Invite an Elder into your Classroom - Following Protocol

Elders play a vital role in the community. They keep languages, stories, and culture alive. We believe that Elders can benefit students and teachers in becoming more aware of Indigenous cultures. For the purpose of this learning resource, we highly recommended that your classroom invites an Elder to speak to the students before the Mount Benson hike. They hold invaluable knowledge and stories - but please respect that some knowledge cannot be shared with the community. We need to listen to the wishes of our Elders to protect the interest of the nation.

Every nation has a different protocol. Be patient in learning these protocols.

To invite an Elder into your classroom, please contact the Elder Coordinator of Snuneymuxw First Nation.

• Cheryl Milburn - office: 250-754-1300 or sfncultural@snuneymuxw.ca
• For presentations, Elders will receive an Honorarium of $150
• You can contact your school Aboriginal Education coordinator for assistance in seeking funding

ACTIVITY - Connection to Place & Traditional Place Names

Connection to place is important in helping students to develop relationships with the land and to become stewards of their community. Place-based learning can foster these connections and give the students an experience that cannot be replicated in the classroom.

Indigenous peoples named the land and its features long before the colonists arrived. Using traditional place names establishes that we acknowledge the traditional territory of Indigenous people. Please take the time to learn which land your school is situated on and acknowledge that nation with your students.

Te’tuxwtun has been part of the Snuneymuxw territory since time immemorial and plays an important role in their nation's culture and livelihoods.

Te’tuxwtun (Mount Benson): Grandmother of All Mountains

Stlillup: Departure Bay

Snuneymuxw Estuary (as opposed to Nanaimo Estuary)

Ask your students:

• What are some important or famous places in your community or city? If necessary, prompt students to ensure they include some manmade places (e.g. Bastion Square or Diana Krall Plaza) and some natural places (e.g. Neck Point, Pipers Lagoon).
• How do you think these places got their names?

ACTIVITY - Oral Storytelling (Te'tuxwtun-Mount Benson)

Refer to The First Peoples Principles of Learning: “Learning is embedded in memory, history, & story”.

There are many stories of Mount Benson. Each person carries their own story. We must respect that there are different stories that are shared. One such story is:

Story from William Good, Coast Salish Artist.

“Te’tuxwtun landed on Mount Benson after the great flood and [he] lived on top of Mount Benson when he built a longhouse and he had two sons and one day they saw smoke coming from Stlillup, which is Departure Bay … he sent his two sons down to investigate what the smoke was about and where it was coming from and who was there and when they arrived there, the two young men met the people living at Stlillup that had moved [there] and the man and woman at Stlillup had two daughters and eventually [they] married, so that was the beginning of some of our first peoples of the Snuneymuxw area,” said Good.

Gather your students in a circle and explain the importance of oral storytelling and how it is a crucial aspect of Indigenous learning and knowing. Using these prompts, begin a discussion about oral stories:

· What is a story? How can stories be told?

· Why are stories important?

· What makes a good story?

· How do we listen to a story?

· What can we learn from a story?

· Do we need permission to tell a story?

Stories, songs, and history are passed down from generation to generation. For these purposes, the skills required for storytelling and listening need to be highly developed. Do you think you have the skills to do this?

Demonstrate how difficult oral storytelling can be by playing the Telephone game.

· Sit down students in a circle, about an arm’s length between each student.

· It is recommended that the teacher should come up with a short message/story.

· Starting with the teacher, to the right, whisper the message to the next person in the ear. That person then does the same, and so forth.

· Each person can only convey the message once.

· This goes on until the final person has received the message and tells the rest of the circle what message they received – compare it to the first message.

Good storytelling skills, listening, patience, and memory all play an integral role in oral tradition. These techniques need to be practiced over and over again before they can be mastered!

ACTIVITY - Pacific Northwest Plant Knowledge

Using the, Pacific Northwest Plant Knowledge Cards, available from Strong Nations Bookstore (many schools already have purchased these), students will learn about the traditional Indigenous uses and ways of harvesting each plant and feature several Indigenous languages.

The 72 card set highlights 65 edible and medicinal plants. Bring the cards out on walks to help identify plants and their uses and keep the old ways strong. Use these cards as an inspiration to talk to an Elder or Knowledge Keeper!

BEFORE THE HIKE - Ask the class the following discussion questions:

• What plants do you know that we can eat? (Strawberries, blackberries, apples, etc.)
• What plants or flowers do you think grow in our local environment?
• Did you know that not all plants in your local environment today have always grown here? Plants that have always grown in the local environment are called native plants.
• What ways do you think Indigenous peoples use plants? (Food, medicine, clothing, ceremonies, art, transportation, etc.)

DURING THE HIKE

• Along the trail, stop for a learning break and put students into small groups of 3.
• Hand out plant knowledge cards to each group.
• Ask students to find the plants and actively look, touch, and smell the plants. Information about each plant is available on the card. Have students continue to look for the plants during the hike.
• Give some prompts for students to critically think about observation, identification, stewardship, invasive species, ecology, and human-plant relationships.

AFTER THE HIKE - Followup questions for discussion:

• Why are plants important?
• Are there any important plants in your own culture?
• What can we learn about people through studying how they use plants?
• Have groups present to the class, informally, what they learned about each plant.
• Students can also complete a visual representation (art project) depicting a plant and including key information they learned.