Description
This lessson is about the relationship, connection, and teachings of the bison, as well as, learning the spiritual, ecological, and characteristics of the bison. Students will view a series of videos that the Buffalo People Arts Institute created along with a CBC Gem video called Absolutely Canadian Bison Return. We will learn through watching the videos, the views and beliefs of the bison from an Indigenous and Settler perspective. Students will come to understand how bison were exploited and put on ‘reserves’ like the Original inhabitants of Canada. Students will come to understand the long-standing relationship between the Cree people, the Dakota People, the Nakoda People, etc., the bison, and the prairies.
Acknowledgement Protocol
Please read this Acknowledgement before the start of this lesson to respect the knowledge that is being shared and the Land of the People where the knowledge originates.
We respectfully acknowledge the original lands of the Indigenous Peoples of Treaty 4: Cree, Saulteaux, Nakota, Dakota, Lakota and Treaty 6: Cree, Saulteaux, Dene, and Dakota whose knowledge inform this lesson. As well, we acknowledge the homeland to many winged, four-legged, crawling, and water creatures.
Contributors
| Name | Role / Job Title | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Belinda Daniels | Curriculum Developer | Saskatoon |
| Steffany Salloum | Community Research Associate and Website Manager | Saskatoon |
| Bettina Schneider | Regional Lead, NCCIE | Regina, First Nations University of Canada |
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this lesson plan, students will be able to:
1. Examine the importance of the bison to traditional Indigenous cultures. 2. Examine current information about the bison and how people can benefit from these animals in contemporary society.
3. Know about the bison and how people can be socially responsible in raising or reintroducing bison into their natural habitats on the prairies. [Broad Areas of Learning] [Science and Ecology]
4. Examine the interdependence humans have with nature and the bison’s importance in the grasslands ecosystem. Students could further examine this and look at the reintroduction of Bison to Banff National Park as an example. [Cross-Curricular Competencies]
5. Examine the impact colonization has had on Indigenous peoples and the environment.
- Examine the harmful effects of forced change on the Bison and Indigenous people.
- Investigate the factors that led to Indigenous peoples losing their lands.
[PA 10.2]
6. Examine the impact of contact on Indigenous economy, spirituality, identity, land, environment.
- Analyze how the genocide of the buffalo disrupted traditional Indigenous economies.
- See that while Indigenous and Euro-Canadian worldviews are vastly different, basic values can be shared and see that the reintroduction of the buffalo is good for all people.
- Students will learn about the important uses and dependence on the buffalo prior to European contact and look at the information about how bison (buffalo) are raised today on the prairies.
- Students will investigate the correlations between policies the Canadian government used to remove Indigenous peoples from their lands, including the decimation of the buffalo.
[RW 10.2]
PGP Goals: Focus on the shared responsibility for the land and all its creatures and when we heal the land, we heal ourselves.
Teacher's Guide
Background / Foundational Information
Subject: Indigenous Studies 10 Grade: 10-12
Topic: Traditional uses and Bison today
Essential Questions: Why were Indigenous people on the prairies so dependent on the bison (buffalo) and what do we know about these animals today? How is the reintroduction of these animals important to Indigenous people, as well as settler people?
Activities
Traditional Uses of the Bison2:00
Purpose
To know and understand why the Bison has been a significant animal for all Indigenous Peoples in North America.
Motivational Set: Students will think about human’s connection to nature and the importance of these connections.
The teacher will ask the students to consider the following questions:
- How have Indigenous Peoples’ connection to land, bison, and culture been severed as a result of colonization?
- Why is the reintroduction to the teachings of the bison so significant in the process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples?
Main Procedures/Strategies:
Note: Prior to students viewing these videos in class, the teacher should view the videos and consider questions that will help students answer the questions in the viewing guide.
- Discuss student responses to the questions posed in the Motivational Set.
- Hand out the viewing assignment to students (see attached).
- Watch the NCCIE video Buffalo Hide Tanning and Teachings – Part 1 – Introducing Buffalo People Arts Institute.
- Watch the CBC Gem video Absolutely Canadian Bison Return (44:00)
- Watch NCCIE video Buffalo Hide Tanning and Teachings – Part 7 – Smoking a Buffalo Hide.
- Stop and start the videos as needed to discuss and clarify. Students should be following along and completing the hand-out.
- Additional questions for consideration:
- Why is the buffalo important to the Buffalo People Arts Institute?
- What do we learn about the buffalo and their characteristics from the Bison Return video?
