First Nations Women's Stories of Learning
LEARNING TO BE PROUD:
FIRST NATIONS WOMEN'S STORIES OF LEARNING,
TEACHING, ART AND CULTURE
by
LORRIE MILLER
B.Ed., University of Regina, 1990
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
in
THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Department of Curriculum Studies
We accept this thesis as conforming
to the required standard
The University of British Columbia
August, 1995
© Lorrie Miller, 1995 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission.
Department of (LfiAUC&JkmL U(-UdjCJ^
The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada
Da,. Jiff X s 1115
DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT
Six First Nations women artists tell their stories about learning their art and culture. Previous research has paid little attention to the learning experiences of First Nation women artists. Ethnographic research methods were used in this qualitative study. Field research included video and audio recorded intensive open-ended interviews with three
Coastal Salish women from Sechelt, British Columbia, and three Cree women from Pukatawagan, Manitoba, as they tell how essential learning and teaching, art and culture are to them, their children and their communities.
This study shows that there is a need for curricular reform and teacher education reform so that the school experiences for First Nations students will reflect and be sensitive to their histories, traditions and overall cultural identities. From testimonies presented in this thesis, it is evident that effective teaching of relevant cultural art content that results in meaningful learning leads to increased self knowledge, confidence and pride. iii CONTENTS
Abstract . .' ii
Table of Contents iii
Acknowledgments viii
Dedication ix'
CHAPTER ONE
LEARNING TO BE PROUD: FIRST NATIONS WOMEN'S STORIES OF
LEARNING, TEACHING, ART & CULTURE
Statement of the Problem
Introduction 1
Background 1
Status of First Nations Women 2
First Nation Women Artists 5
Euro-Canadian, Euro-American Women Artists 8
Personal Ground
Situating Myself 10
Research Questions 15
Clarification of Terms 16
Significance of the Study 18
CHAPTER TWO
Review of Literature
Introduction 19
Native Education 20
Status of First Nations' Women 25
First Nations' Women Artists 2 7 iv Art, Craft, & Artifact 35
Multicultural Education in Canada 37
Video Documentation of Oral Histories 39
Women's Voices, Written and Heard 42
CHAPTER THREE
Design of the Study ^
Introduction to the Research 46
Theoretical Foundations 46
Overview of the Research
Description of the Research 50
Gaining Access, or "How I Got There" 5 0
Sechelt 51
Pukatawagan 53
Population and Setting 54
Sechelt, British Columbia 54
Pukatawagan, Manitoba 56
Role of Researcher 58
Data Collection 60
Tr iangulation 63
External Validity 64
Reliability 64
Inductive Data Analysis 65
Summary 66
CHAPTER FOUR
Findings 67 V Sechelt, British Columbia 67
Dionne Paul 67
Art 68
Learning 68
Teaching 69
Pride, art & culture, learning, teaching.... 70
Jenny Paull 73
Learning: schooling 7 3
Continued learning 75
Teaching: Passing on knowledge 76
Fran Nahanee 78
Art & culture, learning, teaching 7 8
Learning 79
Teaching: Motivating youth 79
Schooling 80
Teaching, learning, pride, art & culture.... 82
Pukatawagan, Manitoba 83
Melanie Molin 83
Art & culture: Art-making 83
Learning 84
Teaching 85
Methods of teaching 86
Pride 87
Community-based resources 87
Rose McCallum 88 vi Learning: Recollections of art, culture and
family 88
Schooling 90
Learning and teaching: Community resources.91
Teaching: Passing on skills 92
Teaching and learning: A demonstration 92
Irene Linklater 94
Learning: At home 94
Learning from Elders 95
Schooling 95
Teaching and sharing knowledge 96
Art: School art 98
Art of the Ithiniw 98
Teaching: Parents teaching children 99
Teaching for the future 100
CHAPTER FIVE
Discussion of Analysis 102
Major Themes 103
Learning 103
Teaching 105
Art & Culture 106
Intersections 107
Learning / Teaching 107
Learning / Art & Culture 109
Teaching / Art & Culture 110 vi Compound Intersection: Pride Ill
Summary and Implications 116
Summary 116
Implications 117
Epilogue
Personal Reflections 120
Writing and Research 120
Future Research 121
A Final Word 123
Model of Participants' Learning and Teaching
Experiences 125
REFERENCES 126
APPENDIX 138 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Rita Irwin, for her guidance, support and belief in me, even during my bleakest moments.
I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Graeme
Chalmers and Dr. Jean Barman, for their interest in this study, and their timely and helpful editorial suggestions.
I would like to acknowledge the participants Melanie
Molin, Rose McCallum, Irene Linklater, Fran Nahanee, Jenny
Paull and Dionne Paul. I would like thank them for their hospitality, teaching and invaluable contributions. ix
DEDICATION
Although my roots only go three generation deep, my sons' are ancient. Akask and Wolfgang, thank-you for the inspiration and motivation you have given me to pursue this study.
To their Cree ancestors and my eclectic forest of forebears who have passed on their wisdom, arts and culture to their children.
Ekosi 1 CHAPTER ONE
LEARNING TO BE PROUD: FIRST NATIONS WOMEN'S STORIES OF
LEARNING, TEACHING, ART AND CULTURE
Statement of the Problem
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to document educational
influences on First Nations1 women artists. Learning
experiences may have come from schooling, home, community, or
other environments. Through documenting and analyzing the
stories of six women, I will shed light on the role of the
school and the role of the home and or community in the
development of Native women artists.
Background
Prior to European contact and enforced governmental
education policy, First Nations peoples had established
community based education systems. "The social group as a whole was the school of every growing mind...The practical
and the religious, the manual and the intellectual, the
individual and the social flowed as one complex integrated
function within the Indian group," (Mandelbaum in Gresko
(1986, p.89).
Historically, government policy for Indian education
strongly emphasised assimilation by replacing "Native
languages, religions, history and cultural traditions, values
1 First Nations, Native and Indian are terms used within the body of this thesis in reference to the peoples who first inhabited Canada. I choose to use the term First Nations but will use the terms of other researchers, and participants when referring to their work, or words. 2 and worldviews with those of the European settler nations [in
order to] modify the values of the Indian nations through
their children..." (Longboat, 1987, p.23). Traditional
ritual days were renamed as Christian feast days.
The schooling of native students was left in the hands
of religious denominations, and as a result, education was
often a missionary byproduct. Religious teachings often
predominanted. Traditional activities, viewed as being
heathenish and sinful (La Voilette, 1973), were denied, and
Native languages were forbidden in the schools. The aim of
the mission schools was to "civilize" Indian children in
gradual preparation for Canadian citizenship. To be
civilized was to be Christianized (Barman, 1986).
Status of First Nations Women
First Nations societies and the roles of First Nations women have been drastically altered since the time of
European contact. The influence of capitalism, associated with the onset of the fur trade, contributed to the breakdown
of many egalitarian, matriarchal civilizations (Bourgeault,
1989; Allen, 1986). Government policy along with church-run
schools made the cultural disintegration multi-dimensional.
This deculturalization was a conscious effort, not merely a byproduct of residential school curricula (Barman, 1986;
Wilson, 1986). 3 In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Indian
communal societies of the sub-Arctic, Northern Plains,
Northern woodlands, as well as the Atlantic, were radically
altered by the fur trade. As capitalist values were imposed
on communal societies, egalitarian relations between Indian
women and men were slowly destroyed creating in their place
divisions of class, race and gender that had not previously
existed (Bourgeault, 1989).
The roles and status of First Nations women were
transformed as their societies were also transformed through
dominating formal policies. "They were first subordinated to
the interests of European men, then to the interests of
capital" (Bourgeault, 1989, p.98). First Nations women were
exploited as sexual commodities established through trade
relationships between the European fur traders and First
Nations tribes. These relationships between First Nations women and European men paralleled the relationship between
First Nations and European society as a whole. Many of these women were acquired though trade and capture (Bourgeault,
1989). "In either case, their labour within the mixed family units became a valuable commodity to be exploited" (p.102).
They had valuable skills that the European women did not have to do support work for the fur posts. The acquisition of skills helped to maintain the trading posts that they had been instrumental in establishing. 4 "Indian and Half-breed women provided cheap labour power
in the reproduction of these mixed family units (European labour), to the support of the fur trade post, and in the procreation and reproduction of the internal wage labour
force (Half-breed)" (Bourgeault, 1989, p. 102). Bourgeault notes from Eleanor Leacock (1978, 1981) that although women's oppression is now so pervasive in all capitalist societies, it cannot be assumed to have always been the case.
"Oppression resulting from exploitation by class, race and sex is in itself pervasive in all capitalist societies"
(Bourgeault, 1989, p.107).
Now that we are nearing the close of the twentieth century, First Nations women, and non-native women in Canada, have had time to contemplate and act upon the limiting and oppressive roles placed upon women by existing patriarchal systems. Phoebe Dufrene (1994) notes how structural transformations in the name of equality have been superficial. For instance, Black artists featured in exhibition space during February, Black History Month, women artists are featured during March, Women's History Month. In another case, "The remaining ten calendar months are usually the exclusive domain of safe, non-controversial apolitical, form over content, art for art's sake, mainstream Euro-
American male artists" (p.128). Legacies of First Nation genocide, restriction to reserve land, removal to residential 5 schools, and women's equity issues continue to affect and influence contemporary Canadian society, mass media, academia and the art world. "The art world power structure, however, has prefered to ignore issues such as race, sex, and class and only acknowledges them as having relevance in respect to background or context" (Dufrene, p. 127). Women through their art, their writing, and life work are reclaiming their histories, remembering their roots and making changes for their futures (Allen, 1986).
First Nations Women Artists
One avenue that some women have taken to remember and articulate their pasts is the arts, both contemporary and traditional. In order to have a more complete understanding of First Nations women artists ' histories we need to look at their work and listen to their stories.
Bernick and Lominska (1986) have presented a visual and narrative history of the revival of Salish weaving at
Musqueam. In the 1960s after being all but forgotten, the tradition of Salish blanket weaving began to revive. Those responsible for the revival taught themselves by studying examples of old weavings and questioning elders. In their study Bernick and Lominska (1986) interviewed many of the weaving revivalists." Photographs of the artists, and their art work accompanied the women's personal narratives. 6 Other texts and articles tend to deal with individual or very small groups of artists. Nuytten (1982) presents the stories of three well known carvers from one family:
Charlie James, his grand-daughter, Ellen Neel, and her uncle,
Mungo Martin. Neel learned to paint and carve from her grand-father, who cared for her frequently when her mother was ill. This is all that we learn about Neel' s educational art experience. From this record we learn nothing of art experiences that may be attributed to formal schooling.
However, in Nuytten's text we do learn of other interesting areas in Ellen Neel's life. She became the key financial supporter of her family when her husband fell ill. She was very well known for her totem pole carvings marketed for the tourist trade by the Stanley Park Totem Art Studios. The style of her carvings was clearly influenced by market demands. Finely sanded and polished miniature poles became very popular. She was described in a 1948 Vancouver Province article as being "probably the only woman totem pole carver in the world". Later in her career she worked on totem pole restoration and duplication at the University of British
Columbia's Museum of Anthropology. Yet we are never granted the opportunity to hear what she thought about her art work, the tourist trade, the museum work, or what any of her ideas or memories may have been. Her voice is never heard. 7 Although she is the subject of the text, her words are never articulated.
Blackman (1992) discusses the work of fashion designer
Dorothy Grant but provides only basic background information about Grant's formal education. She attended community college in Seattle in 1977 and a fashion design school in
Vancouver in 1987. This vague information also offers little insight into Grant's formal or informal educational experiences.
The work of prominent Salish artist, Susan A. Point, is discussed by Gerber and Katz-Lahaigue (1989). Their paper focuses primarily on the formal aspects of the artist's work.
Point attended a four week course in jewelry at the Vancouver
Vocational Institute. This is all that the reader is told about Point's formal education. The authors discuss other aspects of her informal education. She was raised in a traditional Native atmosphere, but still had to learn her craft entirely on her own since no one could teach her traditional Salish designs. The authors tell a little more about the roles that Point maintains in her community.
Although Point's art work is non-political in nature, she works as a legal secretary for a political Indian organization, The Alliance Tribal Council, and is active as a
Council Member for her Musqueam community. This additional 8 information creates a larger picture of the artist' s role in
the community.
From a review of related literature, it becomes apparent
that little if any attention has been given to understanding
the influence of formal or informal educational experiences
in developing First Nations women artists. With the
exception of Bernick and Lominska who include significant
amounts of the women's narrative along side visual imagery,
oral or written histories of the artistic educational
experiences of First Nations women artists have not been
presented. This research study proposes to present such
histories.
