Guide to Relationships and Learning with the Indigenous Peoples of Alberta

Acknowledgement of the land is a critical part of demonstrating respect for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples as the original peoples and the traditional stewards of the land in Alberta and who continue to live here and whose traditional knowledge, cultural practices, languages, oral traditions and worldviews are tied to their relationship with the land. To acknowledge the traditional territory is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose land we reside on and a way of honouring the people who have lived and worked on the land since time immemorial.

The CASS “Guide to Relationships and Learning with the Indigenous Peoples of Alberta” was developed to support our members, as system leaders, to begin the process of deepening their understanding of foundational knowledge of Indigenous Peoples in Alberta. This Guide was developed through an Indigenous lens by including the voices and teachings of Elders and Knowledge Keepers. Their voices are captured on video and edited to introduce and bring understanding to multiple areas of learning that capture and cover the essential teachings identified by the First Nations, Métis and Inuit of Alberta. The development of this Guide was launched in 2019 with recent updates and revisions completed in 2022. The development of this Guide was made possible through a grant from Alberta Education.

The framework is designed around the common ground of meeting the expectations of the Alberta Leadership Quality Standard (LQS)and the Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard (SLQS), honoring Indigenous voices and providing opportunities for basic foundational learning with opportunities to delve deeper into the contextual topics and specific areas of interest and growth for individual Superintendents and system leaders  and whole education communities. Short testimonies from superintendents on leading Indigenous education in their school district are also included. This Guide will be one resource component of the CASS comprehensive learning plan alongside our conferences, zone learning sessions, online resources, cultural and traditional ceremony participation, and land and place-based learning. The Guide will contribute to the CASS outcome “Superintendent leadership supports quality school leadership and teaching to create optimal learning for all students in Alberta”. 

Relationships are central to learning and reconciliation, therefore, should be the starting point as you journey through this guide. To begin, click on the relationship portion in the graphic below. Watch the video, read the summary, explore further resources, reflect and then put your knowledge to action. Once you have completed the relationships portion of this guide, click the leaves on the graphic to access the other themes.

Independent: Choose a focus topic, read the questions, watch the video, read the introduction and then choose 2 or 3 resources to delve into further. Reflect back on the questions after exploring resources further. Repeat the process until all topics have been further explored.

Group: 

1.Establish a learning group. Each person in the group considers the reflection questions while reading the introduction, viewing the video and then selects 2-3 resources to delve into. Each member of the learning group then shares reflections and an overview of the resources they selected. Each group member responds to others’ insights while generating action points on how to further incorporate and support reconciliation, relationship building and foundational knowledge into their district’s practice.

2.Some districts have implemented a learning process at each monthly district leadership meeting , with principals and system leaders , or with each cohort , to discuss a section of the Guide theme (leaf ) collectively and identify new learnings , further learnings , and actions that could be taken in their district and or schools .

The birch tree was chosen as the core graphic as it is symbolic of connection to the land in the past, present and future.  A tree is often used as a symbol of holistic learning models that redefine how success is measured in First Nations, Métis and Inuit learning. A comprehensive report  “Redefining How success is Measured  in First Nations, Inuit and Métis Learning” explains this in detail. 

The birch bark tree like many other Indigenous trees throughout this land are used for ceremony, medicine, shelter, transportation, art, tools, cooking, construction and survival. The birch tree’s legacy represents spirituality, traditional engineering, science, art, culture,  education and was used to help shape the country.  

Resources about the birch tree:

Traditional Uses of Birch Bark in Canada. 

Stories from the land – The power of a tree: why birch and its bark are so important to Anishinaabe culture. Wiigwaasabak. CBC DOCS