Module 2 – Post 5

Tipiskawi Kisik: Night Sky Star Stories by Wilfred Buck

This resource is a video series to learn star stories from Wilfred Buck who is Cree. This made me reflect on how Zimmerman et al. (2000) shared how some Indigenous peoples could be offended when Indigenous stories are being recorded. I have been fortunate to attend Wilfred Buck’s sessions before and he always shares how these stories are created to be heard with others so that they can be passed on from generation to generation. As mentioned in Zimmerman et al. (2000) these videos can preserve his culture and stories. I think these video provide a strong voice to share stories of the sky. How will educators and students learn if we don’t have resources like this created? How can we ensure what we are using is with an authentic voice? These are to capture the stories of the sky from a Cree’s perspectives and histories. Whereas, we need to remember Indigenous communities are diverse across Turtle Island and many different nations may have different stories about the sky. This resource is informative because it is done through oral traditions and gives insight into how stars tell us a story.

3 comments

  1. Thanks for sharing Paula. These videos are terrific, and a reminder of the value of hearing Indigenous Knowledge Keepers sharing lessons through stories. While some research in this area suggests that in-person experience in this knowledge dissemination is deeper as it can be adjusted based on the learner’s needs, these examples are a strong counter-point to that argument.

  2. Hi Paula,
    I love listening to Wilfred Buck sharing Cree’s stories about the sky and stars. I feel connected as I grew up in similar areas to him, and I grew up learning similar things but not hearing the stories or knowing why it was necessary, just that it was. I enjoy sharing these videos when I teach about the sun, stars and moon in the science curriculum with my grade 4/5.

  3. Hi Paula,
    Thank you so much for including these storytelling video resources.
    Oftentimes in language learning, storytelling gets omitted for the more academic registers and conventions of second language learning. I am happy to share these resources with my students not only as an example of storytelling techniques in a traditional Indigenous Canadian style, but it also to legitimize the act of storytelling, itself.

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