Smudging in Schools:
- Smudging is a practice of
mindfulness, like yoga and
meditation
- Not a religious activity
- Like a “code of conduct”,
smudging explains the way you
want to behave in the world
(seeing good things, saying good
things, hearing good things,
feeling good things, and walking
in a good way).
Education and Smudging
- Smudging is about preparing to
be in the present moment
- For our learnings it is important
to take this moment to ground
oneself and prepare for learning
- Benefits ALL people in a school
environment. Indigenous and
non-Indigenous alike.
- Smudging in schools conveys that
Indigenous people are part of the
accepted norms of the school
Relationships:
- Reminding us to be kind to
yourself and take care of your
mind, body, emotions and spirit.
It also reminds us how we want to
treat others.
- It reminds us that we have a
connection to the natural world.
Political:
- Indigenous people were not
allowed to smudge, it was made
illegal. Smudging
- Part of the resurgence of
Indigenous culture
- Canada does not inherently
in Schools
include indigenous culture;
Indigenous people constantly
must adapt to a culture that is not What you need to
their own -- in their own
traditional territory know and how to
- People do not have to smudge if it approach smudging
makes them uncomfortable, but
since other cultural practices are
in your classrooms
allowed and respected in schools
(time off during Christian
holidays for example), smudging
deserves the same respect
- Actively discriminating against
this Indigenous cultural practice
leads Indigenous parents,
students, teachers and other
faculty members to feel ashamed
and embarrassed to practice their
cultural identity.
- After a cultural genocide, this is a
delicate time for many, taking
back their history and culture.
- Making fun of directly or
indirectly, or making negative
comments about the practices
directly are microaggressions and
these damage and degrade
Indigenous people’s identity.
SCIENCE: Chemistry, Biology, Physics
- To complete a smudge, the burnt medicine
is returned to the Earth. In a class you can
examine chemical changes: burning and
cycling of matter.
- How elements evolve, evolution of
periodic table, originally the periodic table
was made up of fire, earth, water, air. The
smudge contains earth (medicine), water
(shell), fire (lighting the smudge), and air
(wind with feather).
- Examine the scientific evidence that
burning sage kills germs.
- Medicine picking (Sage), reproduction
(what type of reproduction? Why not pick
the female sage?).
- Examine the aerodynamics of a feather,
different types of feathers, if you drop a
feather what force is acting upon it? Be
sure to include teachings around eagle
feathers and how these should never be
dropped.
- Examine how and why smoke rises.
- Investigate the law of conservation of
mass and recognize mass is conserved in
chemical reactions, matter is not created or
destroyed.
MATH:
- Weigh the materials before and after.
- Medicine picking (ratios, and dry weight
compared to wet weight).
HISTORY:
- Required to incorporate Métis, First
Nations and Inuit perspectives in every
unit.
- Why was smudging made illegal? What
other practices were made illegal?
- Examine racism around controversial
issues.
Where could I
possibly incorporate
smudging in the
Curriculum?
Reminder: Smudging should always
be done by a knowledge keeper.
Important Links
Document from Manitoba Education and
Training: Creating Racism-Free Schools
through Critical/Courageous
Conversations on Race:
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/su
pport/racism_free/full_doc.pdf
Manitoba Education Smudging Protocol:
https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/iid/publicatio
ns/pdf/smudging_guidelines.pdf
TRC Calls to Action:
http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_
English2.pdf
ELA:
- Examining and including different
cultural competencies and contexts
associated with smudging.
- Taking/examining different cultural
perspectives.
- Stories and the natural world, what's the
importance of all four elements in a
smudge?
- Allegory of Plato's Cave, looking at
what occurs when belief systems clash.
What tensions may arise?
GEOGRAPHY:
- Biomes, where does sage grow?
- Indigenous perspectives on resource use
and sustainability.
- Examine dynamics of ecosystems.
MUSIC:
- Traditional First Nations hand
drumming requires a smudge to begin.
PSYCHOLOGY:
- Ideas around morality, what's right and
wrong?
- How does our psyche come to value
things and devalue others?
- How does new information impact our
cognitive schemas?
PHYSICAL EDUCATION:
- Outdoor education by medicine picking,
and survival uses for sage(tea, mosquito
repellent).
HEALTH:
- Cleanliness, sage as an antibacterial.
- Diet using traditional foods.
HUMAN ECOLOGY:
- What do we commonly cook sage with?
- What is the nutritional value of sage?