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How do we collectively move toward reconciliation?
Moving forward, it isn’t Indigenous peoples’ sole responsibility to teach everybody about what’s happening and to try to get people’s attitudes to change. It’s everybody’s responsibility. We have to stop othering each other and start learning from one another. We all need to learn more about Indigenous knowledge, values and principles and how they can be replicated in dialogues and decision-making, whether it’s at a regional, national or international level. Looking ahead, we need to reimagine and start to build our collective future with respect and reverence for the Indigenous world, rather than merely replicating the values of a dominant Western society all over again.
– Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Nobel Peace Prize winner, 2007, quoted from the Globe and Mail
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In This Edition:
Statement of Solidarity for Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
September Highlight: Stories to Support Land-Based Learning
Land as Teacher: Understanding Indigenous Land-based Education
School on the Land: Indigenous Teachings Get Kids Outside the Classroom
Back to the Land: Preserving Indigenous Languages Could be Good for the Planet
Meaningful Acts of Reconciliation: Infusing Indigenous Perspectives in Outdoor Education and Inquiry
Upcoming Events
Recovery, Reflection, and Reciprocity Webinar Series
Natural Curiosity 4-Part Series
Transformative Climate Education 4-Part Series with Green Teacher
Natural Curiosity Online Small Group Coaching
NCTR Truth and Reconciliation Week
Outdoor Learning Store Fall Webinars
The Robertson Program 2-Part Online STEM Workshops
Reconciling with Nature: Gardening as Kinship and Relationship-Building
Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Teacher Education and Teaching Standards
OECM Free Professional Learning for K-12 Ontario Educators
COEO Fall Conference: Embracing Wellbeing & Mindfulness in the Outdoors
Classrooms 2 Communities 2021 Conference
NAAEE 2021 Conference: The Power of Connection
Past Events
Haley Higdon on Talking with Green Teachers
Planning for Inquiry Workshop
Natural Curiosity Summer Institute
Natural Curiosity on VoicEd Radio
FREE Access to All 2020-21 Natural Curiosity Webinars!
Educator Resources
Orange Shirt Day Resources
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Residential School Resources
Truth & Reconciliation Discussion Guide from Scholastics Canada
Lessons from the Earth and Beyond
Get Outside and Play
Green Schoolyards America: Outdoor Learning in the News
Guide to Advocating for Outdoor Classrooms in COVID-Era School Reopening
Take Me Outside Indigenous Resources
Residential School Survivor Stories
Indigenous Learning Resources from Canada's Outdoor Learning Store
Canada's History Resources
Truth Before Reconciliation: 8 Ways to Identify and Confront Residential School Denialism
Beyond 94
Indigenous Study Guide by Colinda Clyne & Annick Press
Support Us
Purchase Natural Curiosity 2nd Edition
Achetez Curiosité Naturelle
Donate
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Statement of Solidarity
September 30th marks Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Orange Shirt Day opens the door to important conversations about the residential school system, its ongoing legacy, and the stories and resilience of survivors. For educators, it is an opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion and co-learning with students about Phyllis' story, and renew our shared responsibilities toward Truth and Reconciliation.
While September 30th is an important day to support, Natural Curiosity is committed to ongoing learning, reflecting and decolonization efforts through education, all year round. We hope to provide impactful opportunities and resources that support educators to respectfully engage in these important conversations with students, during and beyond Truth and Reconciliation Week.
For developmentally appropriate resources for learning about the effects of residential schools, as well as celebration of Indigenous peoples, cultures, and resilience, visit our Orange Shirt Day Pinboard.
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STORIES TO SUPPORT LAND-BASED LEARNING
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This month, we are dedicating this space to highlight stories about Indigenous land-based learning in support of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
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Land as Teacher: Understanding Indigenous Land-Based Education
"'Indigenous land-based education', [Dr. Amy Parent] says, 'is a process that centres respect, reciprocity, reverence, humility and responsibility as values connected to the land through Indigenous knowledges.'
'It was just a way of life,' [Johnson] says. 'You lived it on a daily basis. You didn’t even realize you were being educated. You were one with nature. There was a deep love and respect for nature and all that it had to offer.'"