Euro-Canadian, Euro-American Women Artists
Until recently, Western women artists also did not have
status and recognition in the art world. However, we are
able to uncover various details of the lives, opinions, ideas
and stories of artists like Georgia O'Keefe (Giboire, 1990),
Emily Carr (Blanchard, 1989), Judy Chicago (Judy Chicago,
1989), and Ann Kipling (Thorn, Laurence, & Tousley, 1995).
Although these highly ranked figures in the art sphere are women, their First Nation contemporaries have not been nearly as well documented. We also know from the literature and practical experience that non-Native women have not been subjected to the residential schooling experience forced on many First Nations women. 9 In Judy Chicago's Birth Project (1980) she shares her
personal thoughts about the process of the project as well as
the correspondence she received from her collaborators. The
reader is given a rare insight to the artistic process and
the artist personae. We hear her words as she writes about
the art she makes, the collaboration she involves herself in
and her research into subject matter that is deeply meaningful to her. After the completion of the "Dinner
Party," Chicago came to realize that she, "still had more to
say as an artist about the nature of women's lives and experiences" (p.4). The "Birth Project," 1980-1985, was a huge exhibition that traveled extensively throughout North
America. Images celebrating human creation and birth were created through traditional textile art forms such as embroidery, cross-stitching, smocking, quilting and lace crocheting.
Chicago (1985), reminds readers of the state of art instruction at art institutions during the 1960s.
"Needlework was not considered art at any of the art schools
I attended. In fact, in the sixties, working in fibers virtually guaranteed that you would not be considered a serious artist" (p.4). However, she was determined both to work with fiber and to be taken seriously as an artist. She expresses her concern and thoughts about the barrier that she shared with other women artists who have maintained working 10 with traditionally domestic materials and methods. "My
grounding in feminism enabled me to understand that many of
these problems grow out of oppression of women, but it was
one thing to understand that intellectually and quite another
to deal with it in relation to my art" (Chicago, 1985, p.6).
As we know, Judy Chicago, a well known American artist, has
surpassed any previous barrier that may have repressed her
recognition as an artist. However, the concerns that she
faced still hinder the success of many contemporary women and
First Nations' women artists.
Personal Ground
Situating Myself
Although I come from a low-income, working-class
background, my upbringing adhered to some fairly middle class
values such as the Christian work ethic and equating personal
success to financial success. I recognize my position of
privilege as a white educated woman. I have been inspired to
conduct research based on my experience as a teacher in a
remote community. I have grappled with many issues, both
personally, and professionally about the moral implications
surrounding this type of work. Upon reading some of the
history of First Nations and white relations I questioned
myself further. I frequently thought about why I should be
involved in documenting the stories of First Nations women when I am white. Would it not be a truer writing if it were 11 a First Nations researcher? I continued with my research and
I, as both a researcher and an outsider, have gone into a community and documented what I believe to be the true stories of others.
These are issues that I should have considered as a novice teacher when I moved to Pukatawagan, an isolated Cree community in Northern Manitoba and began my first paid teaching position after completing my B.Ed from the
University of Regina . I probably would not have engaged in this area of research if it were not for the fact that I lived and worked in the community for two years and that I am the mother of two boys who are half Cree. I feel that I have a responsibility as their mother to educate myself on their
Cree heritage so that I can in turn teach them about their culture. I cannot assume they will learn this in school.
Trained as an educator in visual arts and theater, I arrived at the approximate intersection of the 56th parallel and the Saskatchewan, Manitoba border, in the middle of what
I had considered to be "nowhere", with all of my acquired
Euro-Canadian artistic and academic baggage. At that time I had recently returned from an extensive, exhaustive, European tour. I had seen much of the "great art" that the "world" museums had to offer. My twenty-two year old mind had been totally enchanted with the "old country" (or countries). 12 Pukatawagan has about two thousand residents. The
school had over four hundred students and offered classes
from kindergarten to grade ten. The students who finished
grade ten had to leave the community if they wished to
graduate with a grade twelve diploma. Twenty of the twenty-
three teachers were new to the community. Twenty-one of the
teachers were non-Native and twenty were from provinces other than Manitoba. The non-Native educators were, as in
residential schools, in a position of authority and power, while the local people held support and cleaning positions.
Though my expectations of reserve life were few, I was
in for quite an awakening. Upon arrival, young white female teachers were told quite explicitly by a white male administrator, not to become involved with "the locals" at all. We were then told some outrageous horror stories about what could happen if we didn't heed the warning. I was very far from my home and family support and wanting to do well in my first job. Although we lived and worked in a sexist and racist environment, I didn't want to make waves, at least not right away.
Although I recognized the views of the administration, I also discovered a need to know more of the local culture.
Since I was in a position of influence on students, I felt obligated to learn more about the local history and culture.
I believed that this would be one way to make my teaching 13 more relevant to them. I recalled from my theory and
principles of teaching courses as well as from my teaching
practicum, that I should probably plan my art program with
the premise that the students had not taken an "art" class,
per-se. I aimed to start off with mostly studio lessons.
They were familiar with some drawing and painting in school.
I hoped that by taking this approach I would not frighten
them off. By incorporating local artists and art practices
into my classroom practice I hoped to excite their creative
interests.
As an advocate of community-based art and teaching
resources, I opened the classroom to local "artists". A few
painters came into the class to work and be with the
students. After hours, other community members were also welcome to come into the art room to work with the artists.
I was still working with what I was most familiar: painting, drawing and sculpture. It was not until nearing the end of my second year that the boundaries between the "art" class and the "Native studies" classes began to blur and overlap.
I eventually developed friendships and a love interest in the community. This was viewed with hostility from the school administration, but not the local school board or community.
The attitudes held by the administrators and some of the teachers have influenced my interest in recognizing and 14 changing the inequity that exists in Native school
experiences. I still remember the words of the principal who
told us not to push the students too hard or expect too much
from them, but to give them enough to manage properly in the
local community, echoes of the old Indian education policy
that aimed to civilize Indians in order to function within
their own environment (Barman, 1986; Wilson, 1986). This
left me wondering how much had really changed since the days
of residential schools?
My interest in women's stories stems from two of the
adult women with whom I had most contact. Rose, a teaching
assistant with whom I worked, told me many stories about her
life experiences; some about school, and some about life on the band lands. She told me about birch-bark chewings and took the time to teach me how to make chewed pictures in birch-bark. Very few women know how to do this anymore, although it used to be something that most children would have learned.
My children's paternal grandmother was one of the women who taught me how to bead. She spent a lot of time telling me many stories. She shared with me her art work that she still had around. She didn't bead as much as she used to, as her six children at home and her full-time teaching position kept her more than busy. Although these stories of women's 15 school experiences were traumatic, they often included
something positive in their stories.
All women artists in that community were also mothers
and usually the main home-care providers. No female or male artists provided for their families exclusively through sales of their art work. Financial success did not seem to be the goal behind the creation of their art. It is the voices of these women, that have influenced my decision to study the stories of First Nations women artists.
Through my personal and professional experiences I have developed some insight about life on the reserve and local politics. I also have a vested interest in the development of Native education as I work to ensure that my children will have well rounded learning experiences in and out of the school system. I believe that not only First
Nations, but all children can benefit from this study.
Research Questions
We have learned from previous research that the pre-
European contact roles of First Nations women are quite different from the role of women today and in recent history.
Many First Nations women are reclaiming the status of their ancestors (Allen, 1986). The efforts of governmental Indian policy and enforced residential schooling failed to totally assimilate, or segregate the First Nations people (Barman,
Hebert & McCaskill, 1987; Gresko, 1986; Kirkness, 1987, 16 Ti-tley, 1986). However, these prolonged efforts did
breakdown many of the traditional social structures and
marginalize the importance of traditional languages and
cultural practices of the people (Longboat, 1987). Many
people are making efforts to rediscover their family and
tribal histories after years of enforced forgetting in the
residential schools (Allen Gunn, 1986; Kirkness, 1989; Todd,
1994).
From the reviewed literature, I conclude that we know
little about the formal and informal educational experiences
of First Nations women artists. In this study I aim to describe and interpret the educational experiences, both
formal and informal education, of six First Nations women
artists. This study will address the following research questions:
1) . What learning experiences have influenced your decision to pursue life long art making?
2) . Who were the role models? What was the inspiration behind your initial involvement in art?
3) . What does it mean to be a First Nation's woman artist living in a First Nations community?
I believe that responses to these questions will generate implications for future development in art education of First
Nations students and curricular development for all students.
Clarification of Terms 1 The following terms used throughout the study require
clarification to ensure mutual understanding between the
author and reader.
Artist. A person who is considered by self, peers and
community to produce valued visual objects.
Art. Something that is made and is valued.
First Nations Those who have ancestry that is from the
original inhabitants of North America, and consider her or
himself to be a member of a First Nation.
Indian This also refers to a First Nations person, in older publications, American journals and by some participants in this study in reference to themselves.
Ithiniw This is the phonetic Swampy Cree term meaning the Cree people.
Native A person of First Nations heritage. This is also a commonly used term in parts of Canada. I will be using the terms as directly quoted by participants or from reviewed literature. In my own writing and analysis, I will be using the term First Nations and Native depending upon the preference of the participants being discussed.
Residential School. The school that resulted in the blending of small boarding schools for young native children and larger industrial schools designed to educate their older siblings. The resulting residential school was a boarding school for native children run by a Christian church, 18 sometimes by a specific religious order and financed by the
federal government (Wilson, 1986).
Story. I refer to story, not as a creation of fiction or fable, but as an oral history, documented on audio-tape and video-tape. This form of ethnography is portrayed as a form of story-telling (Walder, 1981, in Hammersley &
Atkinson, 1991).
Significance of the Study
First Nations women artists are active in both contemporary and traditional art forms. At this point we know little about their educational experiences. The anticipated outcomes of this study include an improved understanding of the formal and informal educational experiences of selected First Nations women artists. Through documentation and analysis of these artists' stories, this study hopes to connect the individual artist's educational experience with their role as a practicing artist. This study aims to reveal some implications for visual arts education curriculum development and instruction. 19 CHAPTER TWO
Review of Literature
Introduction
All cultures produce valued hand-made objects. The
forms, materials used, methods of crafting, and means of
transmitting the knowledge of art making have differed
amongst the world's people. However, art and culture are
tightly linked. A study conducted by Tony Rogers and Rita
Irwin (1995) suggests that "There is no acceptable way of
defining art that will be valid globally today, or over time"
(p.20). They claim that art prior to contact with Western
culture did not exist within the First Nations and Australian
Aboriginal peoples whom they studied. "Essential values which we ascribe to art within Western culture, such as the cult of the individual, the values of unique individual expression, and the ownership of ideas are culture-specific rather than universal" (Rogers & Irwin, 1995, p.20). One should not assume that visual objects from one culture are
"art" simply because there are similar art objects from
Eurocentric cultures. One must remain aware that the cultural value of the object may differ greatly deprnding on its original context.
The Western European tradition of art is still very prominent in the contemporary Canadian art scene and also prevalent in school curricula. Informative and educational 20 material about First Nations artists and more specifically,
First Nations women artists has been lacking in both art
education and fine art fields. This literature review
explores and summarizes some issues that are relevant to the
experiences of First Nation women, women artists, and the means that have been considered for hearing their stories.
Native Education
The First People provided their own form of education prior to the arrival of the Europeans. In this traditional education, the entire community was the classroom, all of its members were teachers. Each adult was responsible to ensure that each child learned all that she or he needed to know to live a good life. Don McCaskill (1987) discusses traditional education within First Nations' societies.
A variety of pedagogies were included in traditional
Indian education. Learning was often done through
imitative play and observation of competent performances
of particular skills. Children were discouraged from
asking why but, rather, were encouraged to listen, wait,
and observe in order to learn for themselves. Great
emphasis was placed on learning by direct experience.
Learning emerged out of everyday activities. Included
was a strong component of behavioral obligation,
especially how to conduct oneself within the family and
community. Sometimes a formal teacher (usually an elder 21 or family member) would be responsible for imparting
specific skills or traditional ways. Rituals and
ceremonies were important events for learning. Myths,
legends, and oral history as expressed through speeches,
ceremonies, and story telling were used to pass on the
history and traditions of the tribe. The affective as
well as the cognitive were integral to Indian
pedagogies. In this way, education helped the students
become mature individuals who could assume individual
and community responsibilities and who possessed a
strong identity rooted in the values and beliefs of
traditional Indian culture, (p.165)
"The practical, spiritual, manual and intellectual,
individual and social flowed as one complex integrated
function within the Indian group" (Gresko, 1986, p. 89).
