Resources for Teachers and Students on Leonard George

Prepare: Leonard George is former chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, also known as the Burrard Band, located in the coastal regions of British Columbia. His biography can be found on the website of the First People's Cultural Foundation.

Read: Leonard George wrote an original essay for the Architects of Peace project. In the essay, he examines the sufferings of "our Mother, the Earth."

Explore: Affiliated with Northern Arizona University, the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, ITEP, assists Indian tribes in the management of their environmental resources through training and educational programs. Their resource center, available on the internet, serves as a clearinghouse for tribal environmental staff.

Write: Leonard George's Architects of Peace essay is written in an aphoristic style where each sentence takes on a mythic quality. The two central aphorisms of the text are: "We must face the worst in ourselves in order to be our best," and "Once we have it within, then we have to give it away." Write a three-to-five page narrative essay, employing an anecdotal style and a first-person point of view, where you exemplify either one of those aphorisms and relate it to the process of achieving peace.

Extend: Please visit the tribal homepage of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation.

Additional Resource: Leonard George is past president of "Healing Our Spirit," an organization dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS within the aboriginal community.

Biography of Leonard George