I have been thinking about how the 6 word stories could be used to introduce Indigenous ways of knowing in storytelling. Specifically I was thinking about using this well teaching The Marrow Thieves and introducing the discussion around storytelling, protocols surrounding indigenous culture, and actually the importance of oral storytelling in Indigenous cultures.
I was thinking you could do this by using this activity, having students write their 6-word story that sums up “who they are”. Then have them share this 6-word story with a partner. Then have them discuss as a class the challenges and merits of having to sum yourself up in 6 words. What aspects of their identity and story were portrayed in the story? What was missing? When we’re trying to tell the story of who we are what is it important to include? Is how we tell this story important? What protocols would surround telling your own story? (who you would tell it to, when, where, etc)
In this way I would use this activity to catapult this discussion. Also this could be a way to talk about this storytelling in a personal way for your students without necessarily having to reveal their stories and experiences that they may not wish to share.
Such an interesting way of using the 6 word story! I love that you’ve made a connection to Indigenous ways of knowing. An extension of what you are talking about could be to play “telephone” with one of the stories:
Before sharing them out with the class, you could ask if any student was comfortable sharing their story. Instead of sharing it with the whole class, you would form a circle and pass the story around through whispers. The last person in the circle would then say the story they heard. It could be an interesting way to show how in retellings of a story it gets changed – how this can be both a frustrating thing (who gets to tell whose story?) but also a generative process when it comes to oral storytelling.