Teacher Resources

Lesson Plans

The Glooscap Heritage Centre is currently working towards providing a shared lesson plan page featuring plans and ideas for all age and grade levels.

If you have a lesson that you have created that pertains to Mik'maq culture or history and would like to share it with other educators please send your plan to gordon@glooscapheritagecentre.com. All donated lesson plans will be reviewed for accuracy and fitted to outcomes to make searching easy for other teachers. The author will be given credit and can request to have the lesson plan removed at anytime.

Educator's that use shared plans are asked to give the author credit and not reproduce for profit any posted plans.

The first lesson plans will be available on our website in January 2010.

Speakers

Dorene Bernard

Dorene is an elder from Indian Brook First Nation who has worked for a long time with residential school survivors and contributed to the documentary "Cloaked in Savagery." She has organized the Grassroots Grandmother Circle; an effort to restore the vital presence and role of Mi'kmaq elders all over the Mi'kmaq nation. She now travels to communities, organizations, and schools sharing history and leading workshops.

• Grassroots Grandmothers Circles
• Sacred Medicine Workshop
• Medicine Bag workshop
• Traditional Medicines Workshop
• Drum Making Workshops
• Star Quilt Workshops
• 7 Sacred teachings
• Legacy of Indian Residential Schools
• Historic Trauma and Residential Schools
• Traditional Shawl Making workshops
• Talking Circles
• Sharing Circles
• Rattle Making Workshop
• Dream Catchers Workshop
• Medicine Wheel Workshop

To book Dorene, e-mail: flagroot@hotmail.com

A Tribe Called Mi'kmaq

This is a brand new drum group based in We'kopekwitk (Millbrook), Nova Scotia, 'A Tribe Called Mi'kmaq' has been singing together since February, 2009 but their members are well known on the powwow trail having performed with other drum groups over the past 15 years. They have competed across Canada in singing competitions and have earned a 5th place finish in both the Odawa Competition Powwow in Ottawa and the Six Nations Champion of Champion's Gathering near Brantford, Ontario.

During the winter they book performances for schools and events.

Price is negotiable.

To book A Tribe Called Mi'kmaq, contact Michael Stephens by telephone at 902.986.5220 or by e-mail: smaknis@gmail.com.

Gordon Pictou

Gordon was a history teacher for seven years with the Halifax Regional School Board before joining the Glooscap Heritage Centre team in May 2009 as Interpreter and Program Director. Gordon has developed 3 presentations for schools all one hour in length.

Elementary Presentation - Gordon tells a Kluskap legend (the story of the lost boy) and discusses the details by asking and answering questions. He then gives the teaching of the feather (why eagles are special, red path, and how to earn a feather). In closing relates the idea that there are four parts to a person; the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional selves and all must be in balance to be healthy and happy.

The Juniour High presentation consists of a Kluskap legend (Beaver and Porcupine), different approches to wellness - sweat lodge, talking circles, being aware of your emotions and how they influence others, some history about residential schools and the Indian Act, and closes with an emphasis on how Mi'kmaq communities are starting on their own path towards self-government and sustainability.

The High School presentation begins with a Kluskap legend (Creation Story)and the unpacking of some of the complexities of oral tradition. The importance of culture in our lives and being proud of who you are and your cultural legacy. How life has changed for Mi'kmaq people from pre-contact life - Indian Act - Residential Schools - Charter of Rights and Freedoms - and the path to self-government. It closes with a thought about the power of in understanding yourself and living with purpose and intention.

Price is $100 plus $0.50/km

To book Gordon, telephone 902.843.3493 or e-mail: gordon@glooscapheritagecentre.com

Teachers Link to Resources

These links have been reviewed but at times websites change addresses. To report a broken link or recommend a new link please email: gordon@glooscapheritagecentre.com

http://www.glooscapheritagecentre.com
Will soon have host of links, Question and Answer page where questions are given to people with expertise to answer correctly, lesson plan ideas, contacts for public speakers and workshop holders. Still under construction but will be ready to launch very soon.

http://www.muiniskw.org
Culture, history, issues, spirituality, oral traditions, language, and events.

http://www.danielnpaul.com
Has many useful links, wealth of information on history, education, current issues, the Indian Act, and profiles of influential people.

http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/mikmaq_intermediate.pdf
Lesson plan for using the Four directions website - Stephen Augustine's Mi'kmaq Creation Story - understanding the worldview the story represents.

http://iportal.usask.ca/index.php?sid=992445708&t=index&having=288216
Indigenous Studies Portal
Excellent research site for High School students. Search engine for journals, electronic pdf's, and websites related to First Nation topics.

http://www.native-languages.org/mikmaq.htm
Links to language, culture, history, issues, spirituality, and legends.

http://www.americanindian.net/links12mi%27kmaq.html
94 links to useful sites specifically about Mi'kmaq culture and History.
Author: Phil Konstantin

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mikmaq/
Mi'kmaq Portraits Collection

http://mrc.uccb.ns.ca
Mi'kmaq Resource Centre
Updates Mi'kmaq reading lists regularly and links to other interesting sites

http://www.redcrane.ca
Alan Syliboy's website. View his art, bio, and many great links to Native art sites.

http://www.ncns.ca
Native Council of NS

http://www.mikmaqonline.org
Mi'kmaq Online talking dictionary - translate English words into Mi'kmaq or Mi'kmaq words into English and listen how to pronounce them.

http://collectionscanada.ca/aboriginal/020008-2000-e.html
Not focused specifically on Mi'kmaq FN but has a wealth of information on First Nation issues

http://canadiana.org/citm/themes/aboriginals_e.html
Canadiana has lots of information about Treaties and early relations between Europeans and First Nations.

http://home.cshore.com/waaban/games.html
A catalogue to order traditional games and crafts from a variety of First Nation groups. Interesting just to see the variety and games and puzzles that were played in different parts of North America.

http://www.firstnationhelp.com
First Nation Help Desk is a great resource - talking posters, books, and videos of elder storytelling. Listen to songs and read the words in Mi'kmaq to familiar tunes - O'Kanata for example.

http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/ethno/etb0160e.shtml
Museum of Civilization's Gateway to Aboriginal Heritage has many very interesting links and information and photographs of material culture. If you click on kids and teachers from this page there are a number of great children's activities.

http://www.invisiblebooks.com/Rand.pdf
Complete transcriptions of Silas T. Rand's transcribed Legends of Glooscap. Keep in mind that he was not a perfect speaker of the Mi'kmaq language and filtered the stories through a European missionaries understanding of the world. He was the first missionary we know of to try to create a Mi'kmaq orthography and transcribe stories.

http://www.invisiblebooks.com/Rand2.pdf
Second half of legends

http://www.indianheadfirstnations.com/mikmaqlinks.htm
A lot of good links sorted by category.

http://nativedance.ca/index.php/Mi'kmaq?tp=p&bg=1&ln=e
Information about Mi'kmaq dances.

http://www2.brandonu.ca/library//cjns/24.2/cjnsv24no2_pg403-423.pdf
Interesting article about pre-contact Mi'kmaq life

http://www.erudit.org/revue/jcha/2003/v14/n1/010320ar.pdf
"The Miíkmaq, Poor Settlers, and the Nova Scotia Fur Trade, 1783-1853"
Intreresting article on NS Fur trade

http://www.firstnationsdrum.com
Online journal with focus on Canada's First Nations issues.

Glooscap Outreach Program

Click here to download the Kluskap Outreach Booking Form

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