Learn more about the reciprocity of land-based learning from the Canadian Commission for UNESCO in their free resource with contributions from renowned Indigenous voices from across Turtle Island.
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School on the Land: Indigenous Teachings Get Kids Outside the Classroom
"We know it's really, really important to pay attention to what experts are saying — to pay attention to our elder stories, [Jodi Calahoo-Stonehouse] said ... People think you can only learn math and science according to a textbook — not necessarily."
Parents and First Nations schools have turned to traditional ways of knowing and learning like medicine picking and getting out on the land as alternative options to the classroom amid COVID-19. Read more about Indigenous land-based learning in response to the pandemic, and its implications for re-building a better normal for all.
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"Elder Tom Snow, who teaches medicine picking and on-the-land survival skills to youth in Edmonton, said it allows students to gain a greater appreciation for the environment and the history of their own people. And it's fulfilling for him to pass on those lessons.
'It's like a grandpa teaching his grandchildren,' he said. 'There's a feeling of elation when they're really into it.'"
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Back to the Land: Preserving Indigenous Languages Could be Good for the Planet, Say Researchers
"'Anishinaabemowin recognizes the land as living and — probably more startling to a lot of people — as having its own agency. It's embedded within our languages to recognize that the planet has a say and that it is trying to tell us something,' said Deborah McGregor, a member of Whitefish River First Nation in Ontario ...
'If we lose those cultures, we lose the understanding of ways in which those forests could be managed and protected.'"
This article highlights educators leading the movement of Indigenous language and cultural revitalization and land-based learning, and what that could mean for our collective future. Dr. Deborah McGregor is also the advisor to both editions of Natural Curiosity, and we remain deeply grateful for her contributions. This summer, the Natural Curiosity team including the Co-Author of Natural Curiosity Doug Anderson, was thrilled to have Joseph Pitawanakwat as a guest on our final webinar, Reconnecting with Aki.
Learn more from Joe and his incredible stories:
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Meaningful Acts of Reconciliation: Infusing Indigenous Perspectives in Outdoor Education and Inquiry
"Meaningful Acts of Reconciliation" is the story of an inspiring educator who embarked on a journey to incorporate daily community walks as meaningful acts of reconciliation into her early years teaching practice, supported by the Walking Curriculum resource.
"After hearing Anishinaabe knowledge keeper Kim Wheatley speak about the importance of students connecting with the land and how to make the land acknowledgment meaningful for students, I knew that the Walking Curriculum was a natural starting point ... Without this connection and sense of place ... Without caring for the environment, how could we meaningfully respect and honour those who the land belongs to?"
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For more stories from educators who are engaging children in environmental and land-based inquiry and respectful encounter with Indigenous perspectives, check out our growing Educator Stories library.
Are you practicing Natural Curiosity with your students? Send us your story!
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Finding Curriculum in the Land: Lessons from Northern Ontario
Thursday, September 23rd @ 7PM ET
Natural Curiosity is excited to launch our fall webinar series " Recovery, Reflection, and Reciprocity", to support educators to garner the important lessons we learned about connection, wellbeing, and reciprocal relationships toward a common goal – to make learning on the land an essential part of all education in post-COVID times.
We are honoured to welcome Amanda Paakkunainen and Lana Desjardins, kindergarten team from Superior-Greenstone District School Board and proud winners of Natural Curiosity's 2021 Burtynsky Award! Check out their award-winning story to get a glimpse into our opening webinar, and hope to see you there!
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Natural Curiosity Fall 4-Part Series
September - December, 2021
This series is a comprehensive introduction to Natural Curiosity designed for early years—senior grades educators who are beginning to integrate environmental inquiry and Indigenous perspectives into their practice. Facilitator Velvet Lacasse (BEd, OCT, MEd Candidate) will guide educators in exploring Natural Curiosity's four-branch framework of environmental inquiry and the associated Indigenous lenses, that present tangible entry points towards a reciprocal relationship with the Land participating as a co-teacher.
Space is limited – register today!
