Four Directions Teachings – Five First Nations Narratives

Canada’s history goes back a lot further than Confederation, than settlement of the Europeans, or even the arrival of curious explorers to the “new world.” The histories of the various First Nations peoples within our country are the first place we should look when we want to know more about Canada’s past.

I asked a friend of mine if she happened to know of any resources to help learn about the stories of the various First Nations groups. I was sent to visit Four Directions Teachings – a website that shares and animates the stories of 5 groups – the Blackfoot, the Cree, the Ojibwe, the Mohawk, & the Mi’kmaq peoples.

fourdirectionsteachings

For each group, there are several stories and sharing wisdom, told by an elder or a traditional teacher. Many of these are creation stories, philosophies of life, or explanations for a foundation of self. They are teaching stories, easy and enjoyable to listen to.

In addition to being able to hear these stories spoken directly by the elders of each group, you can also access a whole teaching guide to go along with them. Divided up into lesson plans for Junior (Gr. 1 to 6), Intermediate (Gr. 7 to 9), and Senior (Gr. 10-12), students explore the meanings behind the stories in more detail, and often to a more personal, relatable way.

One amazing bonus is that each nation has a special “Additional Teacher Links” which offers a huge collections of resources to expand on the learning first introduced by this website and also to discover more about each of the 5 first nations. These are invaluable.

The Four Directions Teachings website is a beautiful way to introduce your kids to the First Nations culture.

From there, if you would like to know and learn more about their stories and way of life, visit a drumming social in your local community. All are welcome and you can learn a lot first hand.

Lisa Marie Fletcher
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1 thought on “Four Directions Teachings – Five First Nations Narratives”

  1. Yes! I am so excited to check this out 🙂 I’ve not been happy with the options for teaching materials re: First Nations history/culture.

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