Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6

    Lesson One: Aboriginal Dance Comes
       ALIVE!

Teacher Information:

The following lesson is designed to enable students to realize the link between Aboriginal dance and ceremonies to their sense of identity and collective development of their culture.  It will provide students with a gateway to understanding Aboriginal culture and recognizing the physical components and skills associated with dance.

Dancing is an age old form of recreation and sport amongst Aboriginal cultures across North America. Each Aboriginal group has their own unique dance method and danced for specific purpose. Dance helps to illuminate a particular culture as each one has its own unique way or style of dancing.  Dance expresses an experience. In Aboriginal culture, dance was often a way to tell a story or to re-enact an event or situation.  Those who participate in a dance often feel a personal connection to the dance.  There are often objects used in a dance and these tend to have important symbolic meaning.  The traditional dresses worn in a dance are also significant and have personal meaning to the individual or community from which they originate. It is important to note that the traditional dress not be confused with regalia.

Dancing is also very physical activity and requires a lot of skill and practice. Often special dances would be passed down through the generations. It was considered a great honor to be given a dance.

Dancing, ceremonies, and events such as the powwow, potlatch, and Sun Dance are important elements of Aboriginal culture and are a way in which Aboriginal People seek to express their culture individually and collectively.  The word powwow originates from the Algonkian word pau wau.  Traditional dances are often a part of a larger gathering which builds cultural cohesiveness and collective identity.

The concept that students are to understand is that dance is a form of physical exercise and requires great skill.  As well, dance is a way of reflecting cultural values, ideas, beliefs, and identity.

Main Lesson:

NOTE: For this lesson it would be appropriate to ask an Elder or Métis community member to come to your class to demonstrate an Aboriginal dance.

It is suggested that you contact your local friendship center, the Métis Nation of Alberta, or even perhaps the University of Alberta to locate an individual that could come in and facilitate your class.

To prep your class it is recommended that you share the information from the Teacher Information section as well as one or more of the following videos:

All of these videos explore traditional dance and its cultural meaning:

• Dancing Feathers (1983) 28 min long. Distributed by The Altschul Group
  1560 Sherman Avenue, Suite 100, Evanston, IL 60201 1-800-323-5448
• Bear Dance (1988) 13 min long. Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation 310 S. Michigan Avenue, 6th floor Chicago, IL 60604
  1-800-554-9862
• Vignettes of Fancy Dancers.  Available through Alberta Learning. Product number is 525412
• The Potlach (1999).  Available through ACCESS The Education Station
• A Love of the Music: Prairie Variations (1994) 48 min long.  Camera West Film Associates Ltd.  Order no. V8958

After showing the video to students initiate a class discussion on the video’s content.  Ask students to identify what was unique about how Aboriginal People were dancing or how the music sounded.  What were some of the things they liked? Do they feel it would be easy to dance in a similar way?

After your guest facilitator has left you may also wish to follow up on the skills students were introduced to by playing some Aboriginal music and allowing students in small groups to develop their own Aboriginal inspired dance.  A list of possible music resource materials is as follows:

• Love of the Music: Prairie Variations.  Camera West Film Associates Ltd. 1994. Cassette-order no.  1210.  Compact disk-order no. 1211