Half of the classes I currently teach are English First Peoples. This means that most of the literature and visual texts are created by or pertain to Indigenous peoples and contexts.  This combined with my experience working in an isolated northern BC community, incorporating Indigenous sources of knowledge into my curriculum has become a primary focus rather than an afterthought.  As a starting point, the English First Peoples Resource Guide published by FNESC (First Nations Educational Steering Committee) provides lesson plans with additional background information.  As a bonus, First Peoples from outside of North America are also included.  The guide is careful to acknowledge which author and group the information comes from and addresses differences while also showing commonalities in shared historical experiences (colonization, residential schools, etc.).  Within my teaching, I strive to properly acknowledge where the information comes from (Maori, Aborigine, Mohawk, Powhatan), and make reference to it throughout the activity.  My school supports a diverse population, so I will also seek to have students share experiences and knowledge from their backgrounds as well.

I hope to bring more local knowledge into my classroom, especially non-textual forms.  This would serve to not only expose students to traditional expressions of knowledge and increase representation, I also hope it would have a better chance of reaching those students who have difficulty with text-based learning.

Works Cited

Antoine, A., Mason, R., Mason, R., Palahicky, S. & Rodriguez de France, C. (2018, September 5). Section 4: Incorporating diverse sources of Indigenous knowledge In, Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers. BCcampus.
https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationcurriculumdevelopers/

Grade 10-12 teacher resource guide – FNESC. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2023, from http://www.fnesc.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/PUBLICATION-LFP-EFP-10-12-FINAL-2018-08-13-1.pdf