{"id":1441,"date":"2016-11-08T17:36:23","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T22:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/knowinghome\/?post_type=chapter&p=1441"},"modified":"2019-06-04T14:56:07","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T18:56:07","slug":"chapter-14","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/knowinghome\/chapter\/chapter-14\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 14 - Storytelling is our Textbook and Curriculum Guide","rendered":"Chapter 14 – Storytelling is our Textbook and Curriculum Guide"},"content":{"raw":"

Understanding Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw Science Knowledge and Way of Life Through Story<\/h1>\r\n \r\n

<\/a><\/span>'Welila'ogwa Irene Isaac<\/em><\/h2>\r\n \r\n

Storytelling is Our Textbook<\/h2>\r\n

Storytelling has always been an important aspect of Indigenous cultures throughout the world. Traditional stories were carefully constructed around the observation of natural events and the plant and animal world, their styles of obtaining food and the history of the people. While entertaining and sometimes charged with emotions, the Indigenous stories influence young people to become knowledgeable and responsible citizens.<\/p>\r\n

Central to the cultural and spiritual practices of the Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw people is the potlatch or winter ceremonies when stories are retold, dramatized, and shared. Most of these teachings are passed down through storytelling and the practice of the potlatch\u2014the giving of a great feast. Thus, storytelling is the foundation of traditional Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw education processes. Stories about the plant and animal world continue to be our textbook and curriculum guide.<\/p>\r\n

According to Yup'ik scholar Oscar Kwagaley (1995), \u201cIn legends and myths, there is always the mention of supernatural beings and the living world,\u201d and he describes most Indigenous worldviews as \u201cseeking harmony and integration with all life, including the spiritual, natural, and human domains\u201d (p. 2). Thus, a Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw worldview is expressed consciously or unconsciously through family and community stories; and by art, dances, ceremonial masks, totem poles and customs. The stories contain the historical events that transform the earth over time and the guiding principles for good relational living that each generation must learn.<\/p>\r\n

During special feasts and potlatches, the Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw continue to use many types of ceremonial instruments\u2014whistles, horns, rattles and drums to bring to life our songs, dances and stories (Figures 14.1<\/a> and 14.2<\/a>). When seeing the dancers and hearing the beat of the Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw drum in the bighouse, it is easy to hear the sounds of the Thunderbird, Raven, Dzunuk'wa (the Wild Woman of the Woods) and the Hamat'sa\u2014the dance of the Baxbakwalanuksiwe \u201cthe cannibal from the North end of the world\u201d (Figure 14.3<\/a>).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1727\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"450\"]\"Ceremonial<\/a> <\/a>Figure 14.1 \u25b2 The Aboriginal peoples of the Pacific Northwest continue to use a variety of traditional ceremonial instruments to accompany their songs, dances and stories. Illustration by Karen Gillmore.[\/caption]\r\n

Traditionally, it was mainly the elderly men who carried the role of drummers given their wisdom and knowledge base. Today there is a revitalization of singing and drumming traditions that is seeing younger men playing a greater leadership role at the log, much of this inspired by \u201cWa\u201d (William Wasden), a young chief and cultural leader from our territories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1795\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"600\"]\"Kwakwaka'wakw<\/a> <\/a>Figure 14.2 \u25b2 The Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>\u2019wakw drum is a hollowed out cedar log, and sits up to 12 drummers on either side. Illustration by Karen Gillmore.
<\/a>Figure 14.3 \u25b2 Kwakwa<\/u>ka<\/u>'wakw dancer wearing raven mask during the Hamat'sa\u2014the dance of the Baxbakwalanuksiwe. Photo by Gloria Snively (1985).[\/caption]\r\n

Traditionally, Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw education involved specific skills that were needed to live and evaluation of learning was determined by the community and simply by an individual\u2019s ability to carry out his or her responsibilities within the group. Life on the land was tough, but it also had a sense of meaningfulness; the lifestyle was healthier as people were more spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally connected to the land and each other. People had to co-exist with their environment rather than conquer the land.<\/p>\r\n

During the first decades of the 20th century, many of the teachings that embody songs, dances, ceremonies and potlatches were prohibited by federal and provincial laws, and subsequently the Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw were no longer able to give thanks for the things they were given by Creator. Connections were lost with the spirit world, and the people no longer took only what they needed. It has only been within the last few decades that significant attempts have been made to reconnect with our traditional Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw teachings and the knowledge and values these teachings encapsulate.<\/p>\r\n

Local traditional knowledge and wisdom has meant life and wealth for the Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw, and continues to be accumulated through time spent living on the land with young people working alongside families and communities. Hence, our traditional knowledge is the science of our people, our Indigenous Science (IS), and has always been interconnected with the land. To separate the two would detach one from the true meaning of IS, which is to live in harmony with the land. The goal then is to create science curriculum that connects us to the land, which is more relevant to our Aboriginal learners who may have previously rejected school science because it conflicted with their cultural value system.<\/p>\r\n

Following Snively and Corsiglia, Chapter 6<\/a>, I use the term IS to refer to the science of Indigenous peoples worldwide. I use the term WS to represent Western Science or Modern Science, the science taught in most classrooms. The inclusion of traditional ways of knowing, our IS with Western Science (WS), brings a glint to the eyes of our grandmothers while it sparks the interest of our children. We seek to inspire and enable our students to access the vast storehouse of our collected and refined observations and understandings while also having access to the language and modes of analysis used by newcomer science and governance.<\/p>\r\n

One of the biggest challenges First Nations communities face is overcoming the negative self-images and self-worth that has stemmed from \u201cfailure\u201d in the classroom. What could be more encouraging than to learn about the IS that has proven to sustain the Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw in their homeland for hundreds and thousands of years? As a First Nations educator, I wanted to find ways to use our stories in the classroom in order to balance IS knowledge and wisdom practices with WS knowledge and practices, thus making school science more relevant, meaningful, and accessible to First Nations children.<\/p>\r\n

I chose the story, Raven Steals the Light<\/em>, as the focus of my science unit and the catalyst for student learning. Raven, the trickster and transformer, is credited with many heroic deeds, as well as being ridiculed for his greed and gluttony. Raven performed many important tasks in making the world a good place for humans, including releasing the sun that was hidden in a bentwood box by a selfish chief, so that at last there was daylight and people no longer had to live in darkness. The story occurs in many versions and is only one of numerous Raven \u201ccreation\u201d stories.<\/p>\r\n

In developing a culturally relevant science curriculum, I needed to more fully understand a Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw worldview in order to develop lessons that accurately portray the values and traditions of our people. I also needed to find methods of assessment that are effective and culturally appropriate.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Background<\/h2>\r\n

Specifically, the project had a three-fold purpose: (1) interview Elders and knowledge keepers to describe, at least in part, a Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw worldview, (2) in collaboration with Elders and knowledge keepers, develop a unit of study that used Kwakwa<\/span>ka<\/span>'wakw stories as a catalyst for exploring IS and WS concepts and processes, and, (3) pilot test sample lessons and obtain evaluative feedback from Elders and students. From a First Nations teaching and learning perspective, the study was designed to investigate the following:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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