Thus, the spiritual, emotional and physical growth of the
child were treated with equal importance. The child was
regarded as a whole being that contributed to the community.
The schooling of First Nations people has been largely designed and directed by missionaries and federal and provincial public servants. The failure of this educational process has been well documented (Barman, Hebert & McCaskill,
1986 & 1987; Gresko, 1986; Kirkness, 1987; La Voilette,
1973; Miller, 1991; Titley, 1987). The students were forbidden to speak their first languages as English was 22 mandatory. Even the use of their language during personal conversation was prohibited and was often met with serious punishment. Although many earlier missionaries were often unqualified to teach, they were assigned postings as teachers in villages. Frequently the teachers were French speaking and had weak English skills, but were forced to speak and teach in English, thus teaching English at a poor level. The aim was to make students semi-literate in English so as to be able to enter the dominant society, but only at the lowest rungs as hired laborers.
In 1867, with the formation of the Canadian federal government, the Canadian Parliament was given, by the Crown, exclusive power to make laws in respect to "Indians" and their land (Longboat, 1986). The shift from dealing with the
Crown to the federal government of Canada was staggering.
The British Crown had generally avoided trespassing upon
the internal sovereignty of the Indian nations before
1867; thus, how could it delegate to Canada powers that
it never claimed itself. Yet Canada has used its powers
in the British North America Act to make laws governing
all manner of things internal to Indian communities:
who their people are, what title they hold to their
lands, how their governments are formed, what powers
they have, and what kind of schooling their children
will receive. (Longboat, 1986, p. 27) 23 From this point on, the Department of Indian Affairs
maintained a policy of assimilation, in hope of transforming
the Indian to white. "Legislation had come to be considered
as the only means for solving the moral problems of
regionalists and the administrative difficulties of Indian
officials" (LaVoilette, 1973, p.37). The attempt to
legislate morality went on for about seventy years, from 1883
to 1951, through the Potlatch Law and educational policy (La
Voilette).
In 1910, the Department of Indian Affairs made a radical change in policy, from aiming to assimilate the First Nations people, to segregate them from white society. They now aimed to "fit the Indian for civilized life in his own environment"
(Barman, 1986, p. 110). This relatively gradual move towards segregation continued for several decades. Both assimilation and segregation were practiced notions of managing the
Indians in a way that best suited the needs of the government at the time (Wilson, 1986). The goal of assimilating Indian students was to prepare them to be integrated into the dominant society at the working class level. Although the mandate of the Department of Indian Affairs had changed, the manner of education for Native students stayed the same.
The teaching practices of most First Nations cultures were teacher-centered. "Classroom activities centered on visual-auditory comparisons to printed materials" (McKay, A. & .McKay, B., 1987, p.67). The core subjects were reading,
writing and arithmetic. Once the children were fourteen
years of age, practical education consumed half of the school
day. This practical education took the form of chores and
activities that were based in European traditions. Girls
were taught house cleaning, laundry work, sewing and cooking
while boys were trained in trades such as shoe making and
farming, cooperage, black-smithing, and tailoring (Barman,
1986; Gresko, 1986; Wilson, 1986). Frequently residential
schools had poorer funding and more limited supplies than
their non-native counterparts. In order to keep the schools
open, pupils often spent considerable time working in the
fields and doing laundering in order to provide funding for
the school.
One such residential school was All Hallows School run
by Anglican nuns. This school would take in white girls in
order to supplement the costs (Barman, 1987). Initially the
Native students had some contact with the white girls, but
eventually this lessened. "White boarders were treated in the manner consistent with their station in life and thus were lodged separately" (p. 114).
Another residential school, St. Mary's Mission, began in
1861 as an Oblate manual labor boarding school. During its early days in the 1890s, the missionaries were required to show the success in educating and civilizing their First 25 Nation students. "Photographs of the pupils in the Indian
Affairs Annual Reports show them working on the farm and in the carpentry shop, studying in classes and posing with their brass band instruments" (Gresko, 1986, p.96)
Many Native communities were more in favor of day schools than residential schools (Gresko, 1986). Although some of the students of these residential schools were quite converted, "many more absorbed only enough schooling to resist still more effectively. It would be from the ranks of former residential school pupils that most of the leaders of
Indian political movements would come in the twentieth century" (Miller, 1989, p. 199). The precedent for segregated schooling continued for many years. In 1944, the
Nanaimo School Board rejected the admissions of Indian children into the Nanaimo School. The request was denied with the explanation that "it would retard the progress of the white children" (LaVoilette, 1976, p. 156).
Status of First Nations Women
Allen (1986) describes the shift in American Indian traditions from gynecentric to patriarchal during the five hundred years of Anglo-European colonization.
During this time women (including lesbians) and gay men-
along with traditional medicine people, holy people,
shamans, and ritual leaders-have suffered severe loss of
status, power and leadership. That these groups have 26 suffered concurrent degradation is not coincidental; the
woman-based, woman-centered traditions of many
precontact tribes were tightly bound to ritual, and
ritual was based on spiritual understandings rather than
on economic or political ones. (p.195)
The rights and status that were enjoyed by precontact First
Nations women are similar to what all North American women
are still struggling to achieve. It is no wonder that
European men would not want women to be in powerful positions
in First Nations cultures since their own cultures only
allowed men to hold positions of power.
The origin of modern subordination of Aboriginal women
to men (European and Indian) is not to be found in the
original pre-capitalist Indian societies. Rather,
Aboriginal women's subordination is rooted in early
French and English colonial praxis and inextricably
bound with class and race divisions of capitalist
development. (Bourgeault, p.89)
In hunting-gathering societies the status of women was rooted in the society's social-economic structure. Women's and men's authority was based on group consensus. The gender division of labor was not totally restrictive (Bourgeault,
1989). What appeared to be women's household work was in fact labor for the whole community. 27 Allen (1986, reminds First Nations women that they "as
feminists must be aware of our history on this continent. We
need to recognize that the same forces that devastated the
gynarchies of Britain and the Continent also devastated
ancient African civilizations" (p.214). The same forces
prevail today in Latin America. We need to listen to the
stories of our neighbors. There are many pasts to be learned
and voices to be heard.
First Nations Women Artists
Some First Nations women artists, both contemporary and
traditional, have used their art to document and discuss
their lives, culture and identities. Women artists are
pursuing their art forms, and passing on their knowledge to a
new generation of artists. The materials may differ from
time to time, the manner of collecting the materials may also
differ, but the art is still there. There are many reasons
for the change of materials. Because of radical logging practices, the gathering of certain roots needed for weaving has become very difficult. Other materials can be substituted, but are costly. Sometimes certain materials are simply more convenient or more interesting to the artist.
The economy and public demand for a certain art may also influence the artists' choice of material.
Women are defining and redefining their roles within their communities in order to find a comfortable place in an 28 ever changing culture. We often think of culture as
something that is old and stays the same, when it is actually
constantly changing. Pakes (1987) discusses how "...non-
Indian society generally has become so enamored of the past,
with., traditions, with the search for the ideal, that is has
built up a resistance to accepting and appreciating the
essential continuity of tribal art" (p.29). We must realize
that Native cultures differ greatly from one nation to
another and the young who are now learning, so called,
traditional art forms are learning art for new reasons. For
instance, "the pow-wow is truly a traditional affair which, though it has seen modifications and even innovations, still retains the essential central thread of culture that is totally authentic" (Pakes, 1987, p. 30). Youth and adults are learning and creating art that may or may not originate from their nation. A First Nations artist is not bound by the past to determine the art that she will make. In order to have a more complete understanding of First Nations women artists' histories we need to look at their work and listen to their stories.
Salish women have woven objects for 3000 years. Museums have stored many collected Salish weavings. However, little information was ever recorded on the production of the weavings. The only recorded information that we can find of 29 the earlier weavers is through examining the artifacts,
weavings and weaving tools that still remain.
What we do know that weaving production decreased as
machine products, such as Hudson Bay blankets, became
readily available. Eventually few women remembered how to
spin with a traditional spindle or weave with a two-bar loom.
Although the native girls in missionary schools were taught
knitting, sewing and basketry, they were not taught to weave.
By the 1960s, the art of traditional Salish blanket
weaving began to be revived. Those responsible for the
revival taught themselves by studying examples of old
weavings, archeological finds, and by seeking out elders who
remembered anything about weaving. This was a long and
difficult process as there was no-one to show them exactly
how to do the weaving. Much of the learning was through
trial and error.
Stories of the Salish weaving revival come to us through
the voices of Salish women's narrative. By hearing
individual stories about their quest to rediscover knowledge
of weaving, we learn more than just basic weaving. The
reasons behind the desire to become familiar with this
ancient art form goes much deeper than picking up a hobby.
Wendy Grant (1986) tells how she first became interested
in learning to weave when her grandmother wanted to take a weaving class that was offered in Coqualeetza. About six years later she renewed her interested and bought herself a
Salish loom and a small Salish weaving book. She tried to
teach herself, but quit in frustration. Later, she and her
sister registered for a different weaving class. Unsatisfied
with the programme, she left after three months. She began
experimenting on her own at home and only then did her
interest grow.
Grant tells how she was involved in starting a weaving
programme in her community. "We started talking about a
programme down here. And one of the reasons we talked about
it was the whole education process, the lack of pride. Why
are our women doing knitting when they have something like
this?" (Bernick & Lominska, 1986, p. 16) Grant's original words offer more than information about the programme which started through Canada Manpower: they also offer a sense of pride. "And just to watch it, in that small room where we were, grow - there's no words to describe the feeling that happened in there" (p. 16).
Stories like this are becoming more uncommon and are infrequently documented, recognized or celebrated.
Information about Native women artists, when it is recorded at all, often comes in the form of an art review where the reviewer's voice is dominant. In the article "Feastwear:
Haida art goes couture", Blackman (1992) discusses the clothing collection by Haida artist Dorothy Grant. Button 31 blankets were a strong source of inspiration for her
collection. The reader is presented with only the bare
basics about Grant's educational background and inspiration
behind her career.
There is a tendency for art reviewers, critics,
historians and educators to take the art forms produced by
women less seriously, as Blackman (1992) illustrates clearly
in her article "Feastwear; Haida Goes Couture", when she
focuses primarily on Robert Davidson, Dorothy Grant's artist
husband, even though the article is apparently reviewing
Dorothy's couture line of 'Feastwear'. Women artists who
have been noticed are more likely to work in the mediums r
traditionally occupied by male artists, such as wood and metal carver Ellen Neel, (Nuytten, 1982) and painter, print- maker Susan Point (Gerber & Katz-Lahaigue, 1989). Blanket and basket weavers, for example, have usually received less recognition than the other artists and even less than the collectors of their art work.
Steltzer (1976) includes only enough narrative to explain the image and does not discuss the artists' other work, training, education or any other relevant information.
She presents both women and men artists. The male artists and two women were carvers. The remaining women were weavers, knitters, beaders, and blanket makers.
Surprisingly, the male artists covered a greater age range 32 than the women who were late, middle-aged to elderly. The
female carvers appeared to be the youngest of the group.
Bernick and Lominska (1986) present a more balanced
visual and narrative history in their stories about the
revival of Salish weaving at Musqueam, British Columbia.
Steve Wall's (1993) "Wisdom's Daughters" includes both photos
and narratives, but little of the content has to do with art
or learning about art.
In a recent art review "The Artistic Expression of Nine
Cape Dorset Women," reviewer Marie Bouchard (1994) describes
a sensitively and collaboratively curated exhibition of nine
Inuit women artists. Artists' essays accompany the
exhibition "Inuit Women Artists: Voices from Cape Dorset" at
the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In her review, Bouchard notes how these artists have been blatantly ignored in the past on the issue of representation of their work. In a move to correct this neglect, nine artists were invited to be involved in researching and curating the museums latest exhibition "Isumavuit." The three featured artists in the review were Ovilu Tunnillie, Qaunak Mikkigak, and Napachie
Pootoogook.
