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Nitsitapiisinni - Stories and Spaces

Exploring Kainai Plants and Culture

Elementary

Description

This Alberta-based website serves as an online reference tool developed by students and Elders from the Kainai Reserve. It features descriptions of sixty-two Indigenous plants native to the Blackfoot region, detailing their medicinal, cultural, and spiritual uses, along with traditional stories and beliefs associated with each plant. Engaging and interactive, this resource is an authentic First Peoples text that promotes a deeper understanding of local Indigenous plants and their historical significance.

The Kainai people of the Blood Reserve faced the risk of losing invaluable knowledge about Indigenous plants and their healing properties, wisdom that has traditionally been passed down orally from Elder to child. This class of Grade 4 Blackfoot French immersion students worked to re-collect and preserve these stories to make them accessible to their community and the wider world.

The Stories and Spaces website features images and information about indigenous healing plants, Indigenous stories, historical photographs, student art and music, and video interviews with Elders all translated into Blackfoot and French.

 

General Assessment

Recommendation of how and where to use it

The resource is suitable for students at all educational levels, and it may be particularly beneficial for elementary Social Studies and Science teachers, as it connects to several themes within these subjects. Educators can utilize this resource to design inquiry projects in collaboration with local Elders, gathering information about local plants. Furthermore, students can explore the interconnections among Indigenous people, their land, plants, and the Creator.

Relevant Curriculum Units

The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.

  • Step 1Select a province
  • Alberta
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 2
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Indigenous Languages and Cultures
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Blackfoot Language and Culture: Community Membership
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and their interactions
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Indigenous Languages and Cultures
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Blackfoot Language and Culture: Community Membership
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened through investigating natural systems and their interactions
    • Grade 4
    • Grade 5
  • British Columbia
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 2
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 2: Living things have life cycles adapted to their environment
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 3: Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems
      • Social Studies
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Global Indigenous Peoples: Learning about indigenous peoples nurtures multicultural awareness and respect for diversity.
        • Global Indigenous Peoples: Indigenous knowledge is passed down through oral history, traditions, and collective memory.
        • Global Indigenous Peoples:Indigenous societies throughout the world value the well-being of the self, the land, spirits, and ancestors
  • Manitoba
  • New Brunswick
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Our Local Environment : Learning and Living Sustainably
  • Newfoundland & Labrador
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 4
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Habitats
  • Northwest Territories
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 2
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 2: Plants and animals have life cycles adapted to their environment
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Life Systems: Growth and Changes in Plants
        • Science 3:Plants and Animals are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems
      • Social Studies
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Global Indigenous Peoples: Learning about indigenous peoples nurtures awareness and respect for diversity.
        • Global Indigenous Peoples: Indigenous knowledge is continues to be shared through oral history, traditions, and collective memory.
        • Global Indigenous Peoples: Indigenous nations throughout the world value the well-being of the self, the land, spirits, and ancestors
    • Grade 4
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 4: All living things sense and respond to their environment
  • Nova Scotia
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 3: Plants
    • Grade 4
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 4: Habitats
  • Nunavut
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Life Systems: Growth and Changes in Plants
    • Grade 4
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Life Systems: Habitats & Communities
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Plant Growth & Changes
    • Grade 4
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Habitats
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Plant Growth and Changes
    • Grade 4
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Habitats and Communities
  • Yukon Territory
    • Step 2Select a grade level
    • Grade 2
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 2: Living things have life cycles adapted to their environment
    • Grade 3
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 3: Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems
      • Social Studies
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Global Indigenous Peoples: Learning about indigenous peoples nurtures multicultural awareness and respect for diversity.
        • Global Indigenous Peoples: Indigenous knowledge is passed down through oral history, traditions, and collective memory.
        • Global Indigenous Peoples:Indigenous societies throughout the world value the well-being of the self, the land, spirits, and ancestors
    • Grade 4
      • Step 3Select a subject
      • Science
        • Step 4Relevant matches
        • Science 4: All living things sense and respond to their environment

Themes Addressed

Ecosystems (2)

  • Appreciating the Natural World
  • Biodiversity

Indigenous Knowledge (2)

  • Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing
  • TEK -- Traditional Ecological Knowledge

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