Indigenous Collection

Supporting Indigenous Literacy

Pre-contact Indigenous education involved family and community as teachers and care-givers. Storytelling was a highly developed and respected skill, and Elders stressed the behaviours of listening, watching and waiting. Children were taught to sit still and enjoy the story, gradually learning to apply the teachings to their own day-to-day lives. Since there were no books, movies, radios or television, these stories became the libraries of the people. Storytelling is still hardwired into Indigenous children, families and communities.

When presented with culturally relevant narratives, children will readily identify with the story. Moreover, teaching strategies which encourage students to access their prior knowledge about a book’s topic and link the text to the child’s personal experiences are critical to creating a motivation to read, the most important step towards developing fluency and comprehension.

I have identified a number of books in the Porcupine Collection that I feel will appeal to Indigenous children, although there are many more books in this series that provide topics and characters that will also appeal. Realistic fiction and legends have been balanced with humour, a key element in any early literacy collection. I have worked with Curriculum Plus materials for a number of years, and as a retired literacy teacher, I especially appreciate the downloadable teaching resources on the website, available as 1-page lesson plans and activity masters. Designed for each book in the collection, these resources are well-developed and creative. My favourites are the Readers’ Theatre pieces.

I have witnessed the joy experienced by Indigenous children in my reading groups when they recognized themselves in illustrations and stories relevant to their day-to- day lives. I learned to listen and hear what the students were teaching me. I learned that not only teachers can have the ability to be storytellers. Opportunities and acknowledgement must also be given to those children who have a family story or an event to share, because we all have stories to tell.

Wendy Edwards, M.Ed., Port Alberni, BC
Author/Educator/Consultant