During the past two decades, a variety of videos have been produced about First Nations' arts and crafts. Many of the films and videos were intended to be used by school teachers as supplemental educational resource materials. All 33 of these videos are presently available for use in
classrooms. The approach to the production of contemporary
videos differs from the ones produced in the late 1970s. It
is apparent from the 1978 video titled "Salish Weaving: From
the Vanishing Crafts Series" that the arts of First Nations
people were being viewed as something that had a very limited
life span. The focus of this particular video was on the
processes involved in Salish weaving. There is very little
information presented that goes beyond the making of the
artifact. The history of the weaving tradition in Salish
culture, the artist's personal arts training stories, and the
foundation of the notion that this art form belongs in a film
series of "Vanishing Crafts" are entirely left out. The assumptions remain at the end of the video that Salish weaving is a dying art form, and both the histories of the tradition and the artist are not worth mentioning.
Both the previously mentioned video and "Indian Crafts
Series: A Pair of Moccasins by Mary Thomas" (1977) were produced by the British Columbia Provincial Education Centre.
Although videos are centered on the craft making process, the second video offers more insight into the history of the artist's culture. For the last two minutes of the video Mary
Thomas tells a legend about moccasins. It is finally at this point in the video that viewers can glimpse the cultural and historical significance of moccasin making. 34 In 1982, a few years after these first two were
produced, the tone of educational videos began to change.
The title "West Coast Indians Fine Arts Series: The Revival"
gives a sample of a new attitude toward First Nations people
and cultures. No longer were the First Nations' arts
perceived as vanishing. Instead they were included in the
fine arts movement. A female First Nations' narrator makes
it clear to the audience that she sees this "revival" as more
of a reawakening from a long sleep, since the arts never
died. She assures us that the arts are well and alive in
Native culture. Dorothy Grant who is featured in this video,
comments on the increasing recognition of the arts of the
women. She speaks about her work while exhibiting her
clothing and blanket designs. Through these examples, we see that sharing voices and stories of the artists provides a balanced approach to presenting First Nations art and culture.
"First Nations: The Circle Unbroken," (1993) produced by the National Film Board of Canada, is a video series directed by three First Nations educators. They chose the best available documentaries and edited and revised them for classroom use. One of the videos in this series, "Education as We See it," includes key participants George Gosnell, Eva
Cardinal and Anne Anderson. They talk to the audience, as though in conversation, as they tell about personal and often 35 painful memories of their missionary school experiences. The
video contains excerpts from two films for Tamarack
Productions, (1991) "Time Immorial" directed by Hugh Brody,
and the "Learning Path" directed by Loretta Todd.
Another example of how histories of First Nations' women
artists can be documented can be seen in Loretta Todd's 1994
documentary "Hands of History," which was recently shown at
the Vancouver film festival. In this one hour film she
interviews three women artists of First Nations' heritage.
However, Todd is still only talking to those artists who have
been embraced by art institutions. The women who are only
known within the parameters of their community are still not
heard, nor is the impact that they have on their community
acknowledged.
"The art world power structure, prefers to ignore issues such as race, sex, and class and only acknowledges them as having relevance in respect to background or context"
(Dufrene, 1993, p. 127).
Art, Craft and Artifact....
The terms art, craft and artifact and the various ideas which accompany these terms need to be explored in both Euro-
Canadian and First Nations' contexts. Charlotte Townsend-
Gault (1994) says that:
There are some signs the cultural community in Canada
(exactly what that means also needs a closer look) is 36 becoming more aware of what its "institutional system" is
and equally aware of some of the mechanisms by which one
persons art is another person's artefact and a third
person's... or, as Bourdieu would put it, the system is
making us account for mechanisms 'problematizing the
activity of reference, (p.144)
Townsend-Gault says that it is imperative to deconstruct the
classifications of a European aesthetic that some scholars
have superimposed onto First Nations' objects, such as a
Kwakiutl food vessel, simply because of its decorative
nature. She questions whether it is necessary or possible to
separate "aesthetic" from "cultural" or "political" issues
surrounding a given work.
Concerns about classifying the work of First Nations' and Inuit artists were evident when the exhibition
"Isumavuit" opened at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa.
Bouchard (1994) notes that many of the authorities that have written about and curated the shows of First Nations' art work have been anthropologists and art critics who held sacred the modernist idea of the work of art speaking purely for itself. They claimed that the accompanying artists' narratives and texts lessen the value of the artistic experience. Bouchard condemns certain criticisms of the show that claim the emphasis of the artists' personal accounts only serves to undermine the scholarship of Inuit art. The 37 problem seems to be that the artists have the authority over
their own art work rather than the anthropologist or critic.
The shift from academic expertise to inclusion of personal
artists' voice rattles many of those that yet bar the doors
to the "ivory tower".
Multicultural Education In Canada
In Canada, multicultural education "takes place as
something superimposed on an Anglo-mainstream curriculum"
(Moodley, 1989, p.89). Varied perspectives of multicultural
education emphasize a devalued image of Anglo backgrounds.
Moodley stresses how the varied praxis of multicultural
education is heightened by the fact that there is no national
policy on multicultural education. Considering the makeup of
Vancouver's population, it is surprising that her study in
1989 showed that although the Vancouver School Board has pursued focused attempts at a local level, issues of race relations implementation is very uneven. "Few schools displayed evidence of carefully conceived action plans.
Whole school initiatives were lacking" (Moodley, 1989, p.
90). Anti-racist education may be a part of multicultural education, however multicultural education can include more than issues surrounding race relations.
Resources like Don Sawyer & Art Napoleon's (1991) NESA
Activities Handbook for Native and Multicultural Classrooms,
Vol.2. are needed throughout schools in Canada, but should 38 not be limited to separate classes labeled as multicultural
education. The types of activities that are suggested such
as 'Remembering School Days' portrays a purpose: "To
discover what our early experiences in school have had on our
attitudes toward school. To try to determine what kind of
teaching practices lead to satisfactory or unsatisfactory
experiences" (p.23). Another example "Native communities: A
Colonial Reality," strives to "analyze Native communities
within the context of traditional and contemporary realities"
(p.33).
There is a need to address learning, teaching, and
schooling wholistically as was once traditionally practiced
in First Nations communities across Canada (Gresko, 1986).
Learning must be wholistic which means taking care of the
spiritual, physical, emotional as well as the cognitive
growth of each individual (Kirkness, 1987). Kirkness
stresses that "to ensure survival as indigenous peoples, it
is imperative that the approach be based on 'education into
culture' and not 'culture into education' as is commonly practiced today," (p.l).
In 1979 Zastrow (1979, p.41) posed the question: "Can you understand and appreciate the art of the Native American without understanding their value systems?" This question should be extended to include the history of First Nations' 39 cultures and other contemporary cultures in order to have a
fuller understanding of their art.
The terms in which the material world of the Northwest
Coast has been described have been appropriated from
Western art history and aesthetics, from Western
concepts of the nature of art and society by
predominantly white scholars, with scant regard their
applicability to the particular cultural setting.
Without acknowledging their prominence the use of
concepts such as "sculptural form," "applied art
design," "aesthetic choice," "symbolic representation,"
are scarcely responsible. (Townsend-Gault, 1994, p.150)
Townsend-Gault states that it is important to appreciate the
complexity of the role of those items, which have been
labeled by outsiders as art objects, within indigenous
culture. She also claims that it is necessary to develop a model for an anthropology of art that is able to encompass
"both fields of discourse, both modes of inquiry,
anthropology and art" (p.152).
Video Documentation of Oral Histories
One of the most important reasons for documenting
ative oral history at the present time "is the commitment of
•original people to record oral accounts from elders that
11 allow them to document their past in their own voice"
ruikshank, 1988, p.198). Until recently, subartic Athapaskans learned everything
by direct observation or by listening to others who had
more experience and could pass on, using oral tradition,
knowledge essentially for physical survival and
spiritual well being, (p.200)
Technology has played a huge role in the advancement of oral
history recording. In addition to letters, documents and
ledgers archives can now include video-tape and computer
discs. The oral history movement continues to grow, nurtured
by those with a collective vision and mission for a more
democratic historical record (Treleven, 1989).
The use of video as a means of documenting the oral
histories of First Nations' women is particularly pertinent
as the essence of the oral tradition is maintained, yet it is
fixed in a permanent medium. Although words in traditional
ethnography lend themselves to generalization statements more
easily than film (Heider, 1976), film and video ethnographies
express more levels of meaning that go beyond the spoken word. Mould (1986) claims, in reference to oral histories,
that "video is not only a skill, but a language - a way to
express, in visual terms, size, shape, color, texture, and
the whole range of human emotions" (p. 198).
It is important to recognize the influence the video medium has on contemporary youth. Through the use of video tape, members of the senior generation will be able to pass 41 oa some of their stories or wisdom in a way that is meaningful to youth. Aquila (1988) claims that movies, "if well done, are exceptional ways of discovering Indian
lifestyles and history "(p. 408) because of their multi-
sensory format. However, he neglects to discuss the use of either oral history in First Nations' cultures or the appropriateness of using audio and visual media when teaching
First Nations content.
It is essential to discuss perpetuated stereotypes of
First Nations cultures when using movies, as advocated by
Aquila (1988). Bataille and Silet (1980) raise some very important issues about the history and influences of film on contemporary Native imagery. Historically Indian actors were not given lead roles, although they were used as extras and tribal members. Part of the problem was that 'real Indians' do not behave according to developed film stereotypes and the individuals would have to be directed on how to 'act Indian'.
The medium of film is very seductive and should be used cautiously in the classroom.
As both viewers and creators of ethnographic video and film, we have to remember that no ethnographic film can say everything about a subject since there must always be selection and omission (Heider, 1976). These are things for which we must remain conscious in order to help our students become more critical about what they see in film and video and be aware that what they see is not necessarily the whole
picture, but likely only a fragment of the whole picture.
Tone, pauses, eye movements and body language play a
huge role in the telling of a story. By transposing one's
story into written text, it can immediately become a dead
story. The voice of the storyteller is silenced. Three dots
on a page cannot replace the tension created during a
dramatic silence where the listener is given time to reflect
upon and react to what is being told. The reader of the text
does not see the narrators face, hear her voice nor read the
significance of silence in those three dots...
First Nations cultures have passed down oral cultural
histories for centuries. Dominant Canadian culture has
neither respected this tradition nor regarded it as valid
historical text comparable to written historical text. An example of this is the 1992 land claims case, Delgamuukw verses British Columbia, where the validity of oral history came into question. The judge ruled that the land did not belong to the Delgamuukw people because their historical claim for the land was in the form of oral history and not written as text. They lost the land claim case (Miller, 1992,
Fisher, 1992).
Women's Voices, Written and Heard.
Women have traditionally written about themselves in formats much different from men's autobiographies. Their 43 focus has tended to be more about their personal lives,
family difficulties, domestic details. The forms that their
stories take have usually been through personal diaries or
letters (Jelinek, 1980).
The dual role of the autobiographer encompasses both the
subject of the content matter and the organizer of the text
(Bruss, 1976). In cultures where the written text was not
used, personal and clan stories were passed on through the
original liver or owner of the story to the next generation.
The writing of biographies has changed reflection toward
social climate and technologies.
Native people were referred to as voiceless even
wordless, sometimes the association of these with
illiteracy. But were the Indians and Metis voiceless?
And what can it mean to be classified as illiterate?
(Perrault & Vance, 1991, XV)
Through the use of contemporary technologies and oral history
techniques, researchers are able to collaborate with women
from traditional oral cultures in documenting and organizing
their oral texts into what is a biographical,
autobiographical account. "Oral history can record opinions
of people who are seldom heard" (Seligman & Tabenkin, 1989,
p. 182).
Regina Blackburn (1986) explores the stories and perceptions of several Black women autobiographers, examining 44 how each approaches her own reality. Self image and identity
are a large portion of the autobiographer's focus. "Our
concern here is with the source of the self-image of African
American women. It is uncertain whether self images develop
or whether they are adopted" (Blackburn, p.136). Her work
relates to the documentation of First Nations women's stories
as they both deal with the hearing of, and listening to, the
voices of women of color that have been long neglected.
These are documented perceptions of women's lives and selves
as expressed in their own words.
There are many personal, public and social risks taken
when revealing one's own story whether it is presented in the
form of written text, oral history or video production. In
response to these realities one "may shift the ground of
self-representation and respond to cultural expectations
about appropriate female speech and behavior" (Smith, 1987, p.54). Julie Cruikshank (1979, 1992) works in partnership with Athapaskan women, where the women have access to all written material before the work is final. Cruikshank followed direction provided by each woman in defining aspects of her life record. They see the real value in recording their stories, knowledge, and memories for their children and grandchildren. They also believe that their stories should be a part of the school curriculum.Cruikshank (1992) works with the premise that life history investigation provides a
valuable model for research.
