Beading in Grade 9

Grade 9s learned about loom beading today from a member of the Indigenous program team at the school board. We have a project we are working on this week: to learn about patterning, symmetry, ratio, percent and area while designing a beaded bracelet or key chain.

We learned about the importance and significance of beading as part of Indigenous culture, and saw many examples of beadwork. We learned about how beads were made, and saw several examples of wampum and learned about the agreements they represented.

We learned about how it is very special to be learning this artform, as there were efforts over the years to prohibit Indigenous people from doing traditional cultural practices. We are thankful to be learning this new skill, and exploring math through a different lens.

We started to plan out our designs. We have 11 beads across in our pattern, so we draw designs on a template, and will start the loom beading tomorrow.