Page 85 - The Ogemawahj Tribal Council

Ask students CONNECTIONS TO
• How could you make a small difference to help protect the water? LANGUAGE
• How would your life be different if the water in your house and water: nibi (nih-bih)
school was not drinkable? land: aki (uh-kih)
shallow muddy lake:
Challenge students to try to experience life without using water from
scugog (scoo-gog)
a tap (don’t forget cleaning clothes, washing dishes, and cooking) for
wild rice: manoomin
one day.
(mun-oh-min)
Connections to Land
Share the article “New Zealand river granted same legal rights as
human being” from The Guardian; link on weblinks list. Then spend a
day outside as a class. Discuss that, for First Nations people who live
a traditional life, an important teaching is that all objects in nature
have life. Have students acknowledge the natural items around them,
explaining that traditional First Nations people would acknowledge
these objects as living (trees, rocks, Moon, Sun, sky, rivers, lakes, birds).
Discussion: Discuss with students how spending a day outside makes
them feel. Students may notice the next day that they slept better
because they were more tired; they may also be thirstier or hungrier
than normal.
Discuss the importance of spending time outside. You may wish to
read and reference the article “Kids do not spend nearly enough time
outside. Here’s how (and why) to change that” from the Washington
Post; link on weblinks list

Self-Assessment
Have students pretend that they are the nearby trees or water. Have
them write as if they are the tree or water. How would the tree
or water assess your behaviour today during the outdoor learning
classroom? Hand in.

Intellectual (Respond) Success Criteria, Assessment
Success Criteria:
I will know I am successful when I understand
• some of the perspectives of Indigenous peoples
• some early treaties
• the importance of water to Indigenous peoples
• that all citizens can be allies
• the role of the Canadian government with regards to
Indigenous peoples

Resource Books Leaders’ Guide 83