This powerful digital storytelling project provided a voice for First Nations women who were personally impacted by residential schools. Prairie Women’s Health Centre for Excellence posted and shared six digital stories, created by professional First Nations women whose mothers survived residential schools.  The theme of the project is understanding the legacy that residential schools pass on between generations.  The filmmakers: Lorena Fontaine, Lisa Forbes, Wendy McNab, Claudette Michell, Lisa Murdock, and Roberta Stout, share profound stories of their mothers that centre around hope, resilience, and healing.

The site provides the following description of digital stories:

A “digital story” is a 2-5 minute video. It is a personal narrative coupled with a collection of still images, video, and music which illustrates an individual’s story. Indigenous peoples’ stories are intellectual traditions that can disrupt colonial narratives of history, recognize injustice, celebrate resistance, and envision the future. Researchers and communities are increasingly recognizing the healing properties of visual and narrative approaches; thus this project both generated information about the experiences of women whose mothers attended residential schools and served a therapeutic purpose. Digital media can make these concerns more visible to the world and exchange knowledges and sensibilities that support self-representation and self-determination.

Part of my final project focused on digital storytelling projects being used in communities to tell important stories.  One of the projects I stumbled across is based in Vancouver Island and coastal BC communities.  Digital Harvest is a community based initiative that focuses on engaging both elders and youths.  They are given an opportunity to share traditions, culture, knowledge, and practices while producing digital stories.  These stories create an intergenerational connection between elders and youth that gives communities ownership of the information being presented.  Pretty cool.

Additionally, they hold a Digital Story Workshop in Tofino – where “selected participants are invited to a 3-day land, culture, and food workshop”.  Day 1 focuses on how food has been traditionally harvest and how colonization has impacted food systems and life.  The second day looks at how food and lifestyle changes in modern day, and how we consider traditions and history.  Digital stories are also introduced this day.  Day three focuses on the digital media skills necessary to create stories.  Participants will create their own digital stories.  Once the workshop wraps, the youth and elders are given cameras to take their ideas and knowledge back home to continue sharing.  I love the idea of food and stories bringing communities together and empowering youth and elders.