- Discuss the overall importance of the reintroduction of the Bison and review questions with students.
Closing: Students will reflect on the spiritual ties that Indigenous people have with the buffalo and how the reintroduction of the bison/buffalo return to the land has begun a journey of healing and reconciliation.
As a large group, discuss the following: What more needs to be done to honour and include Indigenous People more fully in Canadian society?
Assessment: Have students do an individual reflection on the things they learned from the viewing of the videos as a final assessment.
Learning styles this activity connects with
- Spiritual (e.g., Relational) Learners
- Physical (e.g., Tactile, Experiential, Visual) Learners
- Intellectual (e.g., Rational, Logical) Learners
This activity connects with spiritual learners because this lesson is about place and identity and common values that relate to the connection of the bison. The bison is a grand spirit for many Indigenous Peoples.
This activity connects with physical learners because students will watch the videos.
This activity connects with intellectual learners because students are thinking and responding to questions related to the videos they are watching.
Assessment
This section contains information for assessing progress in students' learning. While Indigenous approaches to assessment may be highlighted, conventional assessment methods may also be discussed.
Students will reflect on:
- any of the videos provided, what was a new learning or teaching that one has never thought of before and share why?
- the spiritual ties that Indigenous people have with the buffalo and how the reintroduction of the bison/buffalo return to the land has begun a journey of healing and reconciliation.
As a large group, discuss the following: What more needs to be done to honour and include Indigenous People more fully in Canadian society?
Assessment: Have students do an individual reflection on what they learned from the viewing of the videos as a final assessment.
The teacher can assess the students' learning by evaluating journal reflection responses to the questions posed throughout this lesson. Using an assessment for learning strategy, it is recommended that instructors make notes of student participation and work completed through Anecdotal Notes.
Related resources
- Introducing Buffalo People Arts InstituteLink
Info
To learn about the history and relationship Indigenous Peoples had with the bison - listen closely to Joely BigEagle-Kequahtooway and Lorne Kequahtooway in the video Buffalo Hide Tanning and Teachings – Part 1 – Introducing Buffalo People Arts Institute.
- Buffalo People Arts Institute - Sharing Final Reflections While Smoking a Buffalo HideLink
Info
To learn about the experiences of Joely BigEagle-Kequahtooway and Lorne Kequahtooway and their connection to the bison, listen to the Buffalo Hide Tanning and Teachings – Part 7 – Smoking a Buffalo Hide.
Where can I find additional information?
- CBC Gem Absolutely Canadian - Bison ReturnLink
Info
This 44:07 minute long video discusses the traditional and background information for the Bison. In 2017 for the first time in over 100 years, Bison will return to Banff National Park (Alberta). The area has potential to support a thousand animals making Banff the potential home to one of the largest free-ranging Bison populations in North America.
- Buffalo People Arts InstituteLink
Holism and All Our Relations
This lesson plan has been developed with an Indigenous lens that is holistic in nature, and addresses the following:
Relationship with the land
Students will gain a sense of connection to place and to land. This will be shown by and through the perspective of the displacement and near extinction of the bison. Bison and the ecologies of where the bison lived show that these two work together. First Nations Peoples, lived within this land and the ecological system with the bison. The People needed to have an understanding of where they lived and how the bison took care of the prairies. First Nations Peoples understand this balance. Taking care of the land, meant taking care and being responsible for everything in it. No wasting, no over hunting, no contaminating the waters or soil. Taking care meant having a relationship with the land.
Language and Culture
N/A
Intergenerational learning with Elders / Knowledge Holders
Were Elders or Knowledge Holders involved in the development of this Lesson Plan? No Can Elders or Knowledge Holders be invited to help teach part of this lesson plan? Yes
Ethics in the classroom: care, truthfulness and trust, respect, integrity
Respect for the spiritual beliefs, the significance, and the special nature of the relationship many Indigenous Peoples have with the bison.
Relationship with family, ancestors
N/A
Connections with everyday life
N/A
Healthy relationship with self and identity
Students are asked to reflect on their identity and the identities of Indigenous peoples by considering the following questions: How was the bison attached or linked to an Indigenous identity? Brainstorm why the bison were special to Indigenous Peoples.
Personal reflection time (connecting with thoughts and feelings)
Ask students the following questions: Have they ever thought of the buffalo prior to this lesson? Why or why not? What kind of relationship did Indigenous Peoples have with the Bison? How does one say buffalo or bison in any of the different Indigenous languages within Canada?