A Unique Experience
The Naut’sa mawt Initiative, led by a team of qualified and knowledgeable facilitators, is an engaging and relaxed journey wherein participants are guided through a process of discovery and enlightenment. The experience is a balanced blend of authentic Indigenous knowledge sharing methods and extraordinary learning resources including the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada Giant Floor Map.
Why is this such a Unique Experience?
The Journey Unlike Any Other
Every Naut’sa mawt Journey begins and ends on a giant floor map. And we mean GIANT!
In their response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, Canadian Geographic collaborated with Indigenous leaders and educators across the country, as well as national Indigenous organizations, to create an atlas that captures the history and stories of Indigenous peoples. This ground-breaking four-volume atlas shares the experiences, perspectives, and histories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. It is a resource that explores themes of language, demographics, economy, environment and culture, with in-depth coverage of treaties and residential schools, these are stories of Canada's Indigenous Peoples, told in detailed maps and rich narratives.
The Giant Floor Map
To compliment the extraordinary information contained within the Atlas, Canadian Geographic created a giant floor map made of heavy-stock vinyl that measures 11 m x 8 m, roughly half the size of a school gymnasium. It is durable, waterproof and can be used indoors and outdoors. This map shows the locations of Indigenous communities, residential schools, reserves, treaty territories, unsettled land claim areas and more. Remarkable is the absence of provincial and territorial boundaries, rather emphasis is on Nations and Indigenous language groups.
Award Winning Resources
This resource guides the Naut’sa mawt team and the program participants through a discovery process that helps them understand the past, present and future of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. There is a wealth of information and diversity of stories and voices on this map.
An Educational Tool For All Ages
The giant floor map, along with the numerous teaching modules in the kit, provide an ideal starting point for all people to learn more about Indigenous history, knowledge, culture and languages and continue to work toward reconciliation. The Canadian Geographic giant floor map (GFM) comes complete with a suite of additional supplies to further enhance participants’ experience including map legends, activity cards, props and more. In addition, there are over seventeen curriculum-linked activities will help bring the map to life and can be resourced for longer events
Click on the video to learn more about the Giant Floor Map
Your facilitation team are Naut’sa mawt Ambassadors, all of whom bring a diversity of perspectives and energy. They come from many different cultures and have worked in various industry sectors including corporate, education, public safety and cultural sciences. Every event has an Indigenous knowledge keeper, often an elder and Residential School Survivor who share powerful stories that not only lead participants to pause and reflect, but also embed positivity, optimism and hope in their words.