Indigenous Education Overview

Indigenous education is the overarching incorporation of indigenous perspectives across Manitoba’s curriculum. Many curricular expectations in Manitoba Aboriginal Language and Studies courses relate to media and digital literacy. The following excerpt from Current Topics in First Nations, Metis and Inuit Studies (2011) detail how media and digital literacy have been integrated into the curriculum:

“Students gain knowledge and develop the values, as well as the critical thinking, communication, analytical, and inquiry skills, that will enable them to better understand past and present realities of Indigenous peoples.”

Furthermore, Manitoba continues to publish tool kits, teacher guides, and other publications that aid teachers in the integration of indigenous education across the curriculum. Most recently, Manitoba’s Ministry of Education published a Residential Schools resource  for K-12 educators and “It's Our Time: First Nations Education Tool Kit,”  a teacher’s guide for grades 7-9 to “increase understanding of First Nations history and culture among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples by providing relevant tools and resources.” These updated resources relate to digital media literacy, particularly in their emphasis on digital artifacts and critical thinking. Other publication supporting the integration of indigenous education across the curriculum can be found here.

On the left menu you will find outcome charts containing media-related learning outcomes from the Aboriginal Language and Studies curriculum, with links to supporting resources on the MediaSmarts site. As many of our lessons can be adapted to suit different grade levels, specific lessons may be listed for more than one grade. Teachers should also note that individual lessons often satisfy a number of learning outcomes.