Instead of working from the conventional formula in
which an outside investigator initiates and controls the
research, this model depends on ongoing collaboration
between interviewer and interviewee. Such a model
begins by taking seriously what people say about their
lives rather than treating their words as an
illustration of some other process, (p.l)
Interest in learning about the experiences of First
Nations' women artists has been lacking in both art education and fine art fields. Little if any attention has been given to understanding the influence of formal or informal educational experiences on First Nations' women artists.
Research has not presented oral histories of the artistic educational experience of First Nations women. 46 CHAPTER THREE
Design of the Study
Introduction to the Research
This chapter describes the multiple research methods of
oral history documentation and the video and audio
ethnographic methodologies used in this study. Grounded in a
constructivist perspective, this study uses several
techniques in documenting the personal histories of six First
Nations' women artists. The documented oral histories are of
the women's learning experiences in relation to their present
roles as artists. Field research using intensive open-ended
interviews along with supporting audio-tape, video-tape,
descriptive field notes and field work journals (Merriam,
1991, p. 101) are discussed. The participants are asked for
feedback and reflection and reaction to the collected data
during and after the documentation of their histories.
Triangulation of data in its various forms demonstrate
increased validity.
Theoretical Foundations
The theoretical foundation of this qualitative study lay
in oral history research and ethnographic research design.
The study is also informed by feminist theory and the constructivist paradigm (Guba & Lincoln, 1994).
Constructivism is a paradigm for conducting research.
The paradigm represents a "world view" that defines the world 47 in which one exists and the place which one occupies (Guba &
Lincoln, 1994). The constructivist is a relativist where
realities are multiple, intangible mental constructions that
are both socially and experientially based. Constructions
are not more or less true in an absolute way, but just more
or less informed and or sophisticated. Research methodology
within a constructivist paradigm is one in which "individual
constructions can be elicited and refined only through
interaction between and among the investigator and the
respondents" (Guba & Lincoln, 1994, p. 111). The final aim
is to have a more informed and sophisticated consensus than
existed in previous constructions including any performed
constructions of the investigator. A variety of research methods may fall under the constructivist paradigm.
Oral history deals mainly with the present and recent past and is based on evidence of a broad group of people, not limited to a restricted, usually privileged, class of people with selected events. Seligman & Tabenkin (1989, p.177) claim that "oral historical research is closer to reality and events under examination and thus more profound." Oral history has been practiced in many cultures and societies in order to pass on the cultural traditions, and languages as well as public and private stories. It is only recently that documenting these stories has become popular. In pursuit of some Athapaskan women's life stories, Julie Cruikshank (1979) 48 recorded their memories for both public and private
audiences. The women were involved in selecting and editing
which portions of their stories were for public or familial
reading.
Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis (1991) claims that "it is oral
narrative that is ideally suited to revealing the
'multilayered texture of black women's lives'" (p.43). She
views oral narrative as feminist methodology and argues that
"conversation acts as a magnifying glass through which
details can be highlighted. Whatever the reasons,
conversations embedded in a narrative account of a particular
experience or event often means more than words explain" (p.
47). It is possible that the meaning of the words and
phrases may go beyond the printed page when using oral
narratives. Etter-Lewis states that in order to resolve some
problems in feminist research women from a diversity of
backgrounds and viewpoints need to be involved in a
reciprocal process of building and growth. "We must act with
deliberation and commitment in order to ensure that all women
have a voice and an audience for the telling of their lives"
(Etter-Lewis, 1991, p.56).
There has been a lack of recognition and documentation of minority women's stories. Art historians who focus on quilt-making have just begun to document the long and multi- layered history of African American female quilt-makers 49 (books, 1990). hooks tells her own story in relation to her
grandmother^ Baba, who quilts, creating stories in her quilt-
making. "The magic of quilts for her, as art and artifice,
resides in that space where art and life come together"
(hooks, p.121). hooks also claims that there is an
undeniable link between the "creative artistry of the quilts
and their fundamental ties to daily life" (p.121). Although
Baba's own story only remains in her quilts, hooks lets her
grandmother be known through her own story.
Ethnography strives to describe the "way of life" of a
specific group of people (Wolcott, 1991). It is important to make what is written about the culture in question readable to those who live within it. hooks (1990) suggests that writing about culture "for only those of us who are intellectuals, critical thinkers, is a continuation of hierarchical idea of knowledge that falsifies and maintains structures of domination" (p. 128).
Hypotheses for ethnographic research cannot be framed in advance, but are discovered in the process. Ethnographic significance is derived socially, not statistically from discerning how people make sense of their every day experience. The strength of an ethnographic study lies in the triangulation of data through the use of multiple methods of data documentation and inquiry. 50 While one is busy collecting and organizing data it is
imperative as a researcher to keep in perspective that there
is much more to knowing than merely seeing. Geertz (1973)
says that it is important for all researchers to remember
that "it is not necessary to know everything in order to
understand something" (p.20). It is even possible that there
is a point at which the information that one has obtained can
become overwhelming and even get in the way of the human
element of understanding. Geertz explains that we can
understand and empathize with personal loss even when we do
not know the details of another's mourning eating rituals which may not have anything to do with the loss.
Overview of the Research
Description of the Research
Gaining Access, or "How I Got There"
The phrase "gaining access" does not fit the collaborative and open nature of this study. The process in which this study became approved and accepted by two communities was rather straight forward. I presented my intended research to the communities to see if they were interested. In each case, there was community interest and acceptance. One might say that at that point I had "gained access". If the study was not approved I was prepared to look elsewhere. I am still looking for an alternative term 51 or phrase for "gaining access" that will better describe what
is really occurring in situations like this.
Sechelt. I was first introduced to Sechelt and some
community members in June, 1993, when a group from
Pukatawagan, consisting partly of friends and relatives, came
to meet with the Sechelt Band which has been self-governed
successfully since 1987. The focus of the group from
Pukatawagan was to connect with a First Nations Band who had
become successfully self-governed in order to apply some of
their strategies to their own community and their health
program. This was a perfect opportunity for my family to
meet with people from "back home" without traveling for days
and days. Although we were not involved in the meetings we
did socialize during the feasts and go on a tour of the band
lands, salmon hatchery and the biggest of the old trees in
the immediate area.
After a great visit in Sechelt I thought that it would
be wonderful if I could do my study there. I knew that the
community had a cultural centre and that they were beginning
to work on programs and resources. I hoped that they would
be receptive to my proposal.
On a beautiful June late afternoon, a woman that I was
sitting with at a Slow Pitch game gave me a Band business card with the name of the cultural coordinator. This was the starting point of "getting into the community". 52 We need to be aware of "unwritten" rules prior to any
interview or introduction. These rules may be in the form of
cultural etiquette or social pleasantries. This is
particularly important when entering into a culture that is
not your own (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1990). An appropriate
expression of cultural respect will let participants know
that you are showing a genuine interest in their lives. This
may be a means in which lines of communication open up. This
can also hold truth for protocol procedure when engaging a
community with your research.
In September, 1993, Rita Irwin, my advisor, and I met
with the Sechelt Elder Council after being redirected by the
Band Council. We presented our proposed research studies and
answered their questions. Rita was working on a larger
project that would involve many more participants and local
research assistance. We were both interested in talking to
local people. However, I was only interested in talking to
a few women artists. I asked for their consent to talk to
Sechelt women artists who were interested in participating in this study. I introduced the parameters of my study and was encouraged by the Elders to use a video camera whenever possible during the interviews as they claimed that it was through oral narration that the culture was traditionally taught. I did not have to convince anyone that it would be a good idea to audio and video tape the women's stories. 53 The next time that I went to Sechelt was on March, 19,
1994 with Rita Irwin, my advisor, and Ruby Farrell, who is
Rita's co-researcher. I should also mention that Wolfgang,
my second son, who was two-and-a-half months old, joined us
on this visit. The purpose of my visit to Sechelt was to
reacquaint myself with the area and some of the people. We
spent some time there with Valerie Bourne, then a cultural
coordinator for the Cultural Centre. She remembered me from
my visit in September with Rita, and from my visit in June
with my family and a group of band members from Pukatawagan.
I took consent forms and outlines of the interview questions
with me so that Valerie could give them to anyone who may be
interested in participating and wanted more information.
Pukatawagan. I am certainly no stranger to the
community of Pukatawagan, Manitoba. I have lived, worked and
have family members there. I have also conducted interviews
there as a research assistant for a professor from the
University of British Columbia. When I went back to
Pukatawagan in May, 1994, the route for beginning data collecting was very open. I asked my children's paternal great-grandmother, who is a respected elder in the community, for permission to do my research. Although she was not keen on participating herself, as this would require a great deal of very difficult translation, she gave me her consent for proceeding. I then stopped to talk with Chief Ralph Caribou 54 to inform him about my intended research. I had spoken with
him on several occasions before and therefore knew that he
has a keen interest in documenting oral histories,
particularly of the Elders. As I had anticipated, he agreed
to let me do my research there. I left copies of the
interview schedule and consent forms with him in the Band
Office.
Population and Setting
Sechelt is a Coastal Salish community which is located
along the south-west coast of British Columbia. Pukatawagan
is a Swampy Cree community located in Northern Manitoba near
the Saskatchewan border. In total this study deals with six
First Nations' women artists, three from each community. The artists are presently involved in producing art, primarily on a part-time basis.
Based on community recommendations I spoke to many possible participants . The final participants were chosen on the basis of their interest in the study. I stayed flexible with the numbers of participants, allowing for both drop-out and snowball effects. All of the participants agreed to use their real names in the study.
Sechelt, British Columbia. April 7, 1994, I arrived in
Sechelt after a pleasant drive and a forty minute ferry ride.
I went directly to the Cultural Centre to see if Valerie
Bourne, who was the cultural coordinator at the time, was 55 still there. She had gone to the school to work for the
afternoon. Since I was already at the Cultural Centre I met
with Dell Paul who also worked there. She invited me to
attend a meeting at the Cultural Centre that evening. Not
wanting to impose on the healing circle, or talking circle, I
agreed to go earlier to see if it would be all right with the
other people who were attending.
I met some more community members who made some
suggestions as to whom I should ask to interview. Although
Valerie suggested that I interview Dell, who is also a drum-
maker, Dell thought that it would be better if I talked to
her daughter Dionne. The evening was very comfortable and
enlightening. There I had the opportunity to let myself be
known to more people and to find some potential participants.
The community of Sechelt was established in 1868 when
five Sechelt bands were brought to the first two chapels
built the same year (Int: F#16). Now only about four
hundred band members live in Sechelt on the Band lands.
Other members live in the town of Sechelt or elsewhere. Many
of homes in the community face the ocean to the west, overlooking Vancouver Island. On a clear evening, the lights of Nanaimo can be seen from there. Sechelt, a prosperous community, is an urban reserve mixed within the municipality of Sechelt. Sechelt has a salmon hatchery, a gravel pit, theater, museum and a Cultural Centre. Sechelt became the first completely self-governed First Nations' band in Canada
in 1987. It offers a successful model that other First
Nations' Band Councils have sought to emulate.
A public school is located in the town of Sechelt. All
the children from the area, both from the municipality and
the reserve attend creating a mix of First Nations' and non-
First Nations' students. Sechelt Elders play an important
role in the school. They work closely with some teachers in
teaching Sechelt language and Sechelt culture to the students
in the elementary school.
Campion College is located along-side the Sechelt Band
office. Many local students attend for adult up-grading,
correspondence courses and college entry level courses.
While in Sechelt for this first round of interviews and
orientation, I stayed at a motel that was conveniently
located within walking distance of the Band lands. During
the second trip, I was invited to stay in Dell Paul's house
while they were away in Vancouver. Subsequent visits were
day trips in which I returned to Vancouver at the end of the
day.
Pukatawagan, Manitoba. Pukatawagan is a Cree community
of about two thousand residents. It is located on a peninsula surrounded by the Pukatawagan Lake, which is connected to the Churchill River system. The main industries are white fish and wild rice harvesting. There is a high 57 unemployment rate and water sanitation problems. There is a
Band-run school, Catholic church, nursing station, hockey
rink and grocery store. Pukatawagan has had little economic
growth over the past few years.
Traditions in Pukatawagan have changed drastically since
the arrival of the fur trade late in the nineteenth century
and the arrival of Catholic priests and nuns in the early
part of the twentieth century. People in Pukatawagan are in
a position of having to relearn the old traditions from
outside sources as most of the elders who knew them have
either passed on or do not wish to return to those ways.
Since I lived and worked in Pukatawagan for two years prior to returning to conduct this study, I was very familiar with the community and the residents. In Chapter One I described the school climate.
