While you’re busy getting ready for the upcoming contest by playing the games at PathoftheElders.com, don’t forget to check out some of its other features!

The Elders’ Stories video collection is one of the most valuable resources at Path of the Elders.

Honouring the oral tradition, here you have the rare opportunity to listen to Elders share their stories and memories.

Often recorded in Cree, these videos not only give you compelling glimpses into Mushkegowuk culture and history, but they are also part of our efforts to preserve and promote the Cree language.

While the Elders' Stories video collection is fascinating for its content, it’s also an important record of our country's past from an Aboriginal perspective.

Are you an educator?

Our Teachers’ Guides provide detailed information on how to integrate the Elders’ Video Collection into your lesson plans.

Here are some of my favourite videos:

1)    Staying in school - Path of the Elders

This video is a fascinating glimpse into some of the challenges Aboriginal students faced in residential schools as they struggled to maintain their traditional way of life.  Edmond Edwards describes having difficulty paying attention in class because he was thinking about getting ready for the fall hunt, and how it was difficult to learn English when his parents only spoke Cree.

2)  Life then and now - Path of the Elders

How was life different in the early 20th century? John Kataquapit describes some of the changes he's seen over his lifetime, including moving from dog teams to ski-doos, and the advent of running water.

3) Starvation - Path of the Elders 

Emile Sutherland shares some of the stories his father told him about the methods his people used to combat food shortages. He talks about how everyone used to share in the food when a caribou was killed.

4) Marriage, parents, responsibilities - Path of the Elders

What was life like from a woman's perspective? Anna Bella Solomon talks about her wedding, her experiences raising her siblings and her own children, and her duties towards her parents.

Do you have a favourite video?

From using game-based learning (GBL) for job training, to how Nazis used game boards as part of their propaganda campaign, here are this week’s top links!

What stands out for me in these articles is the tremendous influence games have on our lives. Not only can we learn specific skills from games, but they also affect our perception of the world and ourselves.

Enjoy some Friday reading, and we look forward to hearing your comments!

And don’t forget! 

Path of the Elders will soon be announcing the details of its upcoming contest! 

Make sure you’re ready to compete – visit PathoftheElders.com to practice your trapping, hunting, and canoeing skills!

1)    OK, game-based learning is fine for kids, but is it really useful for adults? 

This is the question Helen Routledge, GBL Instructional Design Manager at Pixelearning, answers in her interview posted on G-Cube Solutions’ blog, “Game-Based Learning – Fad or Future?” Routledge talks about some of the ways game-based learning is being used in the corporate world.

From the type of learner best suited to game-based learning to the challenges game designers face, this is a quick introduction for anyone interested in the use of game-based learning outside of the classroom.


2)    As the world watches the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, students get a timely opportunity to experience first-hand what’s involved in heading a major clean-up operation.

This week, the Educational Technology blog gives us a link to an article from the New York Times that looks at how schools are using the online game “Spill”. In the article “Avatars go to School, Letting Students Get a Feel for the Work World,” students talk about their experiences playing a role-playing game (RPG) that lets them help the mayor of New York clean up the city.

If you’re interested in how schools are using game-based learning, this article is a must!

3)    How does repetition affect a game’s story?

In “The Incoherence of Reincarnation: Story vs Telling in Videogames,” Peter Mawhorter provides a thoughtful and articulate article about the use of repetition in games. If a hero can repeatedly die and then come back life is the story no longer believable? Does the fact that characters often have repetitive conversations in game ruin the effect?

If you’re in the mood for some Friday afternoon reflection, you’ll find this short article thought-provoking.

4)    Think games don’t influence people? 

In “The Political Power of Games,” Jorge Albor blogs about his visit to the Jewish Museum in Berlin.

What’s fascinating (and disturbing) is his discovery of a series of board games made in Germany during the Nazi regime.

If you’ve ever doubted the influential power of games, this post will convince you otherwise.

Do you have a link you’d like to share? Let us know!

Think you’ve got Path of the Elders all figured out?

Prove it.

Path of the Elders is getting ready to announce its June contest!

So, have you been practicing your canoeing and portaging skills?
Can you shoot a moose from a canoe?
Do you know how to use medicinal plants?
Can you read Cree syllabics?

If not, you had better hop over to PathoftheElders.com and brush up on your skills. Competition is going to be fierce!

Better start practicing.

Keep watching for contest details!

The Healing Game: This Week's Feature!


One of the most popular games at PathoftheElders.com, the Healing Game is modeled after an old-fashioned scavenger hunt!

It’s up to you to collect and administer 10 traditional medicinal plants. Along the way, you must avoid dangerous animals, navigate mazes, and read Cree syllabics!

Here you can see my less than successful encounter with a black bear:



One of the neat features about this game is that each plant comes with:

1. Its Cree name and syllabics
2. An English translation of its Cree name (which wasn't always easy to find!)
3. An explanation of how this plant has been used in traditional bush medicine.

So, as you can see from the picture below, the Cree name for Labrador Tea is “Kakike-Pokway”, which means “Infinite Plants” – so-called because they stretch for as far as the eye can see. Labrador Tea is used for treating diarrhea, arthritic pain, chest pain, and backaches!



If you’re using Path of the Elders in the classroom, the Healing game is a great opportunity to talk about traditional bush medicinal and to discuss Aboriginal medicinal practices were affected by the new diseases brought by European settlers.

Check out our comprehensive Teachers’ Guides for innovative suggestions for integrating the Healing Game with your lesson plans!



So, are you up for the challenge? Let us know how you do!

(Oh, and be careful not to fall in the lake....)