Possible Ways to Use the Coast Salish 13 Moons

Possible Ways to use the Coast Salish 13 Moons

as a Cultural Framework

*The Na’tsa’maht document offers numerous strategies as well.

Administration and Staff

Explore the question:Why does ancient wisdom matter in the modern world?
Include information on CS Moons in staff meetings, agendas, school newsletters, pre-ordered student agendas, and on school websites, emails, etc.
Take staff off-site to learn in nature together
Name areas of the school to reflect local culture
Start a school book club featuring Traditional Ecological Knowledge or other topics of interest
Acknowledge the Traditional Territory (See Traditional Territory Acknowledgment Information Sheet for details and scripts)
Reflect on the First Peoples Principles of Learning regularly
Connect with Aboriginal Education Staff

Whole-school Cultural Events

Have a science fair with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) themes
Incorporate harvesting, preparing, preserving techniques of season
Offer traditional tea for staff, parents, and students
Incorporate CS Moons on special events/dates throughout the school year (Thanksgiving, Orange Shirt Day, Halloween, Remembrance Day, Christmas, New Years, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Victoria Day, National Aboriginal Day, Literacy Week, etc.)
Develop a pit cook area

Role Model Presentations

Review Role Model Binder
Book Role Model presentations featuring TEK of the season
Have students reflect on the Role Model presentation to support understanding
Followlocal protocolby modeling respectful behavior towards Role Models (greet, offer water, and provide honourarium)

Elder Visits

Ask Elders in Residence to share their knowledge about TEK of the season
Invite Elders to Staff meetings to share other relevant information with staff
Invite an Elder to provide the Territory Acknowledgement at a special school event

Local Aboriginal Language Learning

Choose some words to learn in the local Coast Salish language
Include Aboriginal language in signage, staff meetings, agendas, school newsletters, pre-ordered student agendas, and on school websites, emails, etc.
Source, develop or acquire, with community collaboration, local language/cultural learning resources for classroom learning (see firstvoices.com)
Learn a song which includes local Coast Salish language

Cross-curricular Programming

Incorporate harvesting, preparing, preserving techniques of season
Encourage teachers to review available Aboriginal resources that include cross-curricular programming
Use the 7-E Model for developing learning activities: Environment, Engage, Explore, Elder, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluation (See First Peoples Science 5-9 for more information)
Plan keeping the Big Ideas in mind
Consider how TEK includes aspects of ELA, Science, Social Studies, Math, and Art Education
Use the CS Moons to engage students in an inquiry project

Place-based Experiential Learning Experiences

Resources

Display resources have book talks featuring seasonal information
Enhance Coast Salish Moon bulletin board display by including artifacts, etc.
Source resources on local seasonal rounds and those from other areas
Increase authentic aboriginal resources in school libraries
Remove and dispose of outdated, unauthentic resources in school libraries
Sort and label resources to match CS Moons (books, kits, weblinks, lesson/unit plans, experiential learning opportunities, field trip ideas, etc.)
Use lessons on

PVP Meeting: Cultural Plan Implementation & Coast Salish 13 Moons Framework February 16, 2017