Land Acknowledgement
Oki, and welcome to our Professional Inquiry Project. Our University’s Blackfoot name is Iniskim, meaning Sacred Buffalo Stone. The University is located in traditional Blackfoot Confederacy territory. We honour the Blackfoot people and their traditional ways of knowing in caring for this land, as well as all Aboriginal peoples who have helped shape and continue to strengthen our University community.
Implementation of Medicine Wheel Philosophy
Spiritual – The students will be able to examine and discover different First Nations games. The students will be able to value the purpose of the games as well as appreciate the physical activity and the benefits that it holds for their well‐being. Physical ‐ The students will discover and participate in a variety of traditional First Nations games. The students will become aware of, build upon, and practice their locomotor and non‐ locomotor skills. Emotional – The students will identify and share how physical activity makes them feel. They will develop a better understanding of physical activity and the benefits it holds for their well‐being. The students will be able to contribute to a team activity. Aboriginal students will develop a sense of identity and enhance their self‐esteem through the awareness of First Nations games. Mental – The students will acquire knowledge of games that were played by First Nations people and the purpose these games served. The students will be actively learning the games played by the First Nations people. The students will be able to incorporate these games into their daily lives to share with the future generations. (n.d.). Grade 2 Traditional Aboriginal Sports Games - Prairie Spirit .... Retrieved November 21, 2020, from https://www.spiritsd.ca/learningresources/FNM%20Resources/Traditional%20Aboriginal%20Sports%20Games,%20Done%20June%2014%20(2).pdf |
Background of Aboriginal Games
Looking back upon the Aboriginal peoples history, games were more than just a personal pass time or a way to spend time with friends. It became a way of life and a tool to educated their people with skills to be used in their daily life. Hunting was a major skill used by the Aboriginal people as a way of survival and children needed to be taught this from a young age. Children were taught by their fathers and these games became not only a way to enhance their survival ability, but also to cultivate social and physical development. By the time the children became adults, the relevance of games switched from educational purposes to simply for enjoyment.
Indigenous cultures were separated into different tribes and games were seen as a way to communicate between groups. Games could be offered as gifts to near by tribes and open a line of communication between groups. These games would be passed down from generation to generation and became a major aspect of their FNMI culture. At times, games that were shared with other tribes were typically adapted to fit that group, but the premise would remain the same. Regardless of these variations tribes would make, these games were used as a way to challenge one another during a "KO WE TA SQEEK", meaning a period where tribes would meet together in a time of peace. In today's time, traditional games are still a major aspect of FNMI culture and on many reserves, these games are used on sports days or during large social gatherings.