Exploring ENGL470

Assignment 3.7 – Looking Further into Green Grass Running Water

Posted by in Unit 3

Pages 130-143 Tourists at the Dead Dog Cafe The first reference in this section of the novel is in the tourists names. Nelson, Jeannette, Rosemarie de Flor and Bruce are all figures that have been “active in the stereotyping of Canadian Indians and Canadian life in the North or West.” (Flick, 151) They also represent actors who played roles in Rose Marie, a film from the 1930’s that takes place in Canada and follows the love story of a woman and a mountie. They also quote a song from the…read more

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Assignment 3.5 – Question 5

Posted by in Unit 3

Q: Narratives assume, in Blanca Chester’s words, “a common matrix of cultural knowledge.” The Four Old Indians are perhaps the best examples of characters that belong to a matrix of cultural knowledge, which excludes many non-First Nations. What were your first questions about and impressions of these characters? How have you come to understand their place in the novel? Chester states “There is an assumption of a common matrix of cultural knowledge, and invoking words—names and places—suggests that shared epistemology.” (Chester, 55) This can be seen in Green Grass Running…read more

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Assignment 2:6 – Authenticity

Posted by in Assignments, Unit 2

5] “To raise the question of ‘authenticity’ is to challenge not only the narrative but also the ‘truth’ behind Salish ways of knowing “(Carlson 59). Explain why this is so according to Carlson, and explain why it is important to recognize this point. When one questions the authenticity of a narrative, they are simultaneously questioning the beliefs of the people to whom that story belongs. Carlson says that “we have grown so accustomed to associating authentic aboriginal culture with pre-contact temporal dimensions that we have dismissed or ignored Native stories…read more

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Assignment 2:4

Posted by in Assignments, Unit 2

Question: In this lesson I say that our capacity for understanding or making meaningfulness from the first stories is seriously limited for numerous reasons and I briefly offer two reasons why this is so: 1) the social process of the telling is disconnected from the story and this creates obvious problems for ascribing meaningfulness, and 2) the extended time of criminal prohibitions against Indigenous peoples telling stories combined with the act of taking all the children between 5 – 15 away from their families and communities. In Wickwire’s introduction to…read more

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Assignment 2:3 – Home from Multiple Perspectives

Posted by in Assignments, Unit 2

After reading through a few different blogs about what people think of when they think of home, I see a few common themes. For many, the feeling of home is directly correlated with family or roots. In Laryssa’s post, she talks about her family roots stretching way back 100 years through their farm. I think history is a big part of home for lots of people, and story is a big part of history. When stories regarding family history are shared, I find people often feel a strong connection to…read more

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Assignment 2.2: Home

Posted by in Assignments, Unit 2

Write a short story that describes your sense of home and the values and stories that you use to connect yourself to your home: A photo of me catching my first fish two summers ago in the Prince Rupert Harbour.   For many people, home is not a place but a feeling or a multitude of places. For me, home is definitely a place. I was born and raised in Prince Rupert, B.C.  which is located on Kaien Island on the Northwest coast of British Columbia. Though I currently do not live in…read more

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Assignment 1:5 – How Evil Came to Be

Posted by in Assignments, Unit 1

Story: Once upon a time, there was a group of fairies: Kate, Taylor and Brittany. These fairies were very special fairies, for they were responsible for all the beauties and wonders of the world. How it worked was the fairies told each other stories, describing the things they wished to create and their magic would bring it into the world. The fairies enjoyed to play games together and have contests, to see who could come up with the most beautiful and wondrous creations. One day, while seeing who could make…read more

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Assignment 1:3 – Question 6

Posted by in Assignments, Unit 1

I really enjoyed Chamberlain’s If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories? Finding Common Ground. I really appreciated the metaphors he used and the language he used to discuss his stance on the topic of oral cultures vs. literate cultures. In the last chapter specifically, there were many points and analogies made by Chamberlain that really resonated with me and got me thinking. The first thing that I really enjoyed was when he was talking about the Gitksan story about the Grizzly Bear and the Scientific tests that both served as…read more

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Assignment 1.1: Welcome!

Posted by in Assignments, Unit 1

Hello everyone, my name is Danica Ferguson and I am a 4th year student majoring in French, hoping to continue on after my undergrad to get my Bachelor of Education. I was born and raised in the small, rainy, northern coastal town of Prince Rupert, British Columbia and currently reside in Prince George, B.C. when I’m not in Vancouver. I grew up in one of the rainiest cities in Canada (Yes, it has even more rain than Vancouver), which has given me a tremendous appreciation for the sun and a…read more

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