Raven that is,
Raven that was,
Raven that always will be.
Make prayers to the Raven.
Raven, bring us luck.
from the Koyukon

A great source of ideas about the First Nations literature and its impact on their of life is the interpretations of their local stories and fables. The fact that there could be different interpretations to their stories can  be a factor in creating different tribes with different cultural commitments. Stories about animals are very common in the First Nation . However there is more focus on the raven , the bird. I read about it a lot because I want to know more about the indigenous culture. A good source to look at this one:

http://www.indigenouspeople.net/raven.htm

One of the topics that I really was interested in is the Greek mythology. I like the way they were depicted and the way they were interpreted.  When I read any literature work about the First Nations I feel that I am reading something similar to the Greek Myth. Nobody knew who wrote the Greek myths and it is still one of the debatable things about them. But looking deeply at the First Nations Myths, so to speak, will probably solve the riddles behind the Greek Myths.  I am sure the above-mentioned source will trigger a lot of ideas and valuable thoughts in the readers especially if they are well-acquainted with the Greek Mythology.

The quotation I write at the beginning of this posting is taken from website.

I mentioned earlier in the introduction part that I have two boys ( 5 and 3). They have a special interest in the aboriginal literature (pictures , icons and their specific animal pictures). I usually take them to our local library. After taking some books we usually have a look at the DVD section. One of the DVDs they chose was Raven Stories series. I remember that was a year ago. I watched it with tem and I really was thankful to them for choosing it. They opened my eyes to something I was not aware of before. Now we borrow this DVD series almost every week.  Everybody is hooked to it.

If we look at the content of the series we realize that most of the ideas discussed are based on fables or animal-based ideas. The treatment of depicting the main ideas of the series is a special one because its target audience is children. This makes it hard to make as there are very complex values that need special treatment in order to cater for the young watchers. After I watched some of the series I felt the themes depicted in these series reflect a treasure of heavy ideas that can help in understanding the how First Nations people perceive life around them.

Here is the main link to the series:

http://www.raventales.com/

It is available in libraries in Canada. Some of the series are available online ( youtube)

Hussain

The thematic connotation of the discussions raised in this module made me focus on one of the most important aspects in Module 1 ( and even in the coming Modules). It is the conceptual relationship between the First Nation people and the land. It is simply looked at as a holy connection that has to be respect all the time. Consequently, the effect this relationship is great on the behaviour of the individual who belongs to any First Nations tribe. One of the interesting sources of information about the theme under study is a project done by David Suzuki  . The topic tackled by Suzuki might appear as merely an overview of some environmental issues. However, I feel there is a huge issue discussed behind the scenes in this DVD which is the relationship between people and nature. I like the idea of  “healing” the relationship between nature and people. I think watching this DVD will sharpen our understanding of the scared connection between the First Nations people and nature. Canada is on the lead when it comes showing respect to nature. Probably  this was instigated by the First Nation people.

The DVD is called:  The nature connection with David Suzuki
I believe it was made in 2000. It is available in the libraries here in Vancouver and also online (youtube)

Hussain