Use the Quilt Website to Meet Your Curriculum Needs

The actual Quilt of Belonging is a 120 foot (36 metres) long collaborative textile art project, a richly hued portrait of the human family. Its 263 blocks portray the rich cultural legacies of all the First Peoples in Canada and every nation of the world at the dawn of the new Millennium. Cultural profiles have been updated on-line to include all the countries of world at the present time.
The on-line Quilt is featured in Block-by-Block.

Each profile begins with The Block, a photo and description of the actual handmade block in the Quilt. The blocks are wonderful resources for investigating and researching textiles, design, different materials, textures and the meaning of the symbols, motifs and colours used in each.

The Cultural Profile which follows includes some historical and geographical information and focuses on the cultural traditions of the nation—music, arts & crafts, cuisine, special celebrations.  Most entries include beautiful photos and fascinating videos.

To get the best out of this web-site section:

1. Consider / discuss with your class what your project is going to be about. This will depend on your class, subject focus and curricula goals. For example, you may want to look at cultures or countries relevant to the students in your class.  You may be interested in Inuit or First Nations peoples or you may want to focus on a particular region of the world. Consider looking at a specific topic such as homes, music, crafts, climate, clothing or geography

1. Begin by doing any of the following:
   1. In Block-by-Block go to search and type in the country or aboriginal group you wish to study and follow the ‘links’
   2. In Block-by-Block go to search and type the subject or theme you are studying (e.g. celebrations, children, clothing, music, homes)
   3. In Block-by-Block go to the First Peoples index. How many of these nations do you know? Pick one you have never heard of before and go to that cultural profile and learn about it. Where are these people living? What language do they speak? Look at the photos and videos.
   4. Click on the Interactive world map and choose the area you are interested in. Then follow the ‘links’ to choose a country. Consider picking a nation that you know very little about or that is new to you.
   5. Study the continents. Click on the Interactive world map. How many countries are in Europe, Africa, Asia or South America? Which are in the Northern Hemisphere (above the equator)? Which are in the Southern Hemisphere (below the equator)? Pick a continent and click on the region index to find a list the countries in that continent.
   6. Discover our northern First Peoples in Canada by watching the informative video The Inuit of Canada produced by ITK (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami)