Theory to Action: Recommendations From the Field​

Example: Story Trail in Tsútswecw Park

Tsútswecw Provincial Park (formerly Roderick Haig Brown Provincial Park) is located on both sides of the world famous Adams River between Shuswap Lake and Adams Lake in the interior of British Columbia. This is also the traditional territory of the Secwépemc people. It is home to one of the largest sockeye salmon runs in the world. Every four years, during the “dominant run”, people from all over the world converge on the park to observe this spectacle of nature. The park has a large trail system that allows visitors to observe various portions of the river and its many estuaries.

The Chase Secondary and Haldane Elementary Secwépemctsin language teacher Ivy Chelsea recently worked very hard with her students to create a “Story Trail” in the park. Students produced audio recordings with stories and information about the landscapes, plants, and important aspects of the local indigenous communities. They also included secwépemctsin language in their descriptions. Visitors are able to use their smartphones to scan the QR codes and listen to the descriptions as they travel along the trails and become immersed in the rich culture and history connected to the area.

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Explore Story Trail in Tsútswecw Park and the interactive map within it for more information and to hear the student audio recordings that are connected to the QR codes on the story trail.

View the short video to the left for more detailed information about the story trail project.

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First People’s Principles of Learning Evident in this Activity:

• Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors
• ​Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place)
• Learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge
• Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story

Possible Connections to Curricular Competencies and the BC Curriculum (Students will be able to):

• Use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to – ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions (Social Studies 7)
• Assess the significance of people, places, events, or developments at particular times and places (Social Studies 7)
• Recognize how language constructs personal, social, and cultural identity (ELA 7)
• Recognize and appreciate the role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view (ELA 7)
• Apply First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local knowledge as sources of information (Science 7)
• Express and reflect on a variety of experiences and perspectives of place (Science 7)
• Identify and use appropriate tools, technologies, and materials for production (ADST 7)

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What can educators do?

Learning opportunities and environments are all around us. They are not limited to the inside of our schools and classrooms. Much can be discovered by venturing into our communities to explore landscapes, people, language and community on a first hand basis. Student learning will inevitably be enriched as they experience places and develop their own unique artifacts to demonstrate their learning. Using technology for audio or video recordings can be a powerful tool to examine learning in the moment. QR codes allow these moments to be observed by others and can bring pieces of the outside environment into our schools.

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What do educators need?

• Devices for recording student audio or video
• Software to create QR codes: Flipgrid, QR Code Generator, QR Code Monkey
• Locations in the community for student exploration
• Students, staff, parents, and community members to engage with the QR codes and observe student learning experiences ​
• Language teaching resource – First Voices

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Recommendation #2: ​Digital Storytelling using Secret Path

Digital Storytelling and FPPL Digital storytelling can be described as the practice of using technological tools and multimedia to tell stories. Storytelling, in all its forms, can be an effective teaching method to motivate and engage students. It can improve student memory through reflection, interaction, and discussion (Hung, Hwang & Huang, 2012). It is a vital tool in creating valuable learning experiences for students. Transfer of knowledge through oral language and story is woven throughout the First People’s Principles of Learning. Core values such as connectedness, relationships, and respect for the environment evolve from the sharing of memories and stories (SetBC:Classroom Technologies and First Peoples Principles of Learning). Storytelling can be used to effectively bring to life many sensitive and controversial topics for students.

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Example: Secret Path and Residential Schools Secret Path is a multi media project depicting the life of Chanie Wenjack, a boy from the Marten Falls First Nation who died in 1966 after escaping from an Indian Residential School and attempting to walk 600 kilometers back to his home. It includes a musical album, a graphic novel, and a documentary film. The graphic novel and music was written by the late Gord Downie from the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. The project has been used by many Canadian schools to teach Indigenous history lessons. Secret Path can be a powerful tool in telling the story of the indian residential school system in Canada.

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The Secret Path documentary video to the left is comprised of several components. It portrays the journey of The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie to visit the family of Chanie Wenjack. It then tells the complete story through the music of Gord Downie and the illustrations of Jeff Lemire. It concludes with a panel discussion on the project and the role that it plays in working towards reconciliation.

