Grades: Kindergarten to Grade 12
Subject Areas: Social Studies, Science, Arts Education
Artefact /Place/ Skill: Northwest Coast Colours & Painting
Making Space
How might teachers prepare their students to work with this content? What background knowledge might be required?
- Teachers should address and make known that Northwest Coast art forms and design elements have retained much of the style and characteristics of those from thousands of years ago, with much of the same colour palette still used today.
- Black, red, blue and green paint pigments have been used on the Northwest Coast for thousands of years.
- Additionally, black and red are the two oldest paint colors worldwide, tracing back on the Northwest Coast for at least 4,000 years.
- These colours include the mineral pigments of red ochre (Hematite), black charcoal, blue (Vivianite) and green (Celadonite).
- Teachers could create a lesson/unit that asks students to think about how Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast would have gathered minerals and materials in order to make paint pigments.
- Teachers can ask students to think more critically regarding the following questions: How would they have grinded these minerals down? What would they have used to bind these pigments together in order to make a paint like consistency? What resources were available prior to the creation of manufactured synthetic paints?
- Although the minerals used/discussed relate to Geology, this analysis could be cross-curricular with an art study lesson.
Practice Humility
How might non-Indigenous teachers sensitively work with this subject? What might they need to consider in their own positionality?
- Non-Indigenous teachers should have an awareness of art forms, colour palette, and design elements differ from one another, and have distinct characteristics among different Indigenous cultures along the Coast.
- Furthermore, teachers should address more specifically that Coast Salish art and design elements differ from that of northern formline styles, as well as colour use.
- Teachers can identify that there are 3 major styles of Northwest Coast Indigenous art which are referred to as northern, central and southern.
- Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast have a long tradition of oral history—knowledge of how or where to find these resources would have been passed down orally.
- These mineral resources come from the land and there needs to be recognition of a relationship based off reciprocity.
- Teachers should learn and use Indigenous place names and language to describe the things being done.
- Teachers should have an understanding that learning is in the land, so land should be the starting place.
Acknowledge Sources
What can teachers do to find good supporting resources? How should they be cited, especially when it comes to Indigenous knowledges?
- Teachers should make it a priority to connect with their local Indigenous community, as well as connect with their Indigenous support worker/teacher for guidance or assistance.
- Avoid texts and resources that are over 25-30 years old for accounts or explanations of topics, events or trends involving Indigenous peoples. Where possible, use contemporary sources created by or with the involvement of Indigenous contributors.
- When referencing Indigenous content, give students a chance to work with locally developed resources.
- Teachers will need to be open to learning about local protocols when using and introducing local materials.
- Awareness and recognition that the protocols and worldviews are diverse across BC, so they need to be respected within a local context.
- Use resources that include skilled Indigenous community members and third-party outdoor education specialists that will help facilitate the challenges and difficulties associated with learning outside of the classroom (equipment, expertise, risk management and transportation).
- As a teacher, make sure that there is a proactive effort in ensuring that you are not just taking and doing, but rather that you are asking and conferring, and that there’s community involvement in every piece.
- Get permission from the people who have the knowledge and the language, learn how to teach it, and listen, so that in the future you can say, “This is the teaching I have from this place…”
- There should always be recognition and acknowledgement of who and where specific knowledges come from.
Additional Resources (Starting Points):
- Native Paint Revealed
- Colouring the Northwest Coast
- Contemporary Indigenous Art in Canada
- History of Indigenous Art in Canada
- Perpetual Salish
- Northwest Coast Formline
- Finding the Recipe
- Northwest Coast Painted Designs
- Musqueam: Giving Information about our Teachings
BC Curriculum Connections
How does it relate to BC Curriculum?
Click on the subject area below to expand the section.
Science
Big Idea(s):
- Earth materials change as they move through the rock cycle and can be used as natural resources.
Curricular Competencies:
- Experience and interpret the local environment.
- Identify First Peoples perspectives and knowledge as sources of information.
- Express and reflect on personal, shared, or others’ experiences of place.
Concepts & Content:
- The rock cycle.
- Local types of earth materials.
- First Peoples concepts of interconnectedness in the environment.
