Hello!
During the summer of 2024, we made some major changes to the Indigenous Curriculum Collection (ICC) in the Library.
The biggest change is that Stacey Lee, Metadata and Collections Librarian (On sabbatical leave until August 2025), assessed the collection for content by Indigenous authors or creators.
Content by non-Indigenous authors was reshelved into the Children and Young Adult Collection, the Education Collection, and the Main Collection.
As a result, the ICC is much smaller now, and has been moved into the area that was formerly the Authorized Curriculum Materials area.
The great news is that education students, educators, members of the BU community and folks in the Westman area, now have a truly Indigenous collection to browse for Indigenous-authored books and teaching materials to support Indigenization, decolonization, and Truth and Reconciliation in our schools and in our communities!
Where is it?
The Indigenous Curriculum Collection is located on the Main Floor of the John E. Robbins Library at Brandon University.
Most of this collection is in physical format in the Library, but some content is online as well.
What types of resources are in the ICC?
The collection includes:
Can anyone use the Collection?
Yes. The items in the ICC are shelved together in one area of the Library so that it's easy to browse the collection. Anyone can come in and take a look and use materials in the Library. Anyone with borrowing privileges at the BU Library may sign out material from the ICC.
If you are not a Brandon University Student, Staff or Faculty Member, see Borrowing Information (scroll to the bottom of the page).
What is the purpose of the ICC?
The initial purpose of the Indigenous Curriculum Collection was to support students in the BU Education faculty in Indigenizing their lesson plans for their student teaching placements. Since the BU Library is open to the public, an added benefit is that these materials also serve as an Indigenous resource for community members and K-12 teachers in the Westman area.
Note: Academic books and audiovisual materials pertaining to Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous history in Canada, as well as academic publications on contemporary initiatives such as Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, can be searched on the Library website and are shelved throughout the Library collections.
Are all the items in the collection "children's books"?
No. Although the collection has many children's books (books for children, or picture books), there are materials ranging from pre-K level to high school S4 level. This includes fiction for all ages, poetry, DVDs, music CDs, kits (which may include books, charts, puppets, DVDs, and other media).
I don't have time to browse this collection. Is the material in the ICC in the BU Library catalogue?
Yes. When you a search in the BU Library catalogue, materials from the ICC will show up in your results. Note that the collection cannot be searched separately, on its own.
Is any of the material in the ICC available in a language other than English?
Yes. For example, Cree, Dakota, Ojibwa, and French are some of the languages represented.
Are there multiple copies of items within the ICC?
Sometimes yes, although usually there are one or two copies of a title.
