Storytelling
Beat one: Set up the theme or the journey you are going on, and what land and cultural framework you will use in the story
Beat two: Introduce the main character
Beat three: The journey/crisis of the main character
Beat four: The resolution of the crisis of the main character
Beat five: The message and resolution of the theme where the character and land are once again in balance with one another
The first and fifth beats explicitly involve the relationship between the character, the land and the cultural/social context of the story. By creating a balance between land and character, the story provides a deeper role for place in our story as compared to a simple three beat story structure.
*Clague, Pauline. "The five beats of Indigenous Storytelling." Lumina: Australian Journal of Screen Arts and Business 11 (2013). You can read the article and a discussion CLICK HERE
Example: Storytelling on a map
For his final map Joseph used Google Earth Web as the platform. Google Earth Web requires good bandwidth and may load slowly so please be patient.
Activity: Working as a group, pick one person's story and develop Beat 1
We will use Jamboards to develop Beat 1 of our stories. Click on the link on the left for your Jamboard and work as a group to discuss each of the following:
What place and culture (language, food, history) values do you come from?
What was one story (verbal, artistic, musical) that impacted your life?
Where do you live now and why?
What was the thing or reason/s that caused the move?
Is there a place that has significant meaning to you or makes life feel normal?
Name an important cultural place in your community (e.g., school, mosque, or natural resource, etc.) How do you all as a group keep your culture (language, food, traditions, relationships to each other)?