“Ethics” by masondan is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Dr. Regina McManigell Grijalva’s (2020) narrative analysis, “The Ethics of Storytelling: Indigenous Identity and the Death of Mangas Colaradas,” presents us with valuable information regarding the significance of ethics in storytelling. Grijalva uses the example of various retellings of the murder of Apache Chief Mangas Coloradas, comparing the dominant narratives to those from Indigenous peoples, such as the accounts from “Apaches who were there with him in the thick and thin of the many conflicts or who were part of the great chief’s band, clan, or family” (p. 46). Grijalva goes on to state that not only is it important where and who the stories are coming from, but that Indigenous peoples telling the stories have ethics to share their own history and identity as well. Overall, it is suggested that when it comes to telling Indigenous stories, “writers and readers be vigilant of the reasons, values, and actions involved in such storytelling” (p. 53).
These ideas tie well into The First Peoples Principle of Learning: Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story and Learning involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with permission and-or in certain situations. Stories can teach us many valuable things and they can provide voices to those who need their stories heard. At the same time, we must know for what reasons we share the stories and provide context. We must also understand what is okay to share and what is not. The Web has made it easier to find stories to share or to share our own, so we must do so with these ideas in mind. Grijalva states that the “potential for change in storytelling provides the impetus for teachers and students of writing to take care when listening to or telling stories” (p. 32). As storytelling is part of BC’s English Language Arts curriculum, both listening to/reading stories as well as creating/writing them; these ideas connect deeply to how we teach with stories in the classroom.
Grijalva, R. M. (2020). The ethics of storytelling: Indigenous identity and the death of Mangas Coloradas. College Composition and Communication, 72(1), 31-57.