INNPEG, Man.-The Minecraft world just got a little more interesting for students in Louis Riel School division in Winnipeg as they worked on a new Indigenous extension of the Minecraft video game.

In Minecraft, players create and break apart various kinds of blocks in three-dimensional worlds. The game's two main modes are Survival and Creative. In Survival, players must find their own building supplies and food. They also interact with block like mobs, or moving creatures. (Creepers and zombies are some of the dangerous ones.) And they discover things like labyrinthine caves and coves of diamonds. In Creative, players are given supplies and do not have to eat to survive. They also can break all kinds of blocks immediately.

One adult player likens Minecraft to virtual Legos. You mine blocks of dirt and you craft worlds. You can play alone or with others.

And recently, the Louis Riel students got the first change to learn, build, and explore Manitoba's Anishinaabe environment in Minecraft through Minecraft Education's teaching resource Manito Ahbee Aki. The game also takes students through places in the city that have cultural meaning. For instance, they can visit the Forks, a meeting place of two rivers, where Indigenous people gathered to trade and collaborate. There, students will learn about fire, water, and using the sun and stars to tell direction.

The students will be able to explore the Manito Ahbee Petro forms, and discover ancient rock formations that are part of Anishinaabe peoples' history and culture. Students will learn about teamwork through choosing a location to establish a community and build their tipis. They'll participate in a bison hunt, and trade and creating food sovereignty through farming.

The game was the product of 13 months of collaboration and development by Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, education consultants and Microsoft Canada. Even an Anishinaabe elder and grandmother, Chickadee Richard, helped develop the game and got to see her own character built into the game. She thinks the Indigenous children will be proud of the game and non-Indigenous children and teachers will be able to learn about Indigenous people.

Minecraft Education

Thanks to a new partnership between Minecraft and Microsoft, Winnipeg students can learn more about the Anishinaabe culture through the popular game.

"It's about the beauty and strength of our culture and hopefully it will be insightful and hopefully raise the consciousness of the children and the teachers," said Richard to CBC News. "It's so amazing to be able to give them a little bit of who we are, in our culture, in our ceremonies, in our teachings, in our songs; it's all going to be in there."

More information and lesson plans are available at: https://education.minecraft.net/lessons/manito-ahbee-aki.