May 15, 1994, I arrived in Pukatawagan with Wolfie after three days of intensive travel. Our uneventful three hour flight from Vancouver to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was followed by a brief rest and then a twelve hour bus ride to The Pas,
Manitoba. We spent one night in a hotel and one morning in the grocery store before boarding the train bound for
Pukatawagan. The long journey in the two passenger cars, tacked onto a freight train, is not for the faint of heart as it is very filthy and crowded. Frequent passengers jokingly 58 call the train "the Bullet". The trip can take from six to
eight hours depending on the amount and type of freight.
While spinach was bolting in my garden in Vancouver, in
Pukatawagan the broken ice floated down the river during the
final snow fall of the spring. Within the following two
weeks, the temperature oared into the high twenties and
mosquitoes were out in full force.
My eldest son, Akask, had been visiting in Pukatawagan
with his father for eight weeks by the time Wolfie and I
arrived. He was not quite two years old, and had been away
from home for too long. He would be returning with Wolfie
after our three week stay. In the meantime, both boys
accompanied me on many visits and interviews. I started with
those people whom I thought may be interested in
participating in this study. From that point, I sought
community recommendations, as I had in Sechelt. As it turned
out, the women that I started with were also frequently
recommended.
Role of Researcher
The roles that I played as a researcher varied from one community to the other. While in Sechelt I acted as interviewer and facilitator. As a facilitator, I documented their stories in such a way that they may be used again for educational or archival purposes in the community. It took time to develop rapport with community members and 59 participants. This was a new environment for me and
orientation with the community required much consideration.
In Pukatawagan, I was more of a privileged participant-
observer. Unlike in Sechelt, I already knew many community
residents, acknowledged artists and local protocol. I
received assistance from friends and relatives in making
interview arrangements, contacts with Elders and translation
when it was needed. In my experience, I believe that it
would be unlikely that an outsider without intimate knowledge
of the community would have had the same warm reception as I
had. It is in this way that I see my position as being a
privileged participant-observer. I became more of a
participant while in Pukatawagan out of necessity. I was
invited frequently to be involved with social, cultural and
artistic activities.
Due to my previous experience as a teacher and as a
resident in Pukatawagan, I bring certain biases to this
study. These biases may have shaped the ways that I view and understand the data that I have collected. I commenced this study with the perspective that there are few curricular resources available that reflect the contemporary lives and culture of students in First Nations' communities. I view the relationship between community leaders, Elders, artists and school teachers, administration and staff, to be a crucial one. All of these people need to work closely 60 together if educational curricula and resources that reflect
the interests of the local community and province are to be
developed. Open communication and education are essential to
the foundation of these relationships.
I organized interviews well in advance. I also made it
clear to the participants that I would be taking my infant
son with me. I had no complaints from any participants, or
serious difficulties because of it. There were times when he
was not predictable and needed my attention. However, my
parental role was not so all-consuming as to take away a
focus on the interviews. In fact, many women began
conversations with "baby talk" about my sons. This often
provided common ground between participants and myself as
well as other community members.
Data Collection
Multiple methods of qualitative data collection were
used. There were mainly intensive interviews (Guba &
Lincoln, 1981), with some on site, participant observation. I video and audio recorded the interviews and then transcribed
the audio-tapes. I also kept descriptive field notes. I triangulated the data and maintained ongoing data analysis.
The study began in the fall of 1993 and continued until the fall of 1994. The data collection period varied with each participant as it depended on mutual consent and personal calendars. In Pukatawagan, I spent more time with 61 each participant on an informal and social basis prior to the
interviews. The recorded interview took place during one
session, while follow-up to the interview was on-going
informal manner during my three week stay.
I worked with the participants with a flexible rather
than a fixed schedule. Researchers who stick rigidly to an
interview schedule come across as not entirely interested in
what the participant is offering. The more flexible the
researcher is willing to be with the interview schedule, the
more power can be shared with the participant (Anderson &
Jack, 1991). Anderson and Jack also present some crucial
considerations when listening and documenting the words of
women. They stress the necessity of knowing our own personal
boundaries in conversation as these boundaries can often
shape participants' responses.
I used the same interview schedule as a foundation for
each of the interviews. The interview were divided into
three areas. The first part of the interview focused on the
artists' learning experiences. The second part of the
interview focused on her art work and her role as an artist.
The third part of the interview allowed for reflection and or
reaction about the previous sections of the interview and
allowed the participants and researcher the opportunity to clarify terms, statements or elaboration on a related topic
from a previous interview session. At times, several 62 interview sections were covered during the same interview
session with some of the participants. There were occasions
when it took two or three separate interview sessions to
cover all that the participants had felt necessary and that
the interview schedule had outlined.
Each interview was audio-taped, while some were also
video-taped and photographed. I supplemented the recordings
by making field notes about the interviews after each session
(Hammersley & Atkinson, 1990). I did not video-tape while I
was in Pukatawagan because video equipment was not available.
Our (researchers') terms may not be best suited to
paraphrase or describe the terms that the participant has
used. The very way in which we perceive personal narratives
reflects the trappings of Western-thought that is Western- masculine-patriotic (Etter-Lewis, 1991). We need to communicate openly with the participants so that they might clarify and define their terms for us. Tom Barone (1992) reminds us that we need to change our verbal furniture to
"suit our newly constructivist community of discourse in our new post-modern surroundings" (p. 29).
The tapes collected, as a result of this study, have been added to the coramunity archive housed in the Cultural
Centres in both Sechelt and Pukatawagan. The participants agreed to these conditions upon involvement in the study. The fieldnotes that I kept through the duration of the
study included the recording of observations of both the
formal interview settings and activities and the informal
social settings and activities. I also made notes on the
organization of interviews and the activities during
interview sessions, whether it be interruptions by
grandchildren coming into the kitchen for some juice, the
sharing of local mint tea, or taking a lesson in birch-bark
chewing. There are also reflective notes of my personal
perceptions, the things that I pondered about my
interpretation of what I saw or heard and suggestions that I
made to myself about subsequent interviews.
Triangulation
In order to address the issue of internal validity this
study triangulates sources of information (Merriam, 1988)
through using multiple methods of data collecting and forms
of data. One interview may by documented in multiple forms
such as, audio-tapes, field-notes, photographs and,
sometimes, video recordings. There were frequent member
checks throughout the study. Member checks are a way to
clarify data with participants. First there was verbal
clarification of terms from both participants and myself at each interview and later, if need be. There were also informal member checks over the telephone months after the interviews. Once all of the interview tapes had been 64 transcribed each participant received a copy of the
transcript which she was invited to edit, elaborate upon and
clarify. I also asked them to highlight the areas of the
interview that they found to be the most important to them.
I reminded them that I would be sending them, as well as
their local Cultural Centre, copies of the transcriptions.
If I did not hear back from them within a month, I would
assume that the transcriptions required no changes and I
would proceed with the study and analysis. I received two of
the six transcriptions back from the participants with
letters and insightful comments.
External Validity
There is limited generalizability of the findings in
this study. However, the intent of qualitative research is
not to generalize findings, but to form unique
interpretations of events (Merriam, 1991; Creswell; 1994).
However, other First Nations' women artists may read this material and feel some of the stories resonate with their own experiences.
Reliability
I took the following precautions to maximize validity and reliability from Merriam (1991): 1) triangulation
(Denzin, 1970) where multiple methods are used to confirm emerging findings; 2) member checks (Guba and Lincoln, 1981) where participants aid in the clarification of researcher's 65 findings during the data collection period; and 3)
researcher's biases being presented at the onset of the study
in the form of a personal ground.
The uniqueness of a study within a specific context
restricts the possibility of replicating it exactly in
another context. "However, statements about the researcher's
positions—the central assumptions, the selection of
informants, the biases and values of the researcher—enhance
the study's chances of being replicated in another setting"
(Creswell, 1994, p. 159).
Inductive Data Analysis
A "thematic analysis" (Spradley, 1980) was used which
encompasses the following: "domain analysis," the search
for a semantic relationship in the data; a "taxonomy" where
the relationship among all the included terms is displayed; and "componential analysis" where differences are shown among the participants on select criteria.
I manually sorted and coded information in terms of situational factors, themes and concepts (Merriam, 1991;
Tesch, 1990), using file cards and hang-files and colour coding. I used a coding procedure as outlined in Tesch
(1990) in which themes and categories are allowed to emerge from the data. Data analysis was an on-going activity throughout the data collection process as well as after data collection was complete. 66 Summary
Through using qualitative research methods, testimony has
been documented so that the stories of six First Nations' women
artists' stories can be heard by a larger audience. The interview
transcripts, audio-tapes and video-tapes will add to the present available educational resources in each community. This study also provides the opportunity for analysis of these narratives in hopes that it will offer insight into the educational experiences of the women thus leading to implications for curriculum development in art education. 67 CHAPTER FOUR
Findings
The focus of this chapter is on the narratives of the
six women participants. Preliminary findings in the data
analysis revealed eleven themes. Upon returning to the
original data a second time, four major categories emerged
through analysis. This chapter is divided into two major
sections according to participants' community. Each woman's
narrative is presented individually as her story relates to
the major themes. Sub-headings will also be included to
illustrate some of the various stratum that exist within each
story.
In the following segments I present the narratives of each woman as they relate to learning, teaching, art and culture, and pride. Pride is mentioned in relation to the other topics and is woven throughout their stories. These narrative segments are not a complete account of taped conversation. However, the presented quotes have been included to help illustrate some of the themes in the study that address the questions.
Sechelt, British Columbia
Dionne Paul
Dionne is a student and a traditional dancer. Dionne was just preparing to graduate from high school. She is a member of the Eagle clan, as is her mother. She is adopted 68 from the Bella Coola Nation- In the following segments
Dionne talks about her art practices, her learning
experiences, and her thoughts and concerns for the teaching
of art and culture.
Art. Dionne defines art:
Dionne: Anything that you create with your hands and your mind and your feelings. Like the picture that I just told you about? ... It is really emotionally draining, or creatively draining. After that I couldn't do anything, I sat down and looked at the paper and like, it takes a while to get into it. You have to get into the "mood". I think that I would define art as anything that you create with your hands creatively, and feel, that you feel for it. You really like it, it is yours and you have emotions for it.
Lorrie: What about the materials. Does it matter what materials you use?
Dionne: No, it could be a rock... it could be a twig that you use. It is something that you put your creativity, your mind and you're into. (Int: D#5)
Her reason for making art:
Dionne: ... I do mostly artwork for other people. I just finished painting my boyfriend's headboard for his bed. I do it just to make other people happy. I do it for the enjoyment of other people.
Lorrie: What do you get out of it for yourself?
Dionne: When I am doing it I am really calm. I like to be by myself and then I am really calm, focused, and centered and... It is kind of a get away from everything for me. Sometimes when things are really hectic, I have to calm myself down because I notice if I am all mad, I can't do it as well if I am calm, so it mellows me out. (Int: D#8)
Learning. Dionne's learning experiences in art differed in and out of school. She seemed to value both experiences and attributes one of her most valued experiences to her non-
Native high school art teacher.
Dionne: ...My art teacher, Miss Kelly and I are really good friends. Over the years it's become a friendship. She's taught me all about art and how to use it. She's showing me little techniques and stuff.
Lorrie: What kind of art?
Dionne: Not Native, I do some Native, I haven't got really into that yet. A lot of water color, silk screening, clay work...and we are going to start silk-screening and airbrush. I help her set up shows and stuff like that. I have been in her class all through high school, for about five years. This is my fifth year, It will be hard to leave her. (Int: D#2) Dionne: I guess it was just her, she was important. Nobody else ever taught me about art, paints and stuff like that. She took the time. It was just her time that was important, all that mattered. It was her teaching, she was really patient and understanding. (Int: D#2)
Teaching. Dionne offers insight to the art class practices and subject content.
She [Miss Kelly] will let you do whatever you want. If you want to do clay today, you know. If you want to do silk-screening, she will help you. She won't, "Okay, class... we are doing this, everyone is doing it." Everyone is doing, like their own thing. Some are working on a big mural, and some are sewing on quilts and people are working in clay or airbrush. If you need help...or she will just observe or give you advice or help you along if she sees that something that could be done differently to make it better she'll show you. (Int: D#6)
Dionne: That's one thing.. [Native art] it's not offered in school so that's why I have always done 70 more contemporary than traditional because there is nothing in our school.
Lorrie: How do you feel about that?
