Teacher Guide for We Need Everyone

Written by Michael Redhead Champagne, an award-winning Ininew (Cree) community advocate, public speaker, author and a proud member of Shamattawa First Nation, We Need Everyone empowers children to identify their gifts and use them to overcome challenges, achieve goals, and strengthen communities. Inspiring and uplifting, this interactive picture book ignites children's natural curiosity, while also developing their respect and appreciation for Indigenous knowledges.
With the Teacher Guide for We Need Everyone, educators of grades 1 to 3 can provide multiple opportunities for students to learn about the diversity within and across Indigenous communities, histories, knowledges, and perspectives, while exploring their own unique histories, beliefs, identities, cultures, and gifts. This helpful guide explores key connections and themes in We Need Everyone including: building strong communities celebrating diversity within and across lived experiences and identities exploring and discovering individual gifts examining identity and sense of belonging reviewing Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing, being, and doing and more!

Jerica Ryan is a Rotinonhsión:ni (Kanien'kehá:ka) educator. Throughout her career, she has focused on anti-racism and anti-oppressive education not only in her classroom, but in the education system as a whole. She writes and collaborates on Indigenous-focused curriculum and workshops as well as courses for educators. She has her Master's in Education with a focus on social justice and Indigenous health studies. Jerica is passionate about learning and reclaiming the languages of her grandparents and graduated from the Mohawk Language and Culture program at Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na and Queen's University. She looks forward to continuing her learning and teaching Kanien'kéha in the future.