- Songs of the Spirit - Attending to Aboriginal Students’ Emotional and Spiritual Needs Through a Native American Flute Curriculum A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Education In the Department of Curriculum Studies University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Richard Alain Dubé © Copyright Richard Dubé, April 2007. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Education degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for the scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my thesis work or, in her absence, by the Head of the Department of Curriculum Studies or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or in part should be addressed to: Head of Department of Curriculum Studies College of Education University of Saskatchewan 28 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X1 i ABSTRACT This narrative inquiry explores how the “Songs of the Spirit” Native American Flute curriculum, a culturally-responsive curriculum which involves learning to make and play a PVC version of the Native American Flute while learning the cultures and histories of this First Nations instrument, impacted spiritual and emotional aspects of the learning and lives of Aboriginal students, their families, their parents, and their school community. My research took place at an urban Aboriginal high school in Saskatchewan from January to March, 2006. I conducted recorded conversations with three students, two parents, two teachers, two administrators, two Elders, a former principal, a former school caretaker, an artistic director, and the young woman who inspired the Heart of the City Piano Program, a volunteer driven community piano program for children living in disadvantaged situations, in the fall of 1995. Aboriginal individuals, who have too often been silenced in education and in society (Giroux, 1997; Freire, 1989; Fine, 1987; Greene, 1995 & 1998; Grumet, 1999), were provided with a voice in this research. Because of the voices of my research participants, I chose to use the Medicine Wheel and Tipi Teachings (Lee, 2006; Kind, Irwin, Grauer, & de Cosson, 2005) as a lens (Greene, 1995) rather than situating my research in a traditional Eurocentric body of literature. Along this journey, I reflected inwards and outwards, backwards and forwards on how my past storied experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) shaped my teaching practices and way of being in the world today. To better understand the hurt I observed and which was described by research participants as present in the lived lives and circumstances of many Aboriginal people, I moved backward in time as I reviewed the literature on the Residential School experience and gained a deeper sense of the impact of ii colonialism on generations of Aboriginal people. This inquiry foregrounded how hearing and playing the Northern Spirit Flute impacted the emotional and spiritual aspects of students’ being, and contributed to a process of healing. When participants heard the music, “it [sounded] so eloquent and so spiritual. It [was] almost like the flute [was] weeping,” (Onawa Gaho, Recorded conversation, March 17, 2006, p. 5) bringing about “a calmness to the anger that some [Aboriginal students] have” (Sakima Qaletaqa, Recorded conversation, March 15, 2006, pp. 25-26). The research findings indicate that the “Songs of the Spirit” curriculum, in honoring the holistic nature of traditional First Nations cultures and teachings, invites Aboriginal students functioning in “vigilance mode” to attend to their emotional and spiritual needs. They speak to a need for rethinking curricula in culturally-responsive ways, for attending to the importance of the arts in education, and for reforming teacher education. Sound files of the Northern Spirit Flute and selected research conversations have been embedded within the electronic version of this thesis to allow the reader to walk alongside me and share in my research journey. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Debbie Pushor, for her tremendous support and thoughtful guidance throughout the writing of my thesis. Debbie, your experience as a parent, teacher, administrator, university professor and researcher in core neighborhoods, has provided insight that has helped to make this thesis a piece of work I am very proud of. Thank you! I would like to extend my heart-felt thanks to my research partners. I will always cherish the time we spent together. Thank you for sharing your stories, your thoughts and feelings, and each of your unique perspectives on the Songs of the Spirit curriculum. Your words, thoughts, and feelings have enriched my research and my life. I would like to thank my parents, family, grandparents, friends, communities, teachers, mentors, and Elders for all that you have and continue to teach me. May my ears and heart always be open to new learning. I would like to acknowledge and thank Russell Wolf for his work in compiling and sharing his vast collection of photos of Native American Flutes from across the continent. I would like to acknowledge the ongoing work of Tim Crawford and Robert Gatliff who continue to amaze me with their incredibly thorough and detailed research on the history of the Native American Flute. Thank you for so generously sharing your work with me so that I may better serve my students. I would like to thank Joseph Naytowhow for sharing his music, his wisdom, and his life’s story with me. You are a mentor and a friend. I would like to thank Gordon Johnson for so freely and generously sharing what he has learned on his journey teaching the Native American Flute at Morgan Middle School in Morgan, Utah. I would like to iv thank Kevin Locke for sharing his knowledge, songs, and teachings about the Native American Flute. You continue to inspire me through your music and your work teaching about the unity of humankind. I would like to thank the Lakota Elders from Wakpala for their guidance and blessings for the Songs of the Spirit curriculum. Like you, I hope that the Native American Flute can help to bring some calmness and healing into the lives of our young people who are struggling to find their way in life. I would like to thank my family for the many years of support while I continue to learn how to be a better teacher. To Kathy, Jessica, Luc and Max, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patience in sharing your partner/husband and dad with his students and his work. You are the air that I breathe and my reason for being. You are all my inspiration and my true loves! I look forward to giving back to you all that you have given and continue to give to me. v DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to all the First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and non-Aboriginal children and youth I have had the pleasure of teaching. You have taught me a great deal more than I could ever hope to teach you. We are the children of those who came before us and the parents and caregivers of those who come after us. How we take care of our children today will shape the many tomorrows that we will share together. May this research help remind us that we are all one people. All my relations. vi PREFACE TO THE ELECTRONIC THESIS Sound files of the Northern Spirit Flute and selected research conversations have been embedded within the electronic version of this thesis to allow the reader to walk alongside me and share in my research journey. Sound files of music can be heard by clicking on the photos. Sound files of the selected recorded conversations can be heard by clicking on the icon of the microphone and cassette deck. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE....................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv DEDICATION................................................................................................................... vi PREFACE TO THE ELECTRONIC THESIS ................................................................. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................viii CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................... 1 Unanswered Questions.................................................................................................... 1 My Research Puzzle........................................................................................................ 6 Remembering My Own Protective Shell ........................................................................ 7 Thesis Overview