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The Learning Bird Resource to the right includes useful activities that use the Secret Path multimedia project to explore storytelling in a variety of forms that can be used to express events and stories like those of Chanie Wenjack. This resource is not intended to offer in depth teaching of the Canadian residential school system but rather an introduction to this history. It is comprised of the following lessons and activities:

• Brainstorming Activity – What are Stories?
• Learning Activity – The Ways to the Secret Path: Story Telling and Form
• Learning Activity – Listening to the Secret Path: Song Analysis
• Learning Activity – Reading the Secret Path: Graphic Novels
• Learning Activity – Writing about the Secret Path: Movie Review
• Learning Activity – Secret Path Language Activity: “The Stranger”
• Demonstration of Learning – Finding Your Own Secret Path: Story Telling and Self Expression

learningbird_secretpath2018_educatorguide-1

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Which of the First People’s Principles of Learning are can be observed when using the Secret Path resources?:​

• Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors
• ​Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place)​
• Learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge
• Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story
• Learning involves generational roles and responsibilities
• Learning requires exploration of one’s identity

Possible Connections to Curricular Competencies and the BC Curriculum  (Students will be able to):

• Assess the significance of people, places, events, or developments at particular times and places (Social Studies 7)
• Make ethical judgements about past events, decisions, or actions, and assess the limitations of drawing direct lessons from the past (ethical judgement) (Social Studies 7)
• Apply appropriate strategies to comprehend written, oral, and visual texts, guide inquiry, and extend thinking (ELA 7)
• Think critically, creatively, and reflexively to explore ideas within, between, and beyond texts (ELA 7)
• Recognize how language constructs personal, social, and cultural identity (ELA 7)
• Use and experiment with oral storytelling processes (ELA 7)
• Recognize and appreciate the role of story, narrative, and oral tradition in expressing First Peoples perspectives, values, beliefs, and points of view (ELA 7)

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Useful Resources: Official Secret Path Website Use this website for background information and the history of the Secret Path project. The video includes a useful table of contents that will allows you to choose the section you wish to view. Included is a panel discussion about the project and its connection to reconciliation. Indigenous Languages and Secret Path Educator Resources This link will take you to another Learning Bird resource which emphasizes indigenous language revitalization through a variety of activities related to Secret Path. Activities focus on research, communication, empathy and literacy skills. Secret Path Lyrics for Songs/Poems Use this site to explore the lyrics of the poems/songs in Secret Path written by Gord Downie.    

Example: Creating Animal Art In many cultures, Indigenous or otherwise, animals are used to represent or describe different traits that people may have.  The relationship that First Peoples have with animals is both practical and spiritual, thus animals can be seen in a variety of their artistic expressions.  The totem pole, for example, is one way that some coastal Indigenous communities told stories of their family history. More detail on totem poles can be found here. 

Activity: Start with the exploration of a variety of Indigenous art pieces.  Examples:

• Indigenous Arts and Stories
• Indigenous Arts in the city of Surrey, BC
• I am Raven

  Class discussion:

• What message and/or emotion the artists are trying to convey? 
• What was the artist’s process of creation?
• What do the animals symbolize? 
• What is the value of art?

  Create a piece of art using an animal that best represents who you are.  Write a description that explains how the image is a reflection of you.   Here are some resources on animal symbology:

• Indigenous
• Chinese
• Western European

Example: The Cascadia Earthquake & the Orphan Tsunami of 1700 Understanding the seismic history of the Pacific Coast has been enriched with the oral history of the coastal Indigenous communities. Long before the understanding of plate tectonics was theorized, stories of the Thunderbird and Whale and accounts of communities wiped out by great floods or ground-shaking were passed down to younger generations.  Though scientific methods have been used to date the ghost forests created by the Cascadia Earthquake, the oral histories of multiple Indigenous communities have confirmed these dates and show how large and devastating the effects of this earthquake was. In fact, the Cascadia Earthquake was confirmed to be the cause of the Orphan Tsunami that devastated Japan.

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Encouraging students to see, hear and read the collective knowledge on this event allows them to recognize how different sources of knowledge can work together to provide greater understanding.  Educators can also use this example to start a discussion that asks students to consider how our understanding/knowledge can affect our view of the land (and environment) and how we interact with it?  As Michell et al., state “Inclusion of traditional Aboriginal philosophies and practices encourages students to explore relationships between land and culture, sense of Place, earth and cosmos, multi-cultural perspectives and concepts of the sacredness of nature.” (2008, p.40)

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