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

"Nanabozho's journey first took him toward the rising sun, to the place where the day begins. He had many questions, like how he would eat and how he would find his way. He considered the Original Instructions and understood that all the knowledge he needed in order to live was present in the land. His role was not to control or change the world as a human but to learn from the world how to be human. 

As he continued exploring the land, Nanabozho was given a new responsibility, to learn the names of all the beings. He watched them carefully to see how they lived and spoke with them to learn what gifts they carried. When he could call others by  name, he felt more at home and less lonely. 

Following the original Instructions... Nanabozho also had the task to learn how to live from his elder brothers and sisters. When he needed food, he watched what the animals were eating and copied them. Heron taught him to gather wild rice. One night by the creek, he saw a little ring-tailed animal carefully washing his food with delicate hands. He thought, "Ahh, I am supposed to put ony clean food in my body." 

Nanabozho was counseled by many plants too, who shared their gifts. He learned to treat them with the greatest respect. Together, all the beings, both plants and animals, taught him what he needed to know. Beaver showed him how to make an axe. Whale gave him the shape for his canoe. He'd been instructed that if he could combine the lessons from nature with the strength of his own good mind, he could discover new things that would be useful for the people to come. In his mind, Grandmother Spider's web became a fishnet. He followed the winter lessons of squirrels to create maple sugar. The lessons Nanabozho learned are the mythic roots of Native science, medicine, architecture, agriculture, and ecological knowledge. 

To each of the four directions Nanabozho wandered on long, strong legs. Singing loudly as he went, he didn't hear the bird's chirps of caution and was duly surprised when Grizzly challenged him. After that, when he came near the territories of others, he did not just blunder in as if the whole world belonged to him. He learned to sit quietly at the edge of the wods and wait to be invited. Then Nanabozho would rise and speak these words to the citizens of that place: "I wish not to mar the beauty of the earth or to disturb my brother's purpose. I ask that I be allowed to pass." 

He saw flowers blooming through the snow, ravens who spoke to wolves, and insects who lit the praire nights. His gratitude for all beings and their abilities grew, and he came to understand that to carry a gift is also to carry a responsibility. The Creator gave Wood Thrush the gift of a beautiful song, with the duty to sing the forest good night. 

Had the new people learned what Original Man was taught at a council of animals - never damage Creation and never interfere with the sacred purpose of another being - the eagle would look down on a different world. We would see what Nanabozho saw. Every being with a gift, every being with a responsibility. He considered his own empty hands. He had to rely on the world to take care of him. 

Can settlers be trusted to follow Nanabozho? To walk so that "each step is a greeting to Mother Earth?"

Source: Braiding Sweetgrass For Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Adapted by Monique Gray Smith (pp. 182-186)

Let's take a peek into a learning journey that a community of students in Kindergarten and Grade 2/3 at Pearson Elementary have been doing about Okanagan Animals. The students are learning alongside their teachers Nicole Holland, Lynn White, Sarah Korzinski, and Allison Macafee. This learning journey is in no way complete, but might inspire you and your students.