Dionne: I guess I understand in a way because, art is so abstract it is not a class where you can look through your text and everybody is doing the same thing. It is not something that she can teach really. It is more guiding, she guides us, helps us develop our talent. I understand why it would be hard, because she is non-Native. Maybe they should have a Native go in once a week [or] something, or every other day, and teach those that do want to learn "Coastal". (Int: D#9)
In Dionne's interview, she makes it clear that her high
school art class is strictly a studio class [Int: D#7].
No art, historical or contemporary, from any culture is
ever mentioned. She recalls, however, one time in
elementary school when a local artist came into the
class.
I learned mostly from observing other artists. Nobody ever sat me down, except for in grade two when Bradley Hunt came and did a little class in grade two, with ovoids and stuff. But I haven't gotten into really that much painting and art work, like "coastal". But Native, but with Native [art], it has been mostly observation, watching other people and stuff. (Int: D#2)
Pride, art and culture, learning, teaching. For Dionne, who
is a dancer, making a button blanket was an important experience. Designed by her uncle and tutored by her aunt, she constructed a button blanket for her dance regalia. She is very knowledgeable about her culture and her heritage and takes pride in involving herself with traditional practices. 71
I dance, but because I live here and there is no dancing here, I don't dance as often as I like, and.. I was running for Miss Indian World and I needed a blanket for that and I didn't have one. So, it was for that. It took four months [to make the blanket]. It took a long time to make that. Actually, on the way to Albuquerque, that is where the contest was at, I was madly sewing buttons on, just to get it done. Because this is hard [fabric], there is a glue behind it, it was hard to get the needle through. Poking my fingers. It took a long time to make. (Int: D#4)
This is something that I made. This is a coast blanket. This is a design my uncle, ... He make me a blanket but he didn't finish it. He's very sickly. He's ill. He started the design, so I kept it. I took it off and I put it on here. I put the buttons on. It is an eagle, and these are abalone shell and, I am from the Eagle clan, so this is what I would wear. And this is a copper shield. With the coastal Natives a copper shield is a sign of wealth, not material wealth, but... my great-great grandfather is a hereditary chief and that is a sign of wealth. Giving is more considered wealth, and he had a lot of potlatches, so that represents a lot of wealth in my family history..
My aunt Penny helped me make this. She has made hundreds of blankets, so she helped me make this.
She helped me.... Usually it's a felt, coastal blankets are usually a felt-heavy thick felt.... but I wanted mine a bit thinner so we used this and she helped me sew it and put it together. Sylvia, she is into sewing, she is a seamstress and she helped me with the sewing part of putting the design on, because it frays at the ends and we had to surge around the ends and help me to put it on. It was hard to put on because the felt doesn't fray, but we had to deal with all that, so that was pretty hard, so she helped me with that.
I didn't do this independently because I don't have any experience in making blankets so my auntie Penny mostly helped me. She showed me different pictures, she had different pictures, like, that she has done for people 72 before. She gave me ideas of how I wanted and design how we were going to have it. So she helped me a lot.
It was hard, because, my aunt lives in Vancouver, so we would have to go to Vancouver and stuff, and buy the material and stuff. My aunt and I got closer. We talked more and spent more time together. I just kind of sat back and she would explain things. I learned a lot from her. ... I am not sure if I will be making another, I haven't really thought about that. (Int: D#3)
After finishing her button blanket, Dionne planned to design
and make her own graduation dress with the designs and
techniques that she had learned from her experience making
the button blanket (Int: D#2).
Although Dionne enjoyed her art class and art experience in high school, she felt that she could have been more serious about it (Int: D#9). She regrets that she didn't make copies of, or build a portfolio with, all of the art work that she gave away. Although she was quite happy with both her teacher and the art class itself, she still sees room for improvement. In this section she offers the following recommendations to teachers.
Dionne: I would suggest to them that they... that they give them [students] the options of the Native art because .. Miss Kelly, If I wanted to do it, she was, "Fine, great, do it." But, she never suggested it. And the some of the grade eights, their minds are everywhere and if it was suggested maybe they would focus more towards that and develop more and learn about it and stuff.
Lorrie: What advice would you give to a teacher of Non- native students? Would you suggest something different from that? 73
Dionne: Ya, maybe, their backgrounds too. They have some backgrounds [heritages] and maybe they might want to do some art from their own group and explore others. (Int: D#10)
Dionne exhibits a very strong sense of pride in her knowledge
of her heritage, skills and accomplishments. She also shed
some light on her shortcomings and regrets. She offers the
following suggestions to other art students.
Just, believe in yourself and stay motivated, stay into it. I sort of drifted, wandered away. I wasn't serious. I would tell them to believe in themselves and take themselves seriously. If they took themselves seriously, it would show in their art work that ... it would start to come out better and they would want to do it because it was doing good. I guess if you believe in yourself everything else would follow. (Int: D#ll)
Jenny Paull
Jenny is a mother and a student. She continues to draw
and paint and claims that she should get back into beading
again. In the following sections of Jenny's story, she
describes some of her residential school art experiences.
Now, Jenny is interested in learning more about art and
cultural art. She sees art as an important way for one to
express one's feelings and ideas. She also regards art as being a central element to the culture of the community and she would like to see it flourish and to be able to pass it onto her children.
Learning: schooling. Jenny talks about her residential and boarding school art experiences. 74 I went to a boarding school all my life. From grade one right to grade twelve. I went to a boarding school in Mission. We went the first four years right in the residential school. Grade one to grade four was in the residential school. From grade five we started going out into the public schools. (Int: J#2)
I didn't take any art classes, just in high school, silk-screening, and clay and [pause] that was so long ago. Drawing, painting, charcoal. Trying charcoal out, ... oh, pastels. Worked with all kinds of things.
I worked with beadwork too in elementary school we used to do a lot of beadwork. That was when I first started.
[We were] Usually [taught by] the other students who were in the boarding school that had already known from their grandparents. The supervisors got everybody looms, or they made them up looms and they taught us how to do beadwork on looms. I don't think that none of the staff knew. They would learn too right along with us. We got to do a lot of stuff on looms and even to make,... We used to have to make these... for the band. We had a band at the Residential school, Saint Mary's Band. We had to make these big eagle crests on the uniforms for the band. (Int: J#3-4)
It was sewn right on but it could be cut off. We had to do lots of those. I am surprised that I didn't keep up with doing those hair things and barrettes and that, and those medallions they have. Because we had to do those all the time at the residential school.
Somebody must have them put away. They must have it all put away somewhere at Mission. That is a lot of years doing them up, making them up new ones.
We had to make headbands on the looms. (Int: J#3) The headbands for all the band players. They all wore headbands and a feather. I wish that I had pictures. That was quite the memory. I was never in the band but I was always a part of it. Helping out, you know, making those, making the headbands and I always tried to learn each instrument. Really, it was a lot of fun. Those were fun times for me. (Int: J#3) 75 Continued learning. Jenny attributes the beginning of her
artistic perseverance to an experience in grade seven.
When I was in grade seven, I was just reading a book. Our teacher used to read to us. And I saw a picture in there and I just copied the picture and it was this small and I made it larger. I had copied it exactly and my teacher really liked that picture so much that he asked to keep it. And that was the only one I had done. He kept it. He said that it was to show his future classes. So, he kept it. And it kind of inspired me to keep it up. From grade eight all the way to grade twelve my art has been always my best class. (Int: J#2)
Jenny has a keen interest in art and the cultural arts of the
Salish people. She has taken upon herself to continue to
learn and practice these arts.
I like to do a lot of art. Especially the Native traditional art. I've just started about eleven years ago. I started learning with Bradley Hunt. We were doing a lot of traditional art there, ovoids and things like that. He is an artist who lives here. He does a lot of art work around here, for the band. He's got his own little gallery in Gibsons, it's out of his own home. He was coming to teach our class just last month and the month before he came to our class every Tuesday. He's great to have again as a teacher. (Int: J#l)
Once she had a taste of traditional Native art she was hooked.
It made me want to start learning more on, on the colors especially. Black the red the yellow and the blue. Those colors really stood out for me as traditional colors. Usually just use any color but now, when I realize what those colors meant, especially now because of the four directions, four seasons and the four races. And then it comes out in our art. (Int : J#4) 76 At several times during our discussions about art, Jenny
talked about the importance of self expression and symbolism
(Int: J#4, 7, 8, 8.5, J2#2). She showed me many of her
drawings and paintings. Most of them were closely linked to
important personal experiences. She used visual metaphors
and symbols to tell her stories (Int: J#2, 4, 5).
Drawing must have been my favorite part, but I got to do silk screening and all kinds of different things. All through those years, it's always been butterflies that I have done. I've always done butterflies. I remember doing in grade nine silk-screen and cutting out a butterfly shape. I have always liked butterflies. So for years I have always liked butterflies.
I think that it is because of their flight. They are free. They are beautiful, but they are free too. I remember, because of my disability that I, because I can't walk, I wished that I could fly. And then I remember always dreaming about riding bikes. In my dreams I could ride a bike, I could feel that flight on the bike. Almost feel the flight on the bike. That's how I feel anyways. That is the closest thing I could think of how a flight would feel is being on a bike. (Int: J#2)
Jenny also talks about how her art work links to her
spiritual beliefs.
I like to do things that have to do with Mother earth and I like the trees and the ocean and the water and the sky. Learn how to give thanks to those areas like the Mother earth, how we get everything from the mother earth and give thinks in the way through art. I got some great ideas just sitting here thinking about it. I can just picture some things, visualize things on paper. And you want to rush and get a pencil and put it down. (Int: J2#3)
Teaching: Passing on knowledge. Jenny is highly motivated to add to her own knowledge and skills so that she might 77 inspire and teach her children (Int : J#6, 7, 8, 10, J2#l,
1.5). When I asked her specifically what motivates her the most, she replied:
I think to express yourself and there is always something left behind when you are gone there are things for your kids to see. Hopefully to inspire them to try their hand at it. Usually the artwork has stories behind it. I know that I have a lot of stories to tell. There is a lot of stories behind the drawings. Like the butterfly that has the caterpillar in it. It is like opening up, you are like a new person after going through treatment and you don't have to keep living in the past. You can keep going on forward, moving forward. But I think I would keep up the work to tell my story. It doesn't always have to be butterflies, it will change, I know that it will change. I want to get more training done. (Int: J#8)
Jenny offers suggestions, based on her own experience, for aspiring and established artists.
From my own experience, it is always best to go from your heart, like your art is like a vision, and it is something that you feel. For me I guess the butterfly because of the flight and the freedom of the butterfly. I wish that I was in that kind of a way. the freedom I sort of do have it because I do have my car. I can just move along fly in my car.... But, I think that a real young artist would have to take it from their heart and it's more, like a traditional, more traditional roots with you, it comes out on the paper and in the colors, the four colors, the four traditional colors. And to share your art and not to be afraid to try, to just keep trying, no matter how bad it is, just try again and plus to .... keep everything, you know, when you start. When you first start to keep everything. I really advise to people to keep everything at first, keep a record of everything because it is always good to look back and to see how you are years later, or months later. (Int: J#7)
I feel that if we could get more of the artists that are here, to be able to come out of their... to come out, to not be so shy. To share it with everybody. Either to share it and show it, show it off. Some don't want to come out with their art or they just do it as a hobby at home. But just to come out and share it with the community and to be able to... offer it as a teaching, to pass it on to anyone else that may be interested in learning it. (Int: J2#3)
Fran Nahanee
Fran is a knitter, a shop owner, and a mother. Her
mother is Cowichan, and her father is Squamish. She married
into the Sechelt Band. She has two children and runs the
Tsain-Ko Gift Shop in Sechelt. Fran tells many stories to
illustrate her ideas and concerns. In the following sections
of Fran's narrative she talks about learning from her mother,
her artistic practices and issues, concerns and suggestions
for teaching the next generation about their cultural
heritage.
When one hears and talks to Fran about her mother's knitting she beams with pride. This segment illustrates her pride of her mother's expertise, her mother's desire to teach her art and Fran's enthusiasm in learning from her.
