In our journey to embrace Indigenous education, it’s essential to search for educational digital platforms that highlight Indigenous stories, perspectives and knowledges. TED-Ed is an educational initiative by TED, a nonprofit organization known for its global conferences that share “ideas worth spreading” through short and powerful talks. TED-Ed focuses specifically on creating short educational videos and lessons aimed at learners of all ages. Their digital resources aim to spark and celebrate the ideas of teachers and students around the world. Known for its captivating animated videos, TED-Ed has amplified Indigenous voices and perspectives through its content. This week in the mentoring circle, we feature TED-Ed lessons that respect and highlight Indigenous wisdom and promote Indigenous education.
TED believes passionately that ideas have the power to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately, the world. With this philosophy in mind, and with the intention of supporting teachers and sparking the curiosity of learners around the world, TED-Ed was launched in 2012. TED-Ed is TED’s youth and education initiative. Its mission is to capture and amplify the ideas and voices of great educators around the world. They do this by pairing extraordinary educators with talented animators to produce a new library of curiosity-igniting videos. In our first featured TED-Ed Indigenous lesson get to know the story of Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii, and how she ruled through one of the most turbulent periods of its history. Native Hawaiian educator Sydney Iaukea shares how the Queen fought the US annexation of Hawaii.
Everything TED-Ed does supports learning — from producing a growing library of original animated videos to providing an international platform for teachers to create their own interactive lessons, to helping curious students around the globe bring TED to their schools and gain presentation literacy skills, to celebrating innovative leadership within TED-Ed’s global network of over 650,000 teachers. TED-Ed has grown from an idea worth spreading into an award-winning education platform that serves millions of teachers and students around the world every week. In our second TED-Ed Indigenous lesson, get to know the story of Quanah Parker, a Native American warrior, leader, and chief of the Comanche tribe — Comanche Professor Dustin Tahmahkera details the life of the last chief of the Comanches.
TED-Ed Animations are their signature content! These short, award-winning animated videos are about ideas that spark the curiosity of learners everywhere. Every TED-Ed Animation represents a creative collaboration between experts. Such experts may include TED Speakers and Fellows, as well as educators, designers, animators, screenwriters, directors and scholars. These original animated videos, paired with questions and resources, make up a TED-Ed Lesson. Their lessons explore a wide range of topics across science, arts, technology, and humanities, created in complete collaboration. In our third TED-Ed Indigenous lesson, Andean Archaeologist Gabriel Prieto outlines a day in the life of a Peruvian shaman searching for cinnabar to complete a special ritual that will protect his village from winter storms.
TED-Ed’s platform offers a unique opportunity to showcase Indigenous stories and teachings in an engaging digital format. By partnering with Indigenous educators and storytellers, TED-Ed has produce animated lessons that are deeply rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and teaching. These stories can help bridge cultural gaps and educate about the rich stories and philosophies of Indigenous peoples. By continuing to collaborate with Indigenous scholars and focusing on culturally relevant content, TED-Ed is honouring the profound contributions of Indigenous peoples to our global heritage. In our fourth TED-Ed Indigenous lesson, get to know the story of the Three Sisters, and what we can learn about sustainably growing food from Indigenous practices — Oneida educator Rebecca Webster shares their tale.
Several TED-Ed videos have successfully brought Indigenous issues and perspectives to the forefront. For instance, lessons on the significance of the land, waters and skies for Indigenous peoples or the scientific contributions of Indigenous nations provide viewers with insights into the depth and richness of Indigenous cultures. Such content does more than educate; it empowers and inspires Indigenous youth by reflecting on the resilience and strength of Indigenous communities. In our fifth TED-Ed Indigenous lesson, Uncover the hidden history of the building of Mount Rushmore, and how its creation destroyed sacred Native American land — Te-Moak Western Shoshone historian Ned Blackhawk and Oglala Sioux scholar Jeffrey D. Means explore the destruction of the sacred Six Grandfathers Mountain.
The TED-Ed Student Talks program provides free, customizable activities for educators to support their students in identifying, developing and sharing their ideas with each other and the world. The program is set for students ages 6-18 in a classroom, school, extra-curricular setting or youth/educational organization. It helps students discover, explore, and present their big ideas in the form of short TED-style talks. Alan Tamayose, one of the authors of the following lesson, started a big movement of TED-Ed Student talks in Hawaii. In our last TED-Ed Indigenous lesson, Hawaiian educators Alan Tamayose and Shantell De Silva explain how Polynesian navigators managed extreme voyages in the Pacific Ocean without the help of modern navigational aids.