Indigenous Education – NLPS Learns

Grade(s): Primary, Intermediate, Secondary
Outdoor Education, Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓, Life Science, Hulq Vocabulary Development, BC First People, Bingo and Listening Activities, Science, Coast Salish, Earth Science and Space, Social Studies, Cultural Practices, Indigenous Understandings, Environmental Stewardship
Locally Developed, Indigenous Contributors, Lessons, Units & Resources for Instruction
February 24, 2026

Brief Explanation on how to warp a traditional Coast Salish Loom for weaving wool:

*** Note, the diagram shows a view from the back of the loom.

Begin: Bundle your wool so that it is easier to warp. Tie the loose end of the yarn to the floating bar on the loom. Have a friend hold the floating bar roughly in the middle of the loom while you warp to hold it in place.

Take the bundle of yarn and wrap it up and over the upper bar on the loom.
Bring the wool all the way down the front and under the bottom bar of the loom
Pull the yarn bundle up the back side and over the floating bar.
Take the yarn bundle back down the back side of the lower bar and under it towards the front
bring the yarn all the way up the front of the loom and then up an over the top bar towards the back of the loom
wrap it around the back and under the middle floating bar and then upwards.

Repeat steps 1 – 6 until the desired width is achieved. Note: On the front side, the warps will run from the top bar to the bottom bar, on the back side the warps will always go from the top to the middle and back up, or from the bottom to the middle and back down.

Animated Diagram

A large collection of Stories told by Snune?ymuxw (Naniamo), Snaw Naw As (Nanoose), Stz’uminus (Chemainus) and Quw’utsun (Cowichan) storytellers.

Ilhe Qwal (Let’s Talk) is a free, immersive language app developed by Kw’umut Lelum in partnership with Ogoki Learning Inc. This app brings Hul’q’umi’num—the language of the Coast Salish People—directly to users, offering a fully interactive and engaging experience.

Features of the app include a dictionary, games, quizzes, knowlege tests, and songs.

Most students in the small arctic community of Kaktovic, Alaska grow up speaking Iñupiaq. They found doing math using Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3,4, 11, 12, etc) difficult because they didn’t match with their Inupiaq words for numbers. In this thinking task, students will explore arithmetic operations written with Kaktovic numerals to try and figure out how their numeral system works.

Spoiler: it is not a base 10 system!