Key Concepts

 

The relationship of Aboriginal people to an ever-changing environmental is shown through light and sound effects.

3 themes tell the story of the people of the Northern Plains:

The Buffalo and His Brothers (people and animals),

The Earth our Mother (people and plants),

The Nations' Hoop: A nest of many nests (people and people).

 

Plan for Self-guided Exhibits Session

 

Experience the sounds, and sights of nature through the seasons.

Clothe yourself in animal skins and imagine participating in a hunt.

Tour the displays noting the circle of life, and the significance of number 4.

Sit on the floor under the Buffalo Jump, shut your eyes, imagine the buffalo drive. Drum on the floor to create stampede sound. Open your eyes, look up. Discuss the jump. Examine pictographs on wall below jump.

Activate touch screens to learn traditional use of native plants, animals.

Listen to tape or teacher reading legends in the story tipi.

Study displays in other tipis to explain how pots, drums, and stone tools are made.

Listen to greetings in 7 Aboriginal languages.

Related Curriculum

 

Respect for elders (language arts)

Respect for the earth (social studies, science)

Circle of life connections among plants, animals and people (science)

Use oral language for learning, (language arts)

Similarities and differences among shapes and numbers (math)

Respect for differences among peoples (social studies)

Site Features

 

Exhibits: touch screens

Animal skins, touch screens

Buffalo jump

Storyteller tipi

Tipis

Aboriginal language listening stations

 

Before the Visit

 

Read and discuss a story (Peter's Moccasins), poem or play or sing a song about a Traditional Aboriginal family.

Participate in the rebus story Bannock and Tea.

Discuss the significance of the circle and the number "4" to Aboriginal peoples (Use the enclosed Circle of Life and 4 Stages of Life diagrams to reinforce these relationships).

 

 

Cultural Note

 

Aboriginal people were closely connected to nature before their contact with Europeans.

Elders play important roles in Aboriginal society.

The extended family is important in the social structure of Aboriginal families.

The number "4" is significant in the Aboriginal world-view.


After the Visit

 

Use Canadian Wild Animals A-Z to match animal names with their pictures.

 

Create dioramas of the 4 seasons showing tipis and Aboriginal family members engaged in activities related to each season.

 

Listen to Young Northern Voices (audio recording). Then create your own class song based on the visit to Wanuskewin. Invite song or story writers to work with your class (check Aboriginal Website Resources for contacts).

 

Create crayon etchings of any aspect of the exhibits. Cover manila tag with a layer of crayon. Apply second layer of black tempera paint mixed with a drop of detergent. Have students scratch a buffalo or other design through black paint with a paint brush handle or a 2" nail.