Quartet is a group of performers, educators, and lovers of the land. We are grateful to live and learn on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.
Composed of Zac, Magda, Samantha, and Laura, this ‘quartet’ of students is engaged in exploring the intricacies of Canadian literature, Canadian identity, Storytelling, and Colonial and Indigenous histories in this country through the course English 372 with Dr. Erika Paterson. This conference page will allow us to explore a call to action from the journal Canadian Literature. Their 50th anniversary edition offers a series of short intervention essays exploring the future of Canadian literature. We will be focusing on the intervention entitled Watersheds by Rita Wong and applying our knowledge of stories and texts as a way of critically examining the world and creating meaningful and lasting change within it.
Rita Wong is a poet and an Associate Professor in Critical and Cultural Studies at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Born in Calgary, Wong positions herself as a settler on Indigenous land and states that she is “learning what it means to be a responsible relative/guest/settler/unsettler” – a goal and identity that the four students of Quartet share. Rita Wong believes that a watershed moment in Canadian literature would involve “a wide network of critical and creative projects that take up the challenge to restore damaged ecosystems, and to regenerate life in ways that make the lakes and rivers safe enough to drink from, welcoming enough that the abundance of fish, amphibians, birds, mammals and many creatures that previously lived there would flourish” (117). As Rita Wong writes, all of us – animals and plants – are connected to one another through water (116): we are part of an interconnected community that encompasses all life on Earth.
Though Wong’s call to action centers on watersheds, we will be branching out to encompass environmental literacy/sustainability of land as well. Our research will be focused around creative and critical responses to the current environmental crisis.
Quartet: Who Are We?
Zac Collins (he/him) is a Vancouver resident, who works for the Richmond School District as a Teacher Librarian. Having been raised in an environmentally conscious and ethical vegetarian household, the understanding of where our food and resources come from has been at the forefront of his family life. This knowledge was further ingrained with a strong background in science and ethics throughout his education, eventually earning a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, and later earning a Bachelor’s degree in Education with strong interest in social- and eco-justice, and sustainability-focused pedagogy.
Magdalena How (she/her) was born on Vancouver Island, grew up on the shores of Lake Ontario, and currently lives on the Pacific Coast. She is a UBC student in the final weeks of her M.Mus in Opera before beginning her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Voice next Fall. Though a career in the performing arts may seem somewhat removed from Quartet’s area of research, there are connections between the two: for example, the power of stories and the importance of communication. Rita Wong implores us to find connections, reminding us that we are all linked by water and the hydrological cycle. Magdalena believes that finding connections holds the key to reaching a greater understanding between cultures and ultimately between ourselves, drawing her towards this area of research.
Laura Metcalfe (she/her) lives in Vancouver and teaches high school English, drama and music. She grew up in Nelson, B.C. with a strong connection to land and art that draws her to this area of research. Laura runs two adult choirs in Vancouver and is passionate about choral music and all collaborative, community-building art forms. Laura completed her Bachelor of Education through UBC at the West Kootenay Rural Teacher Education Program with a strong focus in critical pedagogy of place.
Samantha Stewart (she/her) is a secondary Fine Arts and ADST teacher and Art Therapist. She grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the vast farmlands, to flourishing woodlands, and roaring ocean began her love of nature. This love of nature has inspired her to take an active approach to sustainable living. Environmental justice and literacy are areas in which she has found a passion. Samantha has a B.A. in Fine Arts and Psychology from Bishop’s University in Quebec, and B.Ed. from SFU. She is now completing a diploma in Literacy Education.
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Works Cited
Belcourt, Christi. The Great Mystery of Water. 2016. “Walking Softly with Christi Belcourt,” by Tarah Hogue. Canadian Art, 21 June 2017, www.canadianart.ca/features/walking-softly-with-christi-belcourt/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2021.
Christi Belcourt Painting The Great Mystery of Water. 2016. “Belcourt Named 2016 Winner of the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts”. Christi Belcourt, 2021. www.christibelcourt.com/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2021.
Kaminski, June. “Theory – Interconnectedness”. First Nations Pedagogy, 2013, www.firstnationspedagogy.com/interconnection.html. Accessed 1 Apr. 2021.
Wong, Rita. “Watersheds”. Canadian Literature, no. 204, 2010, pp. 115-117.
“Xwi7xwa – Distance Research”. University of British Columbia, 25 Mar. 2021, www.guides.library.ubc.ca/distance-research-xwi7xwa/landacknowledgements. Accessed 1 Apr. 2021.
Yahgulanaas, Michael N. “Flight of the Hummingbird”. Youtube, uploaded by mnyhaida, 8 Apr. 2013. www.youtube.com/watch?v=naj6zZakgEg. Accessed 1 Apr. 2021.