Big Idea(s):
- Everyday materials are often mixtures.
Curricular Competencies:
- Experience and interpret the local environment.
- Identify First Peoples perspectives and knowledge as sources of information.
- Express and reflect on personal, shared, or others’ experiences of place.
Concepts & Content:
- Mixtures:
- separated using a difference in component properties
- local First Peoples knowledge of separation and extraction methods
Big Idea(s):
- Minerals, rocks, and earth materials form in response to conditions within and on the Earth’s surface and are the foundation of many resource-based industries.
Curricular Competencies:
- Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions, including increasingly abstract ones, about the natural world.
- Collaboratively and individually plan, select, and use appropriate investigation methods, including field work and lab experiments, to collect reliable data (qualitative and quantitative).
- Assess risks and address ethical, cultural, and/or environmental issues associated with proposed methods.
- Apply First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local knowledge as sources of information.
- Consider the changes in knowledge over time as tools and technologies have developed.
- Contribute to care for self, others community, and world through individual or collaborative approaches.
- Express and reflect on a variety of experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through place.
Concepts & Content:
- Classification of minerals; economic, environmental, and First Peoples considerations.
- First Peoples perspectives.
- First Peoples knowledge of landforms over time; weathering and erosion processes.
- First Peoples knowledge of geologic events.
Social Studies
Big Idea(s):
- The identities, worldviews, and languages of B.C. First Peoples are renewed, sustained, and transformed through their connection to the land.
- Cultural expressions convey the richness, diversity, and resiliency of B.C. First Peoples.
Curricular Competencies:
- Assess the significance of people, events, places, issues, or developments in the past and present (significance).
- Assess the connectedness or the reciprocal relationship between people and place (cause and consequence).
- Explain different perspectives on past and present people, places, issues, or events, and distinguish between worldviews of today and the past (perspective).
- Using appropriate protocols, interpret a variety of sources, including local stories or oral traditions, and Indigenous ways of knowing (holistic, experiential, reflective, and relational experiences, and memory) to contextualize different events in the past and present (evidence).
Concepts & Content:
- Traditional territories of the B.C. First Nations and relationships with the land.
- Role of oral tradition for B.C. First Peoples.
Arts Education
Big Idea(s):
- People create art to express who they are as individuals and community.
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts express meaning in unique ways.
- People connect to others and share ideas through the arts.
Curricular Competencies:
- Explore elements, processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, and techniques of the arts.
- Observe and share how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, and techniques.
- Develop processes and technical skills in a variety of art forms to nurture motivation, development, and imagination.
- Interpret how symbols are used through the arts.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, texture, colour; principles of design: pattern, repetition.
- Processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools and techniques to support arts activities.
- Symbolism as expressions of meaning.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- Variety of local works of art and artistic traditions.
Big Idea(s):
- People create art to express who they are as individuals and community.
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts express meaning in unique ways.
- People connect to others and share ideas through the arts.
Curricular Competencies:
- Explore elements, processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, and techniques of the arts.
- Observe and share how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, and techniques.
- Develop processes and technical skills in a variety of art forms to nurture motivation, development, and imagination.
- Interpret symbols and how they can be used to express meaning through the arts.
- Express feelings, ideas, stories, observations, and experiences through the arts.
- Describe and respond to works of art.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, texture, colour; principles of design: pattern, repetition.
- Processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools and techniques to support arts activities.
- Symbolism as expressions of meaning.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- Variety of local works of art and artistic traditions.
Big Idea(s):
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts are each unique languages for creating and communicating.
- People connect to the hearts and minds of others in a variety of places and times through the arts.
Curricular Competencies:
- Explore elements, processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, and techniques of the arts.
- Observe and share how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, and techniques.
- Develop processes and technical skills in a variety of art forms to refine artistic abilities.
- Interpret symbolism and how it can be used to express meaning through the arts.
- Express feelings, ideas, stories, observations, and experiences through creative works.
- Describe and respond to works of art.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, texture, colour, form; principles of design: pattern, repetition, rhythm, contrast.
- Processes, materials, technologies, tools, and techniques to support arts activities.
