Achi news desk-
A giant 11-by-eight-foot map lies across the gym floor at Sweet Grass Elementary School in Edmonton with students crawling over it.
The Atlas of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples, created by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, shows the locations of Indigenous communities, residential schools and reserves and also identifies different Indigenous languages. The map also highlights important historical dates and touches on important topics such as colonisation.
The RCGS said the map is meant to be an educational resource to help students “understand the past, present and future of Canada’s indigenous peoples.”
“It’s a giant walkable map,” said Vanessa LeCaine, principal of Sweet Grass School. “They can walk through, see all the different communities, where all the different languages are. It’s a great way to learn about Indigenous communities.”
The map is used by a handful of Edmonton Public Schools to teach students about Indigenous communities across Canada.
“There’s a lot of learning that goes along with the map,” LaCaine said. “We brought it in last year and it had such an impact on our students, we found a way to buy the map for our school and now we have our own copy.”
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LaCaine said Sweet Grass teachers found a way to incorporate the map into each of the grade levels.
“We have the Grade 6 class in here now, but even kindergarteners are coming to learn,” added LeCaine. “On this map there are no borders, you see the land as it is meant to be – one huge country.”
LeCaine said the school had to wait two years before it could get a copy of the map, but it has been worth it.
“It means a lot to these children to learn how to keep the land a safe and beautiful place,” he said.
The map also comes with resources for teachers.
“This is a really hands-on place for learning,” said Nicki Gardner, Grade 6 teacher. “It’s a great way to enhance what we’re talking about in class now and for the younger kids it’s an easy way to learn about indigenous culture, it’s things they can see and touch.”
Grade 6 student Juniper Bensonbridges said it was “very fun to see the map itself; It was very interesting to me.”
“It’s like a giant Indigenous atlas.”
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
