We, in North America, have a regretful history of colonization and attempts at erasing culture and language from our Indigenous people groups. From residential "Indian" schools, to blankets laced with small pox diseases, to forcing whole people groups off their land. Even today, in the 21st Century we have relegated people to reservations without proper running water, we have ignored the poverty that the (let's face it) predominantly white culture has created, we have allowed Indigenous women to go missing and murdered without proper investigations. So many horrible things, and yet the cultures strive to live on. That is resilience. That is amazing.
While I am doing this writing course, I am also taking a course provided through our provincial government and the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of Canada. I am learning, and being reminded of the rich culture that indigenous people have had for thousands of years, that was almost lost because of the whit European colonizers idea to "solve the indian problem". Slowly, many are reclaiming their almost lost heritage. It is a long road, with many battles yet to fight.
In the book "We are Grateful: Otsaliheliga" (a book about the Cherokee year), we are introduced to Cherokee words. Words that, by some admission, are close to disappearing (Cherokee Leaders). I was really excited to see this was the first choice for many reasons highlighted above. I am looking forward to adding this into my classroom library.
Daily Assignments:
Jot down the phrases that feel particularly evocative, the places where the word choice really sing. What did you notice?
-Celebrate blessings and reflect on struggles (celebrate and reflect)
-Wear new clothes, forget old quarrels (new and old)
-Remember our ancestors who suffered hardship and loss on the Trail of Tears, and have hope as our elisi, Grandma, cradles the newest... (Remember hardship, have hope in the future)
-Bears sleep deep, snow blankets the ground (sleep and blanket play off of each other here)
-Old and young
-Showers fill streams and shoots spring up
-practice patience
-click-clack sticks
I like how what could be considered opposites play off of each other to make similarities. I like the juxtaposition of the words, how they bounce off of each other and work together.
Try a little writing of your own about gratitude. Choose a season and using Traci’s structure as a mentor text, write a few lines about that season and what it means in your world, what you’re grateful for, and perhaps how you express that gratitude. Consider a repeated refrain. Consider word choice. Make that season sing.
Spring in Prince Edward Island
The snow falls down, the light stays longer in the sky
The air is cool, but sun warms the earth
Soon the snow begins to melt and the streams thaw. Water flows in the rivers again.
Ice breaks up and flows out to sea, while seals swim upstream to fish in shallow waters
Spring is coming to Abegweit, the cradle in the waves.
To close this post I want to point out a beautiful rendition of the song Blackbird, originally recorded by The Beatles. The song was written during height of the Civil Rights movement in the southern United States. It's a song about a group of people, long oppressed, finding the chance to be free at last.
In the spring of 2019, a young Mi'kmaq woman recorded this song in her native language. For me, as a listener, it highlights the rise of the Indigenous People groups in Canada. It's haunting, and beautiful. I hope you can listen and enjoy
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