For my final paper, I am thinking about concentrating on environmentalism and Indigeneity. A number of the readings for module 1 highlight the importance of the natural environment to Indigenous people’s identities (Marker, 2006) and the negative impact technology has on their relationship with the environment (Bowers et al., 2000; Cole & O’Riley, 2012). Cole & O’Riley (2012) explain that oral customs increase Indigenous connections with the landscape. In this weblog entry, I will provide useful websites that describe Indigenous relationships with the land and its inhabitants, specifically those that provide stories that are part of Aboriginal oral traditions, or information on that topic.
Website # 1: http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/Search.do?Ne=8797&lang=en&N=8249+8100+4294200467&ex=on
The website called Virtual Museum provides links to online exhibits from museums across Canada. It enables users to search, access and study the Virtual Museum of Canada, in order to develop a deep understanding of Canada’s culture and history through visual recourses. I refined my search for exhibits using the theme entitled “Aboriginal Art, Culture and Traditions”, which is the link I provided. I explored this website and found the following exhibit that provides stories from the Northern Tutchone people from Carmacks, Yukon: http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_memories/pm_v2.php?id=story_line_index&fl=0&lg=English&ex=00000488&pos=1. A number of the stories on this website incorporate the natural environment, such as the chapter regarding traditional culture that discusses Crow and Salmon Woman.
Website # 2: http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/nwca/nwca01e.shtml
The website entitled Where the Sea and Land Meet provides paintings by the Canadian Gordon Miller and American Bill Holm, which have accompanying stories. I focused on the theme called “Spirits of Nature”, which can be accessed through the following link: http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/nwca/nwca_t3e.shtml. On that website, there are paintings and stories concerning Indigenous relations with the landscape and wildlife, such as one about the Haida’s legends regarding Raven.
Website # 3: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/collection/stories/landscape-and-environment/inspired-by-nature/the-dreaming
After looking at Aboriginal artwork from North America and their accompanying stories, I wanted to explore paintings by Indigenous artists from other parts of the world. I found this website, called Landscapes and Environment: Indigenous Connections to Country. It provides pictures of art that is displayed at the National Gallery of Victoria. For each Indigenous painting, there is an explanation of its significance, the landscape it depicts and details about its artist. The descriptions also explain Indigenous spiritual beliefs and related stories.
Website # 4: http://www.aboriginalbc.com/stories/
The Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC created the website listed above to promote Indigenous storytelling. It provides short stories and cultural explanations from Aboriginal tribes across British Columbia and presents some of the information in video format. A number of the stories and explanations include environmental aspects. The following video is of interest because it describes the significance of stories and songs to Indigenous culture, and the influence of the landscape: http://www.aboriginalbc.com/stories/sharing-the-stories-of-our-ancestors/.
Website # 5: http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/storytel/introeng.shtml
Storytelling: The Art of Knowledge is a website that describes the traditions and significance of Indigenous storytelling. The stories this website provides are from the Algonquin, Mi’kmaq, Inuvialuit, Abenaki, Métis, Cree and Nisga’a. The tales describe Indigenous relationships with the natural environment and its inhabitants. They use some traditional terms and phrases, such as the Algonquin’s word Ni-djodjomnan, Aki that means Mother Earth. In addition to the stories, the website provides images of objects that are significant to storytelling and an explanation of their importance.