- Symbolism as a means of expressing specific meaning.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- A variety of local works of art and artistic traditions from diverse cultures, communities, times, and places.
Big Idea(s):
- The mind and body work together when creating works of art.
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts are each unique languages for creating and communicating.
- The arts connect our experiences to the experiences of others.
Curricular Competencies:
- Choose elements, processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments of the arts.
- Explore identity, place, culture, and belonging through arts experiences.
- Observe, listen, describe, inquire, and predict how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, and techniques.
- Refine ideas, processes, and technical skills in a variety of art forms.
- Interpret and communicate ideas using symbolism in the arts.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, space, texture, colour, form; principles of design: pattern, repetition, rhythm, contrast, emphasis.
- Symbolism as ways of creating and representing meaning.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- A variety of local works of art and artistic traditions from diverse cultures, communities, times, and places.
Big Idea(s):
- Creative expression is a means to explore and share one’s identity within a community.
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts are each unique languages for creating and communicating.
- Exploring works of art exposes us to diverse values, knowledge, and perspectives.
Curricular Competencies:
- Explore identity, place, culture, and belonging through arts experiences.
- Observe, listen, describe, inquire and predict how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments to create and communicate.
- Interpret and communicate ideas using symbolism to express meaning through the arts.
- Describe and respond to works of art and explore artists’ intent.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, space, texture, colour, form; principles of design: pattern, repetition, balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, variety
- Processes, materials, technologies, tools and techniques to support arts activities.
- Image development strategies.
- Symbolism and metaphor create and represent meaning.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- A variety of regional and national works of art and artistic traditions from diverse cultures, communities, times, and places.
Big Idea(s):
- Engaging in creative expression and experiences expands people’s sense of identity and community.
- Dance, drama, music and visual arts are each unique languages for creating and communicating.
- Works of art influence and are influenced by the world around us.
Curricular Competencies:
- Intentionally select artistic elements, processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments to express meaning in their work.
- Explore connections to identity, place, culture, and belonging through creative expression.
- Explore a range of cultures, and the relationships among cultures, societies, and the arts.
- Observe, listen, describe, inquire and predict how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments to create and communicate.
- Develop and refine ideas, processes, and technical skills in a variety of art forms to improve the quality of artistic creations.
- Interpret and communicate ideas using symbols and elements to express meaning through the arts.
- Describe and respond to works of art and explore artists’ intent.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, space, texture, colour, form, value; principles of design: balance, pattern, repetition, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, unity, harmony, variety.
- Processes, materials, technologies, tools and techniques to support creative works.
- Image development strategies.
- Symbolism and metaphor to explore ideas and perspective.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- A variety of regional and national works of art and artistic traditions from diverse cultures, communities, times, and places.
Big Idea(s):
- Engaging in creative expression and experiences expands people’s sense of identity and community.
- Artistic expressions differ across time and place.
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts are each unique languages for creating and communicating.
Curricular Competencies:
- Intentionally select, apply, combine, and arrange artistic elements, processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments in art making.
- Explore relationships between identity, place, culture, society, and belonging through the arts.
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of personal, social, cultural, historical, and environmental contexts in relation to the arts.
- Research, describe, interpret and evaluate how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments in the arts.
- Develop and refine ideas, processes, and technical skills in a variety of art forms to improve the quality of artistic creations.
- Examine relationships between the arts and the wider world.
- Interpret and communicate ideas using symbols and elements to express meaning through the arts.
- Describe, interpret and respond to works of art and explore artists’ intent.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, space, texture, colour, form, value; principles of design: pattern, repetition, balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, variety, unity, harmony.
- Processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, strategies, and techniques to support creative works.
- Image development strategies.
- Symbolism and metaphor to explore ideas and perspective.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- A variety of national and international works of art and artistic traditions from diverse cultures, communities, times, and places.
Big Idea(s):
- Experiencing art challenges our point of view and expands our understanding of others.
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts are each unique languages for creating and communicating.
Curricular Competencies:
- Intentionally select and apply materials, movements, technologies, environments, tools, and techniques by combining and arranging artistic elements, processes, and principles in art making.
- Explore relationships between identity, place, culture, society, and belonging through the arts.
