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Indigenous Local Government

Grade: Six
Subject: Social Studies
Unit: Local Government
Lesson Duration: 44mins

OUTCOMES FROM 2013 MINISTERIAL ORDER: Cross-curricular Competencies

Outcomes (a to j from M.O.):
B: think critically: conceptualize, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate to construct
knowledge;

D: Manage Information

OUTCOMES FROM ALBERTA PROGRAM OF STUDIES

General Learning Outcomes 6.1:

Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the dynamic relationship

between governments and citizens as they engage in the democratic process.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

6.1.1 recognize how individuals and governments interact and bring about change within their
local and national communities

6.1.4: Analyze the structure and functions of local governments in Alberta

6.S.2: Historical Thinking

OUTCOMES stated in learner friendly language
Students will:
● Consider Urban/Rural local government that we have already covered and how it is
different than Indigenous Local Government
● Consider Urban/Rural local government that we have already covered and how it is
similar to Indigenous Local Government
● Complete some minor research on treaties in Canada
● Explore the historical implications of treaties in Alberta
ASSESSMENTS
Pre-assessment (prior Formative: Students will Summative (if applicable):
knowledge) (if applicable): receive Cornell notes to
Students will be asked to answer while we are moving
recall aspects of local along with the lesson.
government we have Additionally, students will be
already covered, such as filling out a brief exit slip at
leaders, how they are the end of class to tell me
elected, and what they do about their research, which
will be the basis of our intro in
the next lesson
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LEARNING RESOURCES CONSULTED

Resource #1: Alberta Program of Studies
Resource #2: Voices in Democracy: Action and Participation, Pearson Textbook
Resource #3: http://albertametis.com/governance/
Resource #4: https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/first-nation-chiefs-traditional-or-elected-roles-
and-responsibilities
Resource #5: www.native-land.ca

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

● PowerPoint
● Student Cornell Notes
● iPad’s

PROCEDURE
- Students will follow along the slide show, putting the
differences in themselves, meaning I will guide them to
Student Differentiation:
the information
- I will provide the note template, so students won’t need to
create one for themselves

Introduction (time: 10)

Hook/Attention Grabber: To start the lesson, I will ask students the following questions that
they will answer with yes (raising their hand) or no (leaving it down):
1) Do you know what the treaties are?
2) Do you know what treaty Taber is located in?
3) Do you know when the treaty was signed?
After we have covered these questions, I will tell students that we are going to be talking
about Indigenous Local Government, so we will be starting with a land acknowledgement, and
then explaining why it is important.

Transition to Body: To transition to the body, I will hand out the Cornell notes, and tell
students that we’ll have a brief ten to fifteen minute lecture on Indigenous local government
where I will answer all the questions to the Cornell notes, so they will want to make sure they
are paying attention. I will let students know that if they have any questions at all then they
can raise their hand and ask.

Body (time: 32)

I will preface the information with letting students know that we have to have a little bit of
background knowledge on Indigenous history. So, although we will be talking about local
government, we will be talking a lot of history today, as well as allowing students to do a little
bit of research.

Learning Activity #1: The first part of this lesson will be primarily lecture from me explaining
a little bit of history of treaties in Canada, the main leaders, how they are elected, and their
roles and responsibilities, hopefully taking no more than 15 minutes to go over this
information. I will begin with a brief explanation of terms I will be using, going over the
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questions that students will be asked to answer, and then showing the treaties that are in
Alberta. Students will be instructed to take notes but will be provided with the questions to
respond to.

Learning Activity #2: Once we have made it through the information, I will tell students that
now they will have the chance to do their own research on treaties and this topic. I will pull up
the website and show students the layout of native-land.ca. I will quickly show the functions of
the website, how to search and find different info such as language or treaty. Students will go
to the website and answer the following questions with their partners:
1. What are some other towns or cities located on Treaty Seven Land?
2. What are some other towns or cities have you been to in Canada that are on treaty
land? What treaty?
3. Think back to the Iroquois unit, what are some similarities and differences between
them and Indigenous government now?
Students will record their answers on the other side of their Cornell notes.

Learning Activity #3: Once students finish this discussion, they can continue to search on
the website and meet with another group to share their responses.

Closure (time: 2)

Feedback From Students on Learning:

- Students will give each other formative assessment through group and partner work
- We will go over the lesson notes as a class during the next social studies lesson.

Transition To Next Lesson(s):

- To transition, I will tell students that we will now be moving on from types of local
government to looking at things like the roles and responsibilities of elected and non-
elected officials in government, and how governments give citizens a voice.

Reflection on lesson: