Active play and Indigenous traditions

For Indigenous peoples across Canada, children’s active play has always been important. Active games have been used traditionally to develop children’s survival skills, while also teaching them about their connection with the land and fostering relationships within their community. The outdoor environment has always been central to these play traditions, as Indigenous peoples have always seen themselves as being part of nature and needing to live in harmony with it.

Disrupted traditions

Following colonization, traditions related to play and the outdoors were disrupted in most Indigenous communities. With the introduction of Euro-Western views of childhood learning and the natural world, a heavy emphasis was placed instead on structuring play, learning, and the surrounding natural environment. From the Indigenous perspective, this approach contributes to a disconnect between nature and people. In the early years environment, we can promote a healthier connection between children and the outdoors by adopting more naturalistic approaches to play and learning whenever possible. We can reflect on traditional Indigenous understandings about the importance of nature in the health of body, mind, heart, and spirit, and apply this understanding as we promote more outdoor active play in particular.

Traditional games

Early years educators and caregivers can start by learning more about traditional Indigenous games. The Northern Indigenous games video shows a few traditional northern Indigenous games that are easy to set up and can be appealing to children in early years centres today. HIGH FIVE has also published an online guide to 29 traditional Indigenous games across Canada, many of which are suitable for early years settings. For example, Animal Muk works well with children five years and younger, while games such as Tatanka Tatanka, Stick Game, and Line Tag are suitable for children five years and older.