Indigenous Storybooks
Many Nations Resources
Audio
- Legends Project - This CBC site documents First Nations and Inuit stories from coast to coast. Please note: access to the audio files requires Flash.
- Oral Histories of Native Food Revitalization - This audio journey features contemporary Native American community leaders and traditional food gatherers sharing diverse stories of native foodways, their cultural knowledge, and practices of Indigenous nutrition and health.
Video
- Indigenous Cinema at the NFB - The National Film Board’s rich online collection of Indigenous-made films. Please note: this collection has not been reviewed by Indigenous Storybooks, so please refer to Criteria for Reviewing Indigenous Resources in the FAQ section as you preview materials for classroom use.
- Stories of our Elders - This collection of stories is featured on IsumaTV, a collaborative multimedia platform for Indigenous filmmakers and media organizations. Each user can design their own space, or channel, to reflect their own identity, mandate, and audience. The collective platform currently carries over 6000 videos, and other images and audio files, in more than 80 different languages, representing cultures and media organizations from Canada, U.S.A., Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America. Please note: this collection has not been reviewed by Indigenous Storybooks, so please refer to Criteria for Reviewing Indigenous Resources as you preview materials for classroom use.
- First Nations Films: Wapikoni Mobile - Wapikoni is a mobile studio that travels to Indigenous communities in Canada and abroad. This site features over 1,000 films and 750 musical recordings. Please note: this collection has not been reviewed by Indigenous Storybooks, so please refer to Criteria for Reviewing Indigenous Resources as you preview materials for classroom use.
- Red Earth Uncovered - The Red Earth Uncovered series takes viewers on adventures to places where world-renowned mysteries remain elusive. Tom Jackson and Shayla Stonechild lead the investigation of archaeological discoveries and ancient stories to uncover how Indigenous Peoples may have played a role in historical events and stories. Episodes are available in English and Cree.
- Hozomeen: A story about chert, identity, and landscape - Hozomeen chert is an abundant and distinctive tool stone found in the northern Cascade range of BC and Washington. This video features archeologist Bob Mierendorf and his work in the North Cascades National Park that reveals a 10,000 year long record of Indigenous involvement with this rugged, high-mountain landscape.
- Wawahte: Stories of Residential School Survivors - An educational documentary based on the book of the same title by Robert P. Wells, first published in 2012. It tells the story of Indian Residential Schools from the perspective of three of its survivors. This film is free to be screened for elementary and high school students.
Curriculum
- Strong Nations Author’s Circle - A comprehensive A-Z list of Indigenous storytellers, authors*, biographies, and titles. The list is compiled by Strong Nations, a publishing house and one of the largest Indigenous bookstores in North America. *Please note not all authors listed are Indigenous.
- Math Catcher: Mathematics Through Aboriginal Storytelling - Math Catcher introduces mathematics and science through the use of First Nations imagery and storytelling. This site features a series of stories with mathematical themes. Each story is based on storytelling traditions and has been translated into several First Nations languages (Blackfoot, Cree, Squamish, Heiltsuk, Nisga’a, Sliammon, Halq’em ́eylem, Hul’q’umi’num’, and Huu-ay-aht) as well as bilingual picture books in Blackfoot/English, Cree/English, Squamish/English, Nisga’a/English, and Sliammon/English.
- The Elder Project - The Elder Project features First Nations and Inuit student poetry. Canadian poet, Wendy Morton, works with students, trains them as poets, and supervises their interviews with their Elders. The interviews are turned into poems and published into books used in school districts.
- South Slave Divisional Education Council - Language resources in Chipewyan, Cree, and Slavey. Please note: The animation files require Adobe Flash.
- My Old People's Stories: A Legacy for Yukon First Nations - Narrators present stories from Yukon Elders told to anthropologist Catharine McClellan.
- Native Daughters - A collection of stories, profiles, and multimedia projects about a diverse group of Native American women.
Tools and Services
- First Voices - FirstVoices is a suite of web-based tools and services designed to support Indigenous people engaged in language archiving, language teaching, and culture revitalization.
- N'we Jinan - A nonprofit organization that brings a mobile recording studio into schools and community centres in order to create an environment where youth can express themselves musically and creatively under the guidance of a professional music producer. Co-creates musical videos with youth that reflect the priorities of Indigenous youth in rural and urban communities across Canada.