5.2: The Importance of Indigenous Foundations
Storytelling and Oral Tradition
“As the young asked, the old men and the old women thought about these matters. They gave their answers and explanations in the form of stories, songs, prayers, rituals and ceremonies.”
– Basil Johnston, 1976
Traditionally, Ojibway Elders often provided lessons and demonstrated expected behaviour through stories told in lodges during activities such as repairing fishing nets or hunting equipment, and when clothing and food were being prepared. Characters in the stories, including animals or other creatures in the natural world, often possessed spirits and needed to be passed along with accuracy, respect and sometimes permission to reshare with others. Listeners are often expected to come to their own interpretations and understandings, rather than views being imposed.
Stories are a pedagogical tool whereby meaning can be expressed, renegotiated, interpreted, or shared with learners. Stories help educators and learners make connections between complex issues and can be used as either primary or supplemental instructional materials. Accompanying stories with a hands-on activity approach, for example, models a traditional way of teaching used with many Indigenous peoples, and relates to the principles of UDL by providing an alternative way for students to engage in learning, and a different representation from typical written content.
In Indigenous cultures, stories are usually told by Elders or Knowledge Keepers who decide when a learner is ready for the knowledge. It is important not to assume that because a story has been shared with you, that it is appropriate for you to share it with others. It is wise to speak with members of the community or the Elders represented to know for sure (Archibald, n.d.) whether you can share the story in your own teaching. JoAnne Archibald suggests seven principles of Indigenous story work including “respect, responsibility, reverence, reciprocity, inter-relatedness, holism, and synergy” (Archibald, 2019).
We have tried to model elements of storytelling throughout this module. We encourage you to research and learn more about Indigenous Peoples stories from the nations in your local area, and your institutional Indigenous centre or advisory council, or Indigenous curriculum supports if you have them. These voices will be best positioned to advise how you can (or can’t) use Indigenous stories in your teaching practices.
Medicine Wheel
The cycle of life through many dimensions can be captured and symbolized through the medicine wheel. Historically, medicine wheels may have taken the form of a stone circle with vertical and horizontal lines bisecting in the middle (Kemppainen et al., 2008).
A more recent rendition involves colouring of the quadrants and the colours may vary based on the community it represents. You might be familiar with one common presentation of the Medicine Wheel where the four quadrants are shown with white in the north