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Transformative Climate Education Fall 4-Part Series
September - December 2021
This climate-focused series from Natural Curiosity and Green Teacher is for junior—senior grade educators. Facilitators Maria Vamvalis (Natural Curiosity Coach) and Ian Shanahan (Editor-in-Chief, Green Teacher) will introduce Natural Curiosity's four-branch environmental inquiry framework and associated Indigenous lenses, and apply it in a solutions-focused approach to climate education that leaves students both informed and empowered about the challenges and opportunities of anthropogenic climate change.
Space is limited – register today!
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Natural Curiosity Online Group Coaching
October 2021 - May 2022
Back for another year, this program is intended to support educators who are already familiar with Natural Curiosity's four-branch framework of environmental inquiry and associated Indigenous lenses. Facilitators will loosely structure workshops sessions with ample time for group discussion, challenging participants to reconsider their pedagogical practice while sharing and learning from one another.
Learn more about our incredible coaches, Maria Vamvalis and Velvet Lacasse and register today!
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NCTR Truth and Reconciliation Week
September 27th - October 1st, 2021
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation presents a weeklong virtual event, open to all Canadian schools for youth grades 5-12. This five-day national event will provide historical workshops, exclusive video content and activities for students, and deal with important topics such as the truths of Indigenous treaties, First Nation, Métis and Inuit land claims, and the residential school system — all supported by artistic and cultural performances from First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists.
Find more information here and register now!
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Land As Teacher: Moving in Harmony with the Seasons
Saturday, September 18th @ 10AM ET
Join Gokoomis (Grandmother) Jacque Lavallee and Oshkaabewis (Ceremonial Helper and Fire Keeper) Dr. Hopi Martin for a virtual land-based Fall Equinox Ceremony! When we gather together in Ceremony at the ‘edge of the bush’ between territories and peoples to honour the changing Seasons of our Mother Earth, we are establishing and maintaining respectful relationships with all of our human and non/human relatives.
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OECM Free Professional Learning for K-12 Ontario Educators
August 2021 - January 2022
This series of engaging and practical virtual professional learning sessions is freely available exclusively to School Board, College and University educators in Ontario. For courses related to Indigenous education, check out the following:
- Indigenous Education through Inquiry (September 22, 29, & October 6, 2021 | 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST) facilitated by Pamala Agawa
- Truth and Reconciliation in K to 12 (September 27, 2021 | 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm EST) facilitated by Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse
- Comment vivre la réconciliation (September 30, 2021 | 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST) présenté par Danielle Larouche & Mélanie Smits
- The “How-To” of Reconciliation (October 7, 2021 | 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST) facilitated by Danielle Larouche & Mélanie Smits
- Getting back to Land-Based Learning – Respecting Protocols and Methodologies when entering an Indigenous learning environment
(October 18, 2021 | 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST) facilitated by Sylvia Plain
- Growing Your Anti-Racist, Anti-Colonial Practice (November 2 & 9, 2021 | 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST) facilitated by Colinda Clyne
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Take Me Outside Week
October 18th - 22nd, 2021
Hosted in partnership with Canada's Outdoor Learning Store, Take Me Outside's 11th annual celebration includes a full week of activities, events, and entertainment that you can engage your students in, with an extra special schedule on Take Me Outside Day: October 20th, 2021. Deepen your connection with Indigenous perspectives, strengthen your health and well-being with outdoor learning, and increase your knowledge of climate change and the environment. With three different themes of focus, this will be an educational and engaging week for learners of all ages!
Natural Curiosity is honoured to support the Indigenous-learning-focused day of this exciting week. Register your class today!
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Join us as we explore stories of hope and resiliency connected to the land and sea, from classrooms to communities, at C2C Education Network's annual conference. This year’s conference will be coming to you live from Victoria and online everywhere on October 22!
Natural Curiosity is once again elated to connect with West coast educators as a part of this conference. Registration is now open!
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Planning for Inquiry Workshop
August 25th, 2021
Natural Curiosity hosted a back-to-school workshop to provide inspiration, ideas, and strategies for educators who are looking to deepen their practice in the new school year. Zoe Donoahue (Grade 1) and Mike Martins (Grade 3), Teacher-Researchers at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Laboratory School, shared their inquiry-based teaching practice in discussion with NC Program Director Haley Higdon.
Missed out? The workshop recording is available for pay-what-you-can here.
