The Honour Drum: Sharing the Beauty of Canada's Indigenous People with Children, Families and Classrooms by null

The Honour Drum: Sharing the Beauty of Canada's Indigenous People with Children, Families and Classrooms Reviews

• 
  Brad Jersak

  Honour the Drum is all about educating children in Indigenous culture, beginning with the drum ('the heartbeat of the earth'), as well as their music, stories and dance. It explains patterns, symbols and colours important to Indigenous culture and describes what a Pow Wow is and means. Totem poles are given a page and then it's on to history, values and humour. The author emphasizes respect and honour for the elders the keepers of tales.
  
  The book also includes an important page on how words matter, explaining why we've moved from the misnomer 'Indian,' to 'aboriginal' (meaning 'of unknown origin') to the accurate 'indigenous' (people of the land). In Canada, the indigenous peoples include the First Nations, Metis and Inuit people. Each have their own language, name for the Creator and way to pray. One way they honour the Creator is by caring for creation. And finally, the book turns to how we might best imagine 'honouring the drum,' where all children gather, wherever they're from. While Tim Huff has created the basic text and pictures, the major work of composing the discussion guide came from Cheryl Bear (from the First Nation community of Nadleh Whut'en in BC) who ensures that the descriptions are accurate, rich and welcoming.
• 
  Sarah RR

  My Gr 5/6 students love when I read a chapter from this book before each social studies (ON) period. I love the great explanations and the questions at the end of each section to help the students relate the information to their own lives. A great resource for learning about Canada's indigenous peoples!
• 
  goodreads Customer

  Well written, communicating important cultural views
• 
  kristine

  nice and imformative
• 
  goodreads customer

  Beautiful content and a timely message.