| Before
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• What does it mean to be “creative”?
• How do stories get created? Who creates stories?
• Who has the right to create stories about you, your family, and your background?
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Students will work in groups of 3 or 4.
To prepare: on large sheets of paper (11 x 17 or larger) write one word per sheet: land, place, relationship, reciprocity, storytelling, truth, reconciliation.
Steps:
1. Each group is given one of these words. As a group, students are given 3–4 minutes to collaboratively use words, pictures, and/or symbols to explain what that word means to them.
2. After the time is up, groups pass the paper to another group. The group gets a minute to look over the previous group’s ideas. They are given 3–4 minutes to add what they feel the word means. They can also jot down questions from the previous group’s ideas.
3. Once more, after the time is up, groups pass the paper to a different group. The group gets a minute to look over the previous groups’ ideas. They are given 3–4 minutes to add what they feel the word means. They can also jot down questions from the previous groups’ ideas.
4. The words are returned to the group where they originated to look over and to add any more ideas or answer questions.
5. All of the words/papers should be displayed for a group debrief. Suggested prompts:
• What was the process like, to think and create meaning with others?
• Describe the feeling or thoughts when you had to add to someone else’s ideas.
• How does this activity relate to some of the readings we’ve done in the previous two sections?
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| During
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• Who am I in relation to others?
• Who am I in relation to the spaces, places, and land where I live and learn?
• How do we engage in co-creating and sustaining reciprocal relationships?
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Zoe Todd writes, “Storytelling also enabled those who might not be considered official holders of knowledge by those in power within the community to impart their own knowledge outside of boardrooms” (p. 167).
Small-group discussion where students unpack the above quote and think about what it means to them within their family, community and school. Suggested guiding questions include:
• What does the author mean by this?
• Who might have more power/privilege in your family, community, school, and society?
• What type of knowledge gets privileged? How does this knowledge get transmitted (shared)?
• What are some of the ways in which Indigenous knowledge is shared? Facilitate whole group sharing.
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| After
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• What are different ways to share stories? (Think about some of the ways the authors and participants in studies shared their stories.)
• What story of you would you feel comfortable sharing?
• Which way of sharing your story would be most meaningful to you? Why?
• If you could learn a different way to tell your story, what would it be? Why?
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Students should be asked to tell the story of something that has happened to them recently, either at school, home, or work. Let the students know the incident can be a simple as walking to school or something much more profound.
Have students:
• Brainstorm some possible ideas for a story of something recent.
• Once they pick an idea, they should elaborate on the details of the story (reference the details in both Kolson and Todd’s chapters).
• Tell students they can share their story through various forms of writing (poetry, prose, journal entry, article), video, graphic text, or song.
• Ideally, students would share their ideas with a few others and get descriptive feedback.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: If possible, a First Nation, Métis, or Inuit story- teller should be invited into the class to share their stories.
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