FNPN members are pleased to invite you to learn about and contribute to important and necessary discussions in Indigenous early learning and child care.
In honouring oral traditions of Indigenous knowledge transmission, and participants’ OCAP™ rights, FNPN workshops will not be recorded. We want to focus on telling stories, engaging in conversations and responding to the interactions that will take place with those able to attend, rather than on making the conversations available for less relational, and less ethically sanctioned, purposes.
Questions will be offered at the end of the workshops for you to share within your communit(ies). You are welcome to carry these forward and please feel free to reach out to FNPN members to extend our conversations, if you want to have another conversation, or in case you were not able to attend a workshop.
The knowledge and stories that will be shared during FNPN workshops are those of their tellers, so we request that you reference each of them when discussing what you will hear, and that you respect the privacy of those involved.
All workshops are free to attend and open to everybody’s participation. Please make sure to register to receive the Zoom link to join each of the sessions and use your personal email when doing so to avoid the risk of our emails be labelled as spam.
Professional Development certificates are available upong registration.
Questions? Please email aurea@acc-society.bc.ca.
All times listed are PST.
Come join the conversation!
Leaders: Emma Joe and Chelsey Hardy
Friday, February 3, 12- 1:30 PM
Leaders: Maureen Black, Emma Joe and Colleen Martínez
Wednesday, February 15, 5:30-7:00 PM
Books with Indigenous Authors and Illustrators
When we choose books by Indigenous authors and Indigenous illustrators we are acknowledging and valuing Indigenous voices and sends a strong message that Indigenous ways of being in and seeing the world are valued. These books also counteract the longstanding practice of appropriation of Indigenous stories by non-Indigenous writers of children’s literature.
There are many beautiful books to choose from however we have validated a list of books that have both an Indigenous author and illustrator. Reading literature by Indigenous authors/illustrators influences the resilience of Indigenous children.
Copyright dates indicate the publication year, not the time of its writing, which might be two to three years before the copyright date. Although a recent copyright date is no guarantee of a book’s relevance or sensitivity, they are useful information. We have listed the books with the most recently published dates and they continue with descending copyright dates.
Board Books
- Learning my Rights with Mousewoman, Morgan Asoyuf, 2021
- When We are Kind, Monique Gray Smith, 2020
- I am Dreaming of Animals of the Northwest, Melaney Gleeson-Lyall, 2017
- My Heart fills with Happiness, Monique Gray Smith, 2016
- Animals of the Salish Sea, Melaney Gleeson-Lyall, 2016
- Black Bear Red Fox: Colours in Cree, Julie Flett, 2016
- We Sang you Home, Richard Van Camp, 2016
- Black and White: Visual Stimulation Images for Babies, Morgan Asoyuf, 2015
- We All Count: Book of Cree Numbers, Julie Flett, 2014
- Goodnight World, Paul Windsor, 2014
- Little You, Richard Van Camp, 2013
- Good Morning World, Paul Windsor, 2012
- Nighty, Night, Richard Van Camp, 2011
- Welcome Song for Baby, Richard Van Camp, 2007
Indigenous Books
- Oolichan Moon, Samantha Beynon, 2022
- The Sockeye Mother, Brett D. Huson, 2017
- Mouse Celebrates the Winter Solstice, Terri Mack, 2015
- Owls See Clearly at Night, Julie Flett, 2010
- Flight of the Hummingbird, Michael Nicoll Yahgulnanaas, 2008
- How Raven Stole the Sun, Maria Williams, 2001
- A Man Called Raven, Richard Van Camp, 1997
- Little Bear’s Vision Quest, Diane Silvey, 1995
Books for ages 3+
- Dancing with our Ancestors, Sara Florence Davidson and Robert Davidson, 2022
- Be a Good Ancestor, Carla Joseph, 2022
- I Sang You Down from the Stars, Tasha Spillett Sumner, 2021
- Stand Like a Cedar, Nicola I. Campbell, 2021
- On the Trapline, David Robertson, 2021
- We are Water Protectors, Carole Lindstrom, 2020
- Bird Song, Julie Flett, 2019
- Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock, Dallas Hunt, 2018
- The Water Walker, Joanne Robertson, 2017
- You Hold Me Up, Monique Gray Smith, 2017
- A Day with Yayah, Nicola Campbell, 2017
- Once in a Blue Moon, Danielle Daniel, 2017
- Wild Berries, Julie Flett, 2013
- Just a Walk, Jordan Wheeler, 2012
- The Mocassins, Earl Einarson, 2008
- How Raven Stole the Sun, Maria Williams, 2001
- What’s the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses? Richard Van Camp, 1998
- Just a Walk, Jordan Wheeler, 1993
Residential School Stories
- I Lost My Talk, Rita Joe, 2019
- I’m Finding My Talk, Rebecca Thomas, 2019
- Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, M.Gray Smith, 2017
- When We Were Alone, David Robertson, 2016
Indigenous Publishing Companies in BC
- Theytus Books-First Nations owned and operated
- Strong Nations- Indigenous owned and operated in Nanaimo, BC
General Distributors
- Goodminds.com. An Indigenous owned family business, GoodMinds.com is based on the Six Nations of the Grand River (Brantford in Southwestern Ontario
- U’mista Cultural Society (Alert Bay, BC)
Leaders: Sheila Grieve, Maureen Black and Liz Brown
Description:
Come sit, drink tea and listen to stories about children and ECE’s learning from plants as they deepen their connections to each other and the land.