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Natural Curiosity Summer Institute
August 10th & 11th, 2021
This summer, Natural Curiosity hosted our first-ever Virtual Summer Institute! This professional learning experience was designed for educators seeking to deepen their own inquiry into the ecology of natural curiosity – growing a learning environment where educators and students experience themselves in relationship with the Land and each other in the community. Chi-miigwetch, thank you to an inspiring group of 60+ educators who joined us!
Missed our Summer Institute? Check out our new Fall professional learning opportunities.
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August 2020 - April 2021
In case you missed them, recordings of Natural Curiosity's 2020-21 webinars are now publicly available on Youtube! Check out our webinar playlists to learn from 18+ leading Indigenous and Environmental educators across Turtle Island to support your self-guided professional learning over the summer.
Sincere gratitude is extended to those who attended our events real-time, and those who provided a "pay-what-you-can" contribution for these recordings through University of Toronto Press. All proceeds from our webinars have helped fund our facilitators for their time and work, and the creation of more Natural Curiosity professional learning opportunities. Find all webinars from both series, Natural Curiosity in the New Normal (2020) and Embracing the Shift (2021), in the below playlists. |
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The NCTR has put together a condensed teaching resource to support teaching about residential schools. This webpage includes an interactive timeline of the residential schooling system. |
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When we know what happened, then we can do something about it.
– Senator Murray Sinclair, Head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015)
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Truth and Reconciliation Discussion Guide by Scholastics Canada
This free guide from Scholastics Canada supports parents, kids, and educators in discussion about Truth and Reconciliation. Containing kid-friendly articles and stories from Indigenous voices, sample lessons, and discussion prompts, this comprehensive resource is a great starting place for critical exploration of this important topic.
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This comprehensive resource aims to bring about important conversations and critical inquiries into the importance of Indigenous knowledge systems, and their complex, diverse and sophisticated nature. With Indigenous stories told by Isaac Murdoch and grade-level specific lesson plans, this resource presents many opportunities to respectfully explore Indigenous knowledge.
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Get Outside and Play Free Outdoor Teaching Resources
These free, downloadable resources can be used to promote outdoor play with colleagues, parents, and anyone wanting to listen. Resources include: Why outdoor play, how to outdoor play, dressing for the weather, and teaching in the four elements. Get Outside and Play is a blog by Christina Pickles, a passionate environmental educator with over 20+ years of experience.
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National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative
Check out this extensive learning library titled National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative, created by Green Schoolyards America nd their partners, that highlights and reports on the health and learning benefits of being outdoors during the pandemic and beyond through a collection of articles, videos, and podcasts.
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Indigenous Resource Directory from Take Me Outside
Our friends at Take Me Outside have compiled an extensive list of resources to support Indigenous education this month, and all year round. From academic articles, books, and teaching tools, to resources for educators, this list contains important resources for supporting Indigenous land-based learning.
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Residential School Survivor Stories
The Legacy of Hope Foundation has put together a selection of Survivor stories drawn from the Our Stories…Our Strength video collection. We are grateful to the men and women who have shared their personal and often painful accounts of their experiences of residential school and its legacy. It is by sharing these truths that we can all continue to work toward understanding and healing.
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Beyond 94
Take a look at Beyond 94, a user-friendly and invaluable teaching tool for tracking our progress towards Truth and Reconciliation. Created with CBC journalists across the country, this website organizes all 94 Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action, and provides up-to-date status reports and accompanying extensive summaries that detail the reports.
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Indigenous Study Guide by Colinda Clyne
Developed by Colinda Clyne, the Curriculum Leader for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Education at the Upper Grand District School Board in Ontario, this study guide for educators introduces Indigenous worldviews, histories, perspectives, and contemporary issues that provide a starting point in understanding the truth about the history of this land now known as Canada. It is information that will provide a solid context for using select Indigenous titles (Annick Press) as texts in classrooms.
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Interested in bringing Natural Curiosity virtual professional learning to your school board or organization? We are now booking for Fall 2021! Contact naturalcuriosity@utoronto.ca.
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We are excited to share with you our brand new suite of Fall professional learning offerings. Register today!
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Purchase Natural Curiosity:
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Achetez Curiosité Naturelle:
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