations and accessibility of sources were annotated and considered with British Columbia as the central location but resources from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have been included due the wealth of Metis knowledge found in these sources.
Which are the Prescribed Learning Outcomes that can be Found in this Resource?
As previously mentioned these resources meet various Prescribed Learning Outcomes for numerous grades such as;
Oral Language
Use speaking and listening to interact with others for the purposes of;
– contributing to group success
– discussing and analysing ideas and opinions (e.g, debating)
– improving and deepening comprehension
– discussing concerns and resolving problems
– negotiating consensus or agreeing to differ
– completing a variety of tasks
Listen critically to understand and analyse ideas and informationby;
- summarizing and synthesizing
- generating questions
- visualizing and sharing
- making inferences and drawing conclusions
- interpreting the speaker’s verbal and nonverbal messages, purposes, and perspectives
- analysing ignoring distractions
Reading and Viewing by;
- responding to selections they read or view
- expressing opinions and making judgments supported by explanations and evidence
- explaining connections (text‐ to‐self, text‐to‐text, and text‐to‐ world)
- identifying personally meaningful selections, passages, and images
- through a variety of Metis historical and fictional pieces discussions in the class
Music;
- apply rhythm, melody, and elements of expression in performance
- repertoire to interpret a range of thoughts, images, and feelings
- participate in music from a range of historical, cultural, and social contexts
- using the Metis fiddle, drum and jigging music lessons
Art;
- use a variety of image sources to create images
- including observation, emotions, ideas and concepts, imagination, memories, and sensory experiences
- through the use of Metis Art lessons
Mathematics;
- demonstrate an understanding of preservation of equality by modelling preservation of equality concretely, pictorially, and symbolically applying preservation of equality to solve equations
- demonstrate an understanding of circles by describing the relationships among radius, diameter, and circumference of circles relating circumference to pi determining the sum of the central angles constructing circles with a given radius or diameter solving problems involving the radii, diameters, and circumferences of circles through use of the medicine wheel
Physical Education;
- relate the effects of regular participation in a variety of types of physical activities to quality of life (e.g., stress reduction, prevents the onset of certain diseases, increased overall physical and emotional health)
- through the use of Metis jigging, demonstration and particpation in traditonal roles (buffalo hunt game etc)
Social Studies;
- apply critical thinking skills
– including comparing, classifying, inferring, imagining, verifying, using analogies, identifying relationships, summarizing, and drawing conclusions
– to a range of problems and issues
- use various types of graphs, tables, timelines, and maps to obtain or communicate information
- compile a body of information from a range of sources
- defend a position on a contemporary or historical issue
- deliver a formal presentation on a selected issue or inquiry using two or more forms of representation
- identify influences and contributions of ancient societies to present‐day cultures
- assess ways technological innovations enabled ancient peoples to adapt to and modify their environments, satisfy their needs, increase exploration and trade, develop their cultures
Science;
- describe the relationship between scientific principles and technology
- demonstrate ethical, responsible, cooperative behaviour
- perform experiments using the scientific method
References
As all content hyperlinks to original sites and is not housed on this platform citations will not be given.
However a special thank you to the following organizations and affiliations for their commitment to building the knowledge base of the Metis;
British Columbia
Metis Nation British Columbia
BC Métis Federation
Métis Commission for Children and Families of B.C.
Strong Nations
Ontario
Metis Nation Ontario
Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario
National Film Board
Saskatchewan
Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research
Indian and Metis Curriculum Advisory Committee
Manitoba
Canadian Aboriginal Resources
Pemmican Publications
Halfbreed Reasoning
Winnipeg Free Press
Quebec
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