Reflective Questions and Links:
What plants are important to you, to your family, to your community?
E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia (ubc.ca)
Indigenous Plant Guide Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim— MOV | Museum of Vancouver
Take a walk, look around. What plants are living near you?
Luschiim’s Plants: Traditional Indigenous Foods, Materials and Medicines
By Luschiim Arvid Charlie and Nancy J. Turner, Harbour Publishing
Coastal Wildflowers of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest
Elizabeth L. Horn, Mountain Press, 1994
Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants & Herbs by James A. Duke, Steven Foster
The Secwepemc Use of Wild Plants
Meet the Indigenous educator keeping Anishinaabe medicine plant names alive
What is a good memory from your childhood involving plants?
What memories are you creating with the children in your care?
“I must return the gift.” [Short Film]
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Do you see plants as relatives?
What might help you and the children in your care begin to see them as having wisdom to share, as being our living siblings?
The Honorable Harvest – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Leaders: Karolyn Bonneau, Leona Antoine, and Sheila Grieve
Friday, April 14
12-1:30 PM
Description:
Dr. Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Dakota and Muskogee Creek) says, “We have to try. Starting with good intentions and a good heart is what matters most.”
As Indigenous early childhood educators we are creating space to talk about land acknowledgements and the importance to acknowledge and honour the Indigenous people and the territory where we reside, work, and occupy that is unceded due to colonization . What does unceded mean? Who does a land acknowledgment? How are land acknowledgments done? Why they are done? The protocols regarding land acknowledgements. We welcome and encourage a productive, respectful, reciprocal dialogue about this topic cultivating ethical space to learn and think together.
Resources shared during the workshop
“We have to try. Starting with good intentions and a good heart is what matters most.”
Dr. Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Dakota and Muskogee Creek)
Suggested Land Acknowledgements for all Regions of British Columbia, BCTLC
First People’s Cultural Council Map
Acknowledging the unceded territories, City of Vancouver
The principles of culturally responsive teaching, The Education Hub
Leaders: Sheila Grieve , Leona Antoine, Mary Burgaretta and Chelsey Hardy
Description:
Documentation in Indigenous terms looks and feels different coming from a place that upholds oral tradition and many protocols which are often private but always situated to place. To document on Indigenous is to honor who we are and where we come from.
Friday, April 28
12-1:30 PM
Resources shared during the workshop
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/declaration/video.html#shr-pg-wb-auto-3-shr
The First Nations Principles of OCAP®
https://fnigc.ca/ocap-training/
Leaders: Elizabeth Williams, Chelsey Hardy, Melissa Harris and Karolyn Bonneau
Leaders: Maureen Black, Leona Antoine, Liz Brown and Emma Joe
Description:
“The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be free of racism to be an anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward.” ~Ijeoma Oluo
In this workshop, we will look at stories of how racism manifests in our lives, the field of early learning, and the media. We will talk about ways of reflecting on our own internalized racism, biases, and privilege as educators and share our collective knowledge of actively anti-racist stories suitable for children.
Resources shared during the workshop
Videos:
Orange Shirt Day-Residential School | Kujo’s Kid Zone
Indigenous mom of 2 says racist taunts aimed at her family during kids’ 1st trip to Winnipeg
Martin Luther King, Jr. reads his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
Books/Articles:
Edited by Billie Allan and V.C. Rhonda Hackett Foreword by OmiSoore Dryden
The Racist Fantasy, Unconscious Roots of Hatred by Todd McGowan
Mispronouncing Your Non-White Students’ Names is a Racist Act by Ali Hodge, M.Ed
Wayi Wah! Indigenous Pedagogies, An Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education, by Jo Chrona
Organizations:
Teaching Kindness Isn’t Enough | Learning for Justice
Test Your Implicit Bias – Implicit Association Test (IAT) – Loyola Marymount University (lmu.edu)
Power and Privilege | Safe @ School
Here are some examples of how white privilege may play out for teachers in the school system:
What Can I do About Privilege? | MediaSmarts
Education Specific Resources and Stories
dismantling Racism, 2016 workbook by dRworks
Neoliberal Fun and Happiness in Early Childhood Education by Cristina Delgado Vintimilla
‘Clearly discriminatory and systemically racist’: Report on BC schools | Vancouver Sun
Leaders: Karolyn Bonneau, Chelsey Hardy and Melissa Harris
Description:
How do we as Indigenous early childhood educators work in Indigenous communities and engage with Indigenous children, families, community and leadership when issues arise? What does it mean to work with centers when the philosophies/visions/missions are not the same as our own beliefs?
Friday, June 2
12-1:30 PM
Leaders: Emma Joe, Megan Dominic and Shauna M Alec
Description:
FNPN Members offer guidance on how to implement Elder involvement in centers. Drawing examples from personal and professional experiences, Members discuss protocols around honouring cultural diversity, general tips for respectful implementation of protocol, and providing a safe environment and space for Elders to be welcomed to share with your programs.
Friday, June 16
12-1:30 PM
Leaders: Elizabeth Williams, Emma Joe , Leona Antoine, Megan Dominic and Colleen Martínez
Description:
FNPN members discuss their understanding and practice of documentation, how we teach and share Indigenous traditions, and how we honour tradition, protocols and Indigenous teachings in the digital age.
Friday, June 23rd
12:00 PM
