After reading that Nancy Turner was alumni from UVic, I dug a bit deeper and discovered that not only is she the ‘Hakai Chair in Ethnoecology’ she is recognized world-wide as doing renowned research with First Nations peoples of Canada, who have graciously placed their trust, their ways, their traditions with her – they have shared what is most sacred to them with this gentle and knowledgeable individual. She even won the Order of British Columbia for her work with indigenous cultures and ethnobiology.
In 2011, Nancy was awarded a $1.25 million grant from the Quadra Island based Tula Foundation, which “is a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental sustainability, public service, research and teaching.” She and UVic will use these monies to further projects with the indigenous peoples of the Hakai region, providing land-centred learning opportunities for students and staff of UVic, as well as increased understanding of how indigenous peoples are culturally connected to the land, the animals, and the plants of their environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBxy7yOFsGE
I was impressed by how Nancy describes her love for nature, and how she relates to the traditional ways of First Nations people.
Here is some of my favourite quotes from her video log that we watched this week:
The element to the traditional knowledge system is a cyclical tide frame; it comes with the seasons, tides, and generations. You revisit things as you get to know them better. And when you revisit, you can drill into it more and go deeper. Yes, it’s traditional; it is based on a past-knowledge, but that doesn’t mean it is trapped in the past or not applicable to today’s knowledge systems.
The technology we have now to record digitally, or learn from a distance, can be embraced. They are important learning tools to help perpetuate the rest of that knowledge. Digital media is another tool that can be used. You can’t just rely on the digital tools. You can’t just live in a virtual world. Digital characters can get their interest, but they will need to “get out there” and meet the teachers and the people with the knowledge; go to those places and find some way to connect directly with all of those things.
Digital storytelling can help lure out our youth to the forests and the land to make those connections.
Mel Burgess.