Through my research, I have come to understand that a key strength of digital storytelling is not simply the media file that presents the story; more specifically it is the process that led to the creation of that media.

Kookum (Grandmothers) and Youth Circles is a workbook developed to support an Equay-wuk (Women’s Group)  workshop held in the winter of 2012. This group supports the needs and interests of women in the 31 First Nation communities in remote Northwestern Ontario. The workshop and the workbook both provided opportunities for both elders and youth to consider the stories that they had to tell, including their experiences of the Residential Schools – either first hand or through inter-generational impacts.

Reviewing the workbook provides tremendous insights into the types of reflection and strategies that can help contribute to people sharing their own stories as a means of healing themselves and, in some cases, those around them.