Learning from First Nations, Métis and Inuit Texts

Remember from Grade 1

In Grade 1 you listened to stories by First Nations, Métis and Inuit creators and learned that Indigenous peoples were the first peoples to live on this land.

This year you will look at how texts share cultural elements (symbols, languages and values), and how texts tell about the past and connect to people's lives today.

Three distinct peoples

In Canada, there are three groups of Indigenous peoples:

• First Nations: many different Nations, each with its own language and traditions. In Ontario, these include the Anishinaabe (such as Ojibwe and Algonquin), the Haudenosaunee (such as Mohawk and Oneida), the Cree and many others.
• Métis: a distinct people with their own culture, music, language (Michif) and flag.
• Inuit: people whose homelands are in the Arctic.

Each group, and each Nation, is different. It is respectful to use the name a people or Nation uses for itself, and to remember that Indigenous peoples live today, in cities, towns and communities everywhere, not just in the past.

Read-aloud 1: Rose and the Sash

Rose watched Grandma's fingers move. Over, under, over, under. Long strands of wool turned into a bright pattern of colours.

"This is finger weaving," said Grandma. "My grandmother taught me, and now I am teaching you."

Grandma held up her Métis sash. It was long, with fringes at each end. "Long ago, Métis people used sashes as belts to keep their coats closed. A sash could also be used as a rope. Today, we wear our sashes with pride at special events."

Rose's fingers were slow at first. Her strands got tangled. Grandma smiled. "Patience," she said. "Every weaver starts with a tangle."

By the end of the afternoon, Rose had woven a small, colourful bookmark. That night, at the community gathering, Grandma wore her sash. The fiddles played, and Rose danced a jig beside her.

Read-aloud 2: Inuksuit

Picture: a figure made of stacked stones standing on a hill, with a wide, snowy land behind it.

Inuit have built stone figures on the land for a very long time. One is called an inuksuk (in-OOK-shook). Two or more are called inuksuit (in-OOK-shoo-eet). These words come from Inuktitut, an Inuit language.

Inuksuit are made by stacking stones carefully. In the wide Arctic, they can help people find their way, show a good place to hunt or fish, or mark where food is stored.

Today, many Inuit live in towns in the Arctic. They go to school, use phones and ride snowmobiles. Many families also hunt, fish and travel on the land, sharing the knowledge their Elders passed down.

An inuksuk is on the flag of Nunavut, a territory in Canada where many Inuit live.

Read-aloud 3: The Water Walker

This is a true story.

Josephine Mandamin was an Anishinaabe grandmother. In the Anishinaabe language, water is called nibi. Josephine believed that water is precious, and that people must protect it for children and for the future.

So she walked. Carrying a copper pail of water, she walked all the way around each of the five Great Lakes, step after step, over many years. People called her a Water Walker. Her walks reminded people everywhere to care for the water.

Today, many people, young and old, continue her work by taking care of lakes and rivers.

Read-aloud 4: Why We Wear Orange

This is a true story, told gently. A grown-up should read it with you.

Not so long ago, many First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were taken from their families and sent to live at schools, often far from home, called residential schools. They were not allowed to speak their own languages or practise their cultures. Many children were very sad and missed their families. This was wrong.

Phyllis Webstad was six years old when she went to a residential school. Her grandmother had bought her a shiny new orange shirt. When she got to the school, her shirt was taken away.

When Phyllis grew up, she shared her story. Now, every year on September 30, people across Canada wear orange shirts. It is called Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We say Every Child Matters, and we remember the children, listen to Survivors (people who went to the schools), and learn the truth.