Our Mission & Vision 

Blackfoot Scholar Dr. Leroy Little Bear (Iikaisskini) has written and spoken extensively about Indigenous land-based learning. In his work, Naturalizing Indigenous Knowledge, Little Bear says, "The culture of the Blackfoot involved a communication with nature and the animals. The environment is our classroom" (12). He provides a definition of Place-Based Education: "The land, as opposed to time, is a major referent in the minds of Aboriginal people. ... The ecological aspect of Indigenous knowledge is all about the land. The land is a source of identity for Aboriginal people ... Place must be an integral part of any curriculum" (21). It is for these reasons that we are seeing a move to integrate land-based learning into Western education. Doing so is as an example of Indigenization and decolonization.

"These territories were lands that were sacred to us. They were places where we held ceremonies. They have their own songs. They have stories about them. And that's why our people remember these places. ... We've continued to have that memory about the stories, the songs, the ceremonies at places like this, and we're now able to rekindle, retell those stories."

~ Leroy Little Bear, "The Community of the Natural World"

There were several reasons why Christopher wanted to create these videos in which he would be asking Joe to reflect on both his knowledge of ceremony and his experiences at these sites. A primary reason is that Chris wanted Joe, his stories, and Niitsitapi territory to be a part of the curriculum for a senior-level English course he teaches at Mount Royal University, ENGL 3353: North American Indigenous Literatures. 

These six locations hold such significance not only in Joe's life journey but also for the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot people). For such a literatures course, Joe's intense experiences at each of these sites, as he describes them in the videos, were deserving of being referred to as a Blackfoot Odyssey. 

Defining Indigenous Knowledge

Mahtsaohhtaan (Pretty Shield), Calvin Williams, a Blackfoot (Kainai) elder, provided the Blackfoot Odyssey website with a definition of Indigenous knowledge as it relates to Joe. 

According to Mahtsaohhtaan, Joe's learning institutions are his culture, the mountains and hills, his ancestors, and his spirit helpers. 

Mahtsaohhtann explains that Joe's knowledge has been acquired through sacrifice and years of ceremonial involvement on Joe's part, spanning more than four decades, and that what Joe has given of himself for the knowledge he has acquired has been through his body and his life. He indicates, “What Joe has does not come from humans but from the spirit world. The spirit helpers provide this knowledge. It is very individualistic and one of a kind. No two people get the same knowledge and guidance.” 

Learning from the Land and its Knowledge Keepers

Chris wishes to model the importance of land-based learning: The best way to learn from the land is to be out on the land. 

He encourages others to learn from those who are Indigenous to the land on which they live – to learn from those who have a deep connection, vast knowledge, and personal experience with the land as Joe and Calvin do. 

Over the summer of 2023, Joe guided Chris to each site for the purpose of the Blackfoot Odyssey course being developed. Joe wanted Chris to experience the sites for himself and get to know the places on a deeper level. 

Together, they will return to all six locations over the summer of 2024 to gather more visuals to enhance the videos that have been completed.

“Just as I am encouraging my students to do in their land-based learning assignment, it was through my visits with Joe to these sites where I could see him wanting me to explore what my own personal connection with the land can look and feel like. In a sense, Joe was allowing me to experience my own Blackfoot Odyssey, which has then given me knowledge and understanding, something I wish my students could experience.”  — Chris

The Elders Are Watching and Advising

Another reason for gathering these stories is that Chris is following the guidance of Calvin Williams, whom he takes as one of his elders. Over the years, Calvin has offered an ongoing critique to Chris regarding his instruction of Indigenous literatures. Mahtsaohhtaan points out that literature is not the traditional way Indigenous peoples have shared their stories; they were delivered orally. Literature is a Western construct. Similarly, Joe has expressed his concerns with Chris that people need to be aware that Indigenous storytelling followed the oral tradition. 

Calvin has also encouraged Chris to use lots of visuals in his teaching and to involve the land. For Chris, film offered itself as a way to implement these recommendations – the oral, the visual, and the natural.

Chris recognizes that as much as film is also a Western construct and a modern artistic medium, the videos created have managed to capture the oral delivery of a story. They have also allowed students to hear and learn from Joe – and to 'meet' him. 

As a result of these videos, Chris' Indigenous literatures course now contains stories of Niitsitapi territory, and these stories are represented in a variety of forms: the oral, literal, and visual.