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of personal, social, cultural, historical, and environmental contexts in relation to the arts.
- Research, describe, interpret and evaluate how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments in the arts.
- Develop and refine ideas, processes, and technical skills in a variety of art forms to improve the quality of artistic creations.
- Reflect on works of art and creative processes to understand artists’ intentions.
- Examine relationships between the arts and the wider world.
- Interpret and communicate ideas using symbols and elements to express meaning through the arts.
- Describe, interpret and respond to works of art.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, space, texture, colour, form, value; principles of design: pattern, repetition, balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, movement, variety, proportion, unity, harmony.
- Processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, strategies, and techniques to support creative works.
- Image development strategies.
- Symbolism and metaphor to explore ideas and perspective.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- A variety of national and international works of art and artistic traditions from diverse cultures, communities, times, and places.
- Ethical considerations and cultural appropriation related to the arts.
Big Idea(s):
- Individual and collective expression can be achieved through the arts.
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts are each unique languages for creating and communicating.
Curricular Competencies:
- Intentionally select and apply materials, movements, technologies, environments, tools, and techniques by combining and arranging artistic elements, processes, and principles in art making.
- Explore relationships between identity, place, culture, society, and belonging through arts activities and experiences.
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of personal, social, cultural, historical, and environmental contexts in relation to the arts.
- Describe, interpret and evaluate how artists (dancers, actors, musicians, and visual artists) use processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, techniques, and environments to create and communicate ideas.
- Reflect on works of art and creative processes to understand artists motivations and meanings.
- Interpret works of art using knowledge and skills from various areas of learning.
- Interpret and communicate ideas using symbols and elements to express meaning through the arts.
- Describe, interpret and respond to works of art.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts:
- elements of design: line, shape, space, texture, colour, form, value; principles of design: pattern, repetition, balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, movement, variety, proportion, unity, harmony.
- Processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, strategies, and techniques to support creative works.
- Image development strategies.
- Symbolism and metaphor to explore ideas and perspective.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and arts-making processes.
- A variety of national and international works of art and artistic traditions from diverse cultures, communities, times, and places.
- Ethical considerations and cultural appropriation related to the arts.
Big Idea(s):
- Identity is explored, expressed, and impacted through arts experiences.
- The arts provide opportunities to gain insight into the perspectives and experiences of people from a variety of times, places, and cultures.
- Dance, drama, music, and visual arts each use their own unique sensory language for creating
and communicating.
Curricular Competencies:
- Explore materials, environments, tools, and techniques by combining and arranging elements, processes, and principles.
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of personal, social, cultural, historical, and environmental contexts in relation to the arts.
- Explore relationships between identity, place, culture, society, and belonging through artistic experiences.
- Describe, interpret, and evaluate how artists use tools, processes, technologies, materials, and environments to create and communicate ideas.
- Compose, interpret, and expand ideas using symbolism, imagery, and elements.
Concepts & Content:
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal worldviews and cross-cultural perspectives communicated through artistic works.
- Contributions of innovative artists from a variety of genres, communities, times, and places.
- Personal and social responsibility associated with creating, performing, and responding in the arts.
- The ethics of cultural appropriation and plagiarism.
Big Idea(s):
- Identity is explored, expressed, and impacted through visual arts experiences.
- The visual arts use a unique sensory language for creating and communicating.
Curricular Competencies:
- Explore materials, technologies, processes, and environments by combining and arranging elements, principles, and image design strategies.
- Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of personal, social, cultural, historical, and environmental contexts.
- Explore relationships between identity, place, culture, society, and belonging through artistic experiences.
- Compose, interpret, and expand ideas using symbolism, metaphor, and design strategies.
Concepts & Content:
- Visual arts elements, principles, and image design strategies to create mood and convey ideas, including but not limited to:
- Elements of design: line, shape, space, texture, colour, form, value.
- Principles of design: pattern, repetition, balance, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, movement, unity, variety, proportion, harmony.
- Traditional and contemporary Aboriginal worldviews and cross-cultural perspectives as communicated through visual arts.
- The ethics of cultural appropriation and plagiarism.
Big Idea(s):
- An artist's intention transforms materials into art.
