Indigenous Content – Visually Speaking

Jump to teacher resources and book reviews.

New Material:

Introduction to Carving: Soap Carving. An Intermediate lesson that looks at Indigenous carving in BC, as well as the ancient art of carving from various civilizations. It provides suggestions for different age/skill levels.

Lesson Plans

Braiding a Story A Grade 3 unit plan in which students connect local Indigenous culture to their own. It integrates with the Social Studies curriculum.

Weaving with Memory (Lesson share of a two-month long
exploration of weaving techniques with emphasis on and appreciation for past
and present traditions of Coast Salish weaving practices. Upper Primary or Intermediate)

Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox (Graduation lesson plan that encourages students to explore their identity in relation to an animal with whom they have an affinity)

“Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox” zine to go with the lesson plan

Medicine Wheel Mixed Media Inquiry (Graduation)

Learning through Story An integrated Grade 6 Visual Arts/Language Arts lesson inspired by Raven and the First People. Uses mixed media, and can be adapted to other grade levels.

Macro Views of Haida Art This Primary lesson teaches the principles of Haida design by selecting and copying macro vlew details from Haida designs using a small viewfinder and then transcribing the small details to a banner.

Resources

Articulated by Indigenous Elders, scholars and knowledge keepers and produced by FNESC. Download the Poster

Provincial resource created in collaboration with hereditary Chiefs, elected Chiefs, Councils, Elders, and various partners in School Districts 85, 41, 5, and 23. Download the Resource

A full colour poster of 26 Indigenous artists from various Nations and decades, one for each letter of the alphabet. Download the Poster

Resilience: 50 Indigenous Art Cards and Teaching Guide

A boxed set that contains 50 full-colour, 8″ x 10″ reproductions of contemporary Indigenous art and a bilingual (English/French) teaching guide, full of ideas on how to use the art cards to animate discussions and inspire activities in all subjects, from kindergarten to grade 12. It is based on the exhibition curated by Lee-Ann Martin, with teaching guide developed by Yvette Cenerini, Lita Fontaine, Dawn Knight and Albert McLeod. The images are by 50 First Nations, Inuit and Métis women artists using diverse media.

The boxed set can be purchased, or it can be downloaded in pdf format for free.

Goodminds.com

A First Nations family-owned business that sells First Nations, Inuit, and Metis books. They are passionate about education, and sell books for a variety of disciplines, but the link here is specifically for art-related books.

Book Reviews