First Nations community uses Minecraft to connect kids with ancestral traditions

CTV National News: Building blocks of learning A Manitoba First Nations community has turned to Minecraft to get children to connect with ancestral traditions. Alex Karpa has more.

A First Nations community in Manitoba is turning to Minecraft, a popular sandbox game, to connect kids with ancestral traditions.

Manitoba’s Bloodvein River First Nation is using tools to teach students a new map in the game that includes interaction with elders, ice fishing, and dog sledding.

“I was blown away by just how beautiful it was and how much it incorporated traditional knowledge and culture,” said Karl Hildebrandt, the education technology facilitator for the Manitoba First Nations School System. “I thought this had Minecraft written all over it.”

The map features the indigenous cultures and perspectives of the Pimachiowin Aki, which is Canada’s first mixed UNESCO World Heritage site.

“It’s important for a community like Bloodvein to incorporate and integrate technology and education,” he says. “It’s so impactful and meaningful. It leads to different career pathways.

Hildebrandt highlighted the importance of “attendance and getting kids motivated to step through the door… and getting them invested in school and education.”

He says the map is available in Minecraft Education.

Elder William Young, who runs land-based programs in the community, is featured in the game.

“What I initially thought was it would be just for our school, but to go beyond that, it’s just amazing,” he says.

Young says it’s not only important to teach the youth in the community about their land and teachings but is also an opportunity for the public to learn more about the Anishinaabe way of life.

“It’s to the best interest of our students and to our communities as well,” he says. “Collaboration is important and so is utilizing the community Elders, and that is what we did here.”

This isn't the first integration with First Nations for the game. There are maps for the Coast Salish communities in B.C., and one in Alberta that teaches students the Metis language, Michif., that is in development.

Minecraft educationMike Washburn, the director of learning experiences with Logics Academy, the company that co-created the map with the community, hopes this is just the beginning of content creation.

“In the future, hopefully this community is full of stories about the place names and how it got founded and who has been living here for generations,” he says.

Clinical psychologist Todd Cunningham says games in education isn't new, but it's dangerous if there isn't a focus.

“There is actually a purpose of what is going on,” he says. “An educational theme that is being driven through the simulation that is happening in Minecraft.”

Teachers in Bloodvein have been trained on the software and plans are being made to have the students begin workshops using the map starting in late November.

A section of the map will be turned into a national esports competition for middle years across Canada this year,