- Traditions, perspectives, worldviews, and stories are shared through aesthetic experiences.
Curricular Competencies:
- Describe and analyze how artists use materials, technologies, processes, and environments in art making.
- Document, share, and appreciate works of art in a variety of contexts.
- Demonstrate respect for self, others, and place.
- Explore First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local cultural knowledge through artistic works.
Concepts & Content:
- Elements of visual art.
- Principles of design.
- Image development strategies.
- Materials, techniques, and technologies.
- Creative processes.
- Use of symbols and metaphors to represent ideas and perspectives.
- Influence of visual culture on self-perception and identity.
- Traditional and contemporary First Peoples worldviews, stories, and history as expressed through visual arts.
- Ethics of cultural appropriation and plagiarism.
Big Idea(s):
- An artist’s intention transforms materials into art.
- Visual arts reflect the interconnectedness of the individual, community, history, and society.
- Artistic expression is an artist’s physical and cognitive articulation of our humanity.
- Artistic works offer unique aesthetic experiences in a variety of contexts.
Curricular Competencies:
- Explore artistic possibilities using a range of materials, processes, and technologies.
- Describe and analyze, using discipline-specific language, how artists use materials, technologies, processes, and environments in art making.
- Reflect on the influences of a variety of contexts on artistic works.
- Document, share, and appreciate artistic works in a variety of contexts.
- Demonstrate awareness of self, others, and place through art making.
- Explore First Peoples perspectives, knowledge, and protocols; other ways of knowing, and local cultural knowledge through artistic works.
Concepts & Content:
- Elements of visual art.
- Principles of design.
- Image development strategies.
- Materials, techniques, and technologies for visual art.
- Creative processes.
- Symbols and metaphors.
- Traditional and contemporary First Peoples worldviews, stories, and history, as expressed through visual arts.
- Moral rights and the ethics of cultural appropriation and plagiarism.
Big Idea(s):
- An artist’s intention transforms materials into art.
- Visual arts are an essential element of culture and personal identity.
- Aesthetic experiences have the power to transform our perspective.
Curricular Competencies:
- Refine artistic skills from a variety of styles.
- Examine contributions of traditional, innovative, and intercultural visual artists from a variety of movements, periods, and contexts.
- Interpret and evaluate, using discipline-specific language, how artists use materials, technologies, processes, and environments in art making.
- Explore First Peoples perspectives, knowledge, and protocols; other ways of knowing, and local cultural knowledge through artistic works.
- Examine the reciprocal relationships between visual arts, culture, and society.
Concepts & Content:
- Elements of visual art.
- Principles of design.
- Image development strategies.
- Materials, techniques, and technologies.
- Creative processes.
- Symbols and metaphors.
- Traditional and contemporary First Peoples worldviews, stories, and history, as expressed through visual arts.
- History of a variety of artistic movements, including their roles in historical and contemporary societies.
- Moral rights and the ethics of cultural appropriation and plagiarism.
First People’s Principles of Learning
Which First People’s Principles of Learning apply?
- Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
- Learning recognized the role of Indigenous knowledge.
- Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.
- Learning involves patience and time.
- Learning involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with permission and/or in certain situations.
Inviting Community
What is one way that teachers could work with community members for this project?
- Teachers should first connect with their Indigenous support worker/teacher either within their own school or district.
- Connect with local First Nation band administration to further be connected with appropriate personnel, departments as well as knowledge keepers or Elders.
- Connect with artists from a local First Nation.
- Connect with a geologist or archaeologist who is either employed with or has experiencing working closely with a First Nation community.
Indigenous Perspectives
How does your lesson relate to decolonization or reconciliation of education?
- Indigenous perspectives are context specific and dependent on geographical location and region—when taken out of its context, knowledge can be misinterpreted, misrepresented or misused.
- If this topic was being addressed in a school located on Musqueam territory for example, contacts for knowledge keepers or resource people should be directed first with local band administration.
- Information can be accessed at the Musqueam Homepage.
- Departments recommended to speak/ consult with would be either Environmental Stewardship, Archives and Research or Archeology.
Big Idea(s):
Curricular Competencies:
Concepts & Content: