Embedded Files
"We need to take care of the stories so the stories can take care of us." ~Dr. Jo-ann Archibald
"The story and the storyteller both serve to connect the past with the future, one generation with the other, the land with the people, and the people with the story." ~Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Deconolizing Methodologies, p. 146
Land Acknowledgement
Land Acknowledgement
We respectfully acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the syilx Peoples.
kʷu ɬə c̕uləl’uʔs iʔ l təmxʷulaʔxʷs iʔ syilx tali əc haʔ stim aɬiʔ əc mistim axaʔ iʔ təmxʷulaʔxʷselx lut pənkin̓ k̕l swit t̕ə xʷic̕xmselx
An Invitation
An Invitation
Would anyone like to share their personal land acknowledgement today?
You might want to consider including:
My name is and my ancestors are from ____.
An acknowledgement that we are uninvited guests on the unceded territory of the syilx people.
Reflect on and share: What is your relationship with this land - what do you appreciate about living in this place? What are you thankful for? What does the land teach you?
Your commitments to the land moving forward.
We invite you to either share out loud or in the chat.
Time of the Cold Weather
Time of the Cold Weather
What practices traditionally happen during the Time of Everything White? According to the resource calendar below, these include: storytelling, tool making, regalia making, music and songs.
Where does math live in these syilx practices?
Time of Everything White
Time of Everything White
ʔistk (winter) is a key time for storytelling in many Indigenous nations because it’s a time to rest after a year of preparing for the winter through harvesting, hunting and ceremony.
"Some of us believe that it is rude to tell stories of the animals when they are awake, so we tell the stories in the Winter." ~Coralee Miller
"As snow falls gently on the kekuli — a winter pit-home in the Okanagan — syilx people gather with their children to share captikwł stories... sharing captikwł is something people in the Okanagan have always reserved for the winter months." (Why syilx People Only Share Stories in the Winter)
Elder Rob Edward says that some captikwł stories can take weeks or even months to fully tell which is why that stillness is important.
“If you tell it in the summer then you lose what you are trying to teach... [captikwł time] stops when the buttercups come out, and then when the first snows come in at the top of the mountains then you can start telling captikwł in its entirety.” (Elder Rob Edward)
What are your traditions during this Time of the Everything White?
Where does math live in your traditions?
To purchase a copy of the moon poster, click here.
In the chat, let's explore:
Where does math live in these syilx practices?
What are your traditions during this Time of Everything White?
Where does math live in your winter traditions?
We will share out when we come back together.
Indigenizing Numeracy: What is the Relationship Between Indigenous Storywork, Place, & Numeracy?
Indigenizing Numeracy: What is the Relationship Between Indigenous Storywork, Place, & Numeracy?
“The same stories heard over and over again become embdedded in one’s being, staying there until reflection in one’s later years brings adult understandings and sometimes enables one to become a storyteller. Making meaning from a particular story can happen at various phases of human developments; the meaning may change over time. Stories, then, have a way of ‘living,’ of being perpetuated both by the listener/learner’s way of making meaning and by the storytellers, who have an important responsibility to tell stories in a particular way.” ~Jo-ann Archibald / Q’um Q’um Xiiem, Indigenous Storywork, p. 113
Indigenous Perspectives, Practices, & Pedagogies Tend to Emphasize:
Indigenous Perspectives, Practices, & Pedagogies Tend to Emphasize:
Interconnectedness
Relationality
Non-linearity
Dynamic systems / ecosystems
Human and more-than-human kin
Intergenerational learning
Wholistic learning: heart, spirit, mind, & body
Collaboration & collective learning
Strengths & gifts
Importance of land & language
BREAK OUT ROOM:
How are these perspectives, practices, and pedagogies present in your learning environments?
Let's Share.
Indigenous Storywork
Indigenous Storywork
Jo-ann Q’um Q’um Xiiem Archibald has worked closely with Elders and storytellers, who shared both traditional and personal life-experience stories, in order to develop ways of bringing storytelling into educational contexts.
Indigenous Storywork is the result of this research and it demonstrates how stories have the power to educate and heal the heart, mind, body, and spirit.
It builds on the seven principles of respect, responsibility, reciprocity, reverence, holism, interrelatedness, and synergy that form a framework for understanding the characteristics of stories.
How Might We Use Indigenous Stories in a Good Way?
How Might We Use Indigenous Stories in a Good Way?
Indigenous Storywork: Educating the Heart, Mind, Body, and Spirit
Indigenous Storywork: Educating the Heart, Mind, Body, and Spirit
Indigenous Storywork Website
Indigenous Storywork Website
Jo-ann Q’um Q’um Xiiem Archibald's Indigenous Storywork Website
The purpose of this website is to help educators learn about Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing, predominantly through Indigenous traditional and life-experience stories.
Becoming Story Ready
Becoming Story Ready
Three Part Video Series for Educators on Becoming Story Ready
Listen with 3 ears: 2 ears on our head, and 1 ear in our heart.
These videos can help you become familiar with a story-place by spending time within it. A question to keep in mind is, what do I need to do first to get story-ready?
Source: Reimagining Math Education Webinar Series - Connecting Math, Community, and Culture (UBC). Session 2.
Listen to Jo-ann Q’um Q’um Xiiem Archibald describe Indigenous Storywork and hear educators share how they are exploring these ideas with their students.
Jo- ann shares that these seven principles form the foundation of Indigenous storywork. When you hear the words, 'My dear ones, the work is about to begin' it signals that it is time to give serious attention to working with stories.
"Each principle is like a strand of cedar used to make a cedar basket. Each strand is distinct in its meaning and use, but can be combined with other principles to create beautiful designs and meanings. Ultimately a basket is created that can be used for many purposes." ~Jo-ann Archibald
An Example from a B.C. Educator
An Example from a B.C. Educator
Raven Brings the Light
Raven Brings the Light
Here is an example of culturally responsive mathematics learning that has been done in another district in B.C. This example is anchored with a local Indigenous story: Raven Brings the Light.
Jo-ann Archibald joined with some B.C. educators to brainstorm all the ways that this Indigenous story might be mathematized. Teachers brainstormed the following mathematical ideas after listening to the Raven Brings in Light at one of the project meetings:
Students could calculate the volume of the sun, the light.
They could explore what is meant by infinity. All the light in the world. What would that be?
Compare surface areas and volume of the nested boxes.
Transformation - the idea of shape shifter as changing. So this could carry over to concepts of mathematical transformations: rotations, tessellations, symmetry ...
Comparing the sizes of boxes. How big or small do they need to be so that they can be nested ... How could a lid be made for the box?
The ball of light becoming the sun, moon, and stars. Could explore size - how big is that? How many stars? How big is a million?
How does paper size and shape affect the box shape?
If you don't know the story, you might want to first listen to Raven Brings the Light by Roy Henry Vickers & Robert Budd
Then, listen to Sandra Fox describe how she explored learning with her grade 4-5 students in Vancouver. She wondered: How might the principles of Indigenous Storywork spark student curiosity for mathematical exploration?
Source: Reimagining Math Education Webinar Series - Connecting Math, Community, and Culture (UBC). Nov. 24, '21: Indigenous Storywork & Math Education
To watch the whole webinar, click here.
After reading the story 'Raven Brings the Light,' students compared the amount of light that various local communities get during the winter and summer solstice.
They used mathematics to measure and respresent these amounts of light.
After they analyzed the results, they decided that it was unfair that some communities started and ended their school days in the dark.
That led students to write letters to their Member of Parliament requesting that we keep daylight savings time.
How might we connect local captikwł to Indigenous Storywork and learning numeracy on the land?
How might we connect local captikwł to Indigenous Storywork and learning numeracy on the land?
My dear ones, the work is about to begin.
My dear ones, the work is about to begin.
How Turtle Set The Animals Free
How Turtle Set The Animals Free
Eagle was very fast. He raced all the animal people and beat them. Even Fox and Wolf lost. All the people who lost these races became Eagle’s slaves.
Eagle was Chief of all the animals, except for Turtle who lived with his partner Muskrat. They were free because they were the only ones who did not race Eagle. They knew they could not run very fast, but one night Turtle had a dream. He was told, “You must race Eagle tomorrow to free the Animal People. They must be free when the People-To-Be come.”
In the morning, Turtle told Muskrat, “Get up! Go for a swim! Get ready! We must race Eagle.”
“You cannot beat him, Turtle!” Muskrat said unhappily, “You cannot beat him! He flies too fast.”
“I know. All of our people lost before, but my dream told me to race and win,” Turtle replied. Together the two friends went to Eagle‟s camp. Turtle told Eagle, “I want to race with you tomorrow.”
“All right, Turtle,” Eagle answered. “Tomorrow we race, when the sun comes up. If you win, the Animal People are yours.”
“Yes,” Turtle agreed.
“If I win, Turtle, I will keep you here. You are betting your life on this race.”
As Turtle crawled away, all the Animal People laughed, because they did not think they would ever be free.
Next day, Turtle met Eagle for the race. Eagle told him, “Choose your place, Turtle. I will race you any distance you decide.”
“Any place?” Turtle asked.
Eagle replied, “Our people hear me. Any place, Turtle.” ...
Thank you to Coralee Miller & the Sncewips Heritage Museum
To start, only watch from 0:00 to 2:22 - how might the captikwł end?
see more captikwł on their video playlist here (syilx stories)
What might Turtle's plan be? How might the captikwł end?
What might Turtle's plan be? How might the captikwł end?
Time to Connect & Share
Time to Connect & Share
In your break out rooms:
Design ways that you think turtle could beat eagle in a race.
Use mathematical thinking to support your theory.
Sharing as a Whole Group:
Let's make our thinking visible to each other.
Where else does math live in this captikwł?
Where else does math live in this captikwł?
Consider looking at a page(s) of any story and alongside your students, search for where the math lives in the story.
Eagle and Turtle.pdfSource: Kou-Skelowh / We Are The People - A Trilogy of Okanagan Legends
This is an excerpt from Dr. Bill Cohen's Dissertation: School Failed Coyote, So Fox Made a New School: Indigenous Okanagan Knowledge Transforms Educational Pedagogy by Dr. Bill Cohen
Give Aways
Give Aways
Today, our winner will win a copy of How Coyote Broke the Salmon Dam
Congratulations to our Session 10 winner:
Congratulations to our Session 10 winner:
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