Art and culture, learning, teaching. There is just nobody as good as my mom at it. I just don't think so. I was down there the other day and she gets these invitations to "Nexus" and to the gift shows and to all these Native artists, where all of the Native artists go to sell their crafts, like Nexus. My mom, of course doesn't wholesale. But my mom says, "I don't know why they send me all of these," she says. And I said, "Well mom, you know a lot of Native artists go to those, but this Nexus, you know.." I was telling her about it because she had never been to it. And I said "They have all the good Native artists, like Roy Vickers is there and his brother is there and Robert 79 Davidson is there and Dorothy Grant is there- All the really popular and really expensive artists are there." And she goes, "Well they must think I am a really good artist." And she just laughed. And I said, "Well you are, mom! You are the best I have ever seen." She is excellent at it, just so good at it. She would like to see one of her kids, or all of her kids, because she has tried to teach us it. So she wants to see one of us interested in it. So, one of us should be. That is me, I hope. I want to get into it more. But it takes a little time to get interested in it. If I am sitting here making something and then I screw up, I have to phone my mom long distance to you know.... If I am sitting down there it is fine, I really enjoy sitting down and knitting there with her. Because that is probably the only time we really have to sit and talk to each other. (Int: F2#3-4)
Learning. Fran compares how her current attitude
towards learning from her mom had changed from when she was
younger.
When she was showing me how to do floppy hats and toques and stuff, we had to sit at her home. And when we were spinning too. She was really happy about it too. But when she was teaching us how to knit, of course we didn't really want to, you know. Well, my mom wasn't too happy about teaching us. But she knows that I am very willing, and because she is not knitting anymore either. Isn't like she goes and makes floppy hats and stuff anymore. She only did it because I was interested in doing that. (Int: F2#4)
Teaching: Motivating youth. Fran has some definite ideas about motivating youth. She claims that it is very hard to motivate kids to do anything (Int: F2#4).
[If] Teaching the culture was one of the major [things in school], then maybe the kids would be interested. I think what we need to do is to get each other interested, like our age group, the older women interested in it. The older women aren't doing it so how can we teach the kids to do when we can't even do it ourselves. So I think that we should concentrate on the older women. So if you are doing it at home they will be interested later on in life and say "Oh, I should have learned when my mom was trying to teach me." That is what I am saying now. (Int: F2#5)
In the next section, Fran's story elaborates how much people
have been taking their culture for granted.
Everybody takes it for granted until it is too late. Look at Mary was an excellent basket maker and she has like thousands of grandchildren but none of them learned how to do baskets. None of them took the time to learn to do baskets. They thought that she would be here for ever I guess, to teach them. They weren't motivated either. (Int: F2#5.1)
Fran takes an active approach to her responsibility to pass on cultural practices. She repeats the same message through stories within her narrative. This section states her concern and suggestions for change very clearly.
So, if we want to teach the kids to do the things that our cultural women, cultural type things, then we have [to] learn to do them ourselves first. We have to practice them in the homes and get our kids to help us at the same time.
I remember when I was a little girl and my mom was doing that all the time, she was doing that. We seen her all the time, we took it for granted. You can't force the kids into it, but you can sure learn to do it yourself and expose them to it by doing it at home as often as you possibly can. That is all that I can think of, the only way it will work. We can sit here and say, we can teach the kids how to do it, but you are not going to get the kids to a two hour thing in the evening, bring them down and teach them. They have to see it in the home all their lives to be interested in doing it. I think that you can learn by having the kids exposed to it everyday. (Int: F2#5.2)
Schooling. Fran attended both a residential school in
North Vancouver as well as a private Catholic high school. 81 Fran's residential school experience (Int: Fl#2-3) had a
very strict religious foundation. Both strapping and prayer
were used as punishment. There was nothing taught about the
First Nations' people or cultures.
There was nothing traditionally learned in our elementary school at all. Nothing had been brought up about Native people at all. Even the cultural dances that we learned to do, none of them were Native. None of them... we learned the Highland fling, Scottish dancing. It was good though. It was nice to learn that but I think that we should have learned a bit more about our own people. So, I think that is where it has been lost, everything that has been lost in that period of time when the residential schools, when missionaries came... until about now when everybody is realizing that we have to learn something about ourselves. (Int: Fl#3)
Her high school experience was more pleasant than the
residential school. The school had a program in place where
students would go away on an extended field trip during the
spring break. Part of the intention of the program was to motivate students to keep their grades up. Fran was in
Squamish language class that decided to go to The Stony
Wilderness Centre in Alberta. She draws from her own experience as a high school student and makes connections to how she now interacts with her fourteen year old daughter.
And now I am thinking, because my daughter is about the same age as I was when I went, that they should have programs for them to do. To do those sorts of things. Up in the school they should have programs to motivate the kids to keep up their grades, to stay in school, for one thing. Most of them drop out of school and then they get behind because they have no motivation or anything. I think that something like that would motivate them. Because my daughter is the same age as I was, when a lot of good things happened to me. That is one of the things that I am trying to think of ideas, ways, to learn a little bit more, about her heritage than she wants to. I know that she is at that age when, "oh, I don't want to do that". I dragged her to go to strip cedar off the cedar tree. I didn't drag her, but she didn't want to go. So, but she liked it when once we were there. She thought that it was a cool idea, but you know...
She has that same attitude that I had at that same age. That helped me a lot, that Stony Wilderness Centre, because I felt really envious of those people because they knew so much about their own heritage. They knew their own language and they knew how to do the things that their ancestors used to do. We were just city kids. All we did was hop on the bus and go see movies on Tuesday nights. There was no comparison. That was probably my best memory, I have lots of good memories. But, that was the best one. That one I thought that really helped us. (Int: Fl#5)
Teaching, learning, pride, art and culture. Fran talks
about passing on of knowledge with-a sense of urgency,
genuine care and action.
It is something that I feel like I should carry on. A craft that my mom does and is expert at. And if I don't, my kids won't know anything about their grandmother. They will know that she did this knitting but they won't keep it up. Because I won't be able to teach them.
I want to be able to show Jenny, Teddy and their kids about their grandmother and what she was proudest of and what I'm really proud of her for doing it. I'm really proud of her because she is excellent at it.
I've probably just come to realize, now that it needs to be carried on. (Int: Fl#9)
Throughout the segments of Fran's narrative, she constantly connects the main themes presented. Rarely is there a place 83 where she talks only about art or teaching or learning or
culture without talking about the other aspects.
Pukatawagan, Manitoba
Melanie Molin
Melanie is Swampy Cree, Ithiniw, a teacher, a mother,
an artist and a good friend. Melanie's expertise for making
dance regalia is known and admired in the community. From
the following sections of narrative we are able to get a
sense of how Melanie values the teaching and learning of her cultural heritage.
Art and Culture: Art-making. While showing me some of the dance regalia she made for her son, she described the choices she made for the colors and designs. She also stressed at other times during the interview how she really needed to wait for the design ideas and paid attention to her dreams (Int: M#5).
That was the second one, this is his first outfit. Yellow orange for the sun and sunrise, the green is for grass and trees, the red is for mother earth, yellow is for the sun and the white is for the sky. People interpret the colors in different ways. That is the way they understand. That is the way they understand and that is how I understand. People have different wisdoms. (Int: M#3)
I used designs like flowers. [In the pattern for her son's outfit] You know that is the Cree art. Some of the people don't understand the Cree art. The Navajo designs, that's Navajo, but the Cree is flowers. That is our design, supposed to be our Indian design. I don't know how to call it. When I make something. I can't just make it. It takes time for me to... I sleep on it, I think about it. The design will come to me. 84 But I should start putting it in books and keeping these designs. But I don't, I just keep them in my head. It comes and I make them and I finish it in no time. But if I do it like that and just try and do it, it won't work. I have to wait, until, I don't know I guess that is my gift. (Int: M#4)
Melanie elaborates on this idea of having a special artistic
gift.
Melanie: I guess that is my gift You know a lot of Elders told me I have a gift, but you have to find it. So I found my gift is creating stuff, beading moccasins and anything that comes to my mind.
Lorrie: Where do you think that gift comes from.
Melanie: From the Creator, that is what I would think. Because my mom is really impressed with the things I create. She knows a lot, but then she looks at me and she would say, "You know more" and I would say " Thank- you, you know you gave me the guidance and your teachings. If you didn't help me, I wouldn't be where I am now." (Int: M#4.1)
Melanie gives full credit to her mother for her most valued learning experiences that relate to art and culture (Int:
M#8). .
Learning. Although Melanie is very happy with the comforts of having running water and an electric sewing machine, she still has a keen desire to learn historical cultural methods for her art (Int: M#5).
I would love to learn how they used to make their dresses back then. Instead of using the sewing machines. I bet it took a lot of work. People using, not a needle either, a fish bone, or something. Using sinew, they used to make their own sinew out of raw skin from a moose, I guess. That is probably what they used to use, I would say. My mom used to make sinew out of the muscle of the moose, the muscle, or the moose hide, small strips. It was pretty hard then. It was probably why the ladies then were more strong, [laugh] (Int: M#5.1)
Teaching. Melanie ties the art of the Ithiniw [Cree] to the cultural ways and the Cree language with a sense of pride
(Int: M#7). Here she describes a situation where she was teaching students in the school.
Well, I guess for the kids now their first language is English, It is sad to see that. These kids think that they're not Natives. A lot of young kids don't think that they're Natives. And when I go into the school, I have been asking them "Who is Native here?" None of the kids will put their hand up. I would explain to them, "You are Natives, you were born a Native. Your mom is a Native. Your dad is a Native." It is sad to see that. Some of the kids are starting to understand that there is something wrong here.
I was explaining to them, "I have an example for my son. My son is part Native and part French. He has blond hair, blue eyes and white complexion. If a person asks him, 'What heritage are you from?' He will say, 'Native, I am Native.' They look at him, 'NO you're not.' And he will say, 'I am Native, and I am proud to be one.' Now, coming from a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy, you know he is proud of who he is and he is a traditional dancer. He is proud of it and I explain that to the kids. Even though he doesn't look Native, but inside he is Native. [still talking as she was telling the children] You know you should be proud "that you are Native. You should be proud of your language, your heritage. Don't deny it. You can't hide that you are Native. You can see it clearly. So never lose that feeling, or the Cree language."
It is very frustrating sometimes to teach the Cree language to the younger ones. They don't have a clue what I am talking about. But they are starting to get really interested in it. I always have a talk with them. I say it in English and I say it in Cree so they will understand what I am saying to them. (Int: M#7) 86 Methods of teaching. Melanie has some very practical suggestions for the teaching of Cree art. She reflects upon her own learning experiences from her mother.
...my mom started showing me how to do bead work is by stringing beads first. How to make little outfits. I used to have a little doll and I used to make little suits for the doll. That is how I learned how to make jingle dresses, like that. (Int: M#8)
Melanie describes how she would like to make changes to schooling if she were able. She would like to be able to teach speaking only in Cree. She would also choose to teach more art as she claims that they could learn both art and the
Cree language at the same time (Int: M#9). The following is a step by step account of how she teaches Native art.
Okay, how I started with the younger ones, grade one, grade two, I started them with stringing beads. That is part of the art. The beads that are strung I use them to string them on a piece of hide so they will see the beads they have strung. I would put it on drift wood, painted driftwood so the beads will be hanging. It is an art and I hang it up in their classroom, the beads that the kids have strung. They are all there and it looks really nice. I wish that I had a picture. For the older ones, from grade four, three, four, five, we usually teach them how to make necklaces just by stringing them. We are using those pearl beads, with a fake bear claw. They used to make necklaces and they are really proud of them that they can really do something with beads. They were impressed with what they made. For the high school, we used to teach them how to do art. We used to make moccasins, earrings, things like dream catchers. The easy stuff that they can really make. Even the boys were making earrings. Sometimes they got really frustrated in making them. I kept encouraging them. "If you make one, you be proud of it, you made an earring." That is a start. A lot of kids are doing a lot of art. The classroom is full of 87 the kids art, painting, or pencil or crayon. (Int: M#7-8)
Pride. Melanie did not always have the desire or confidence to make any form of art. She is now a role model to other community members (Int: M#12). The following segment illustrates this transformation.
Well, when I was going to [boarding school in Dauphin] school I didn't have any desire to do bead work or anything like that or art, painting or stuff like that. I thought that I didn't have the talent. When I started making stuff. The first thing that I ever made, I think it was a jacket I made out of leather, just to prove to myself that I can do it. When I finished, a lot of people admired it. I said, "Wow, did I have that talent?" I was eighteen then, I think, eighteen, nineteen years old. That is when I started creating stuff. I like to create different stuff that no one ever made. I want to be the first to make those things. Like the dream catcher hoops, rings whatever you call them. I am the one that started and now everybody is doing that in the community. I started it first. It makes me proud that I started it. With the driftwood too, with the kids beads hanging on. I started that too. Everybody is doing it around the community. (Int: M#ll)
Community-based resources• Melanie is very concerned that the children in the school are not receiving an adequate education. The school has a history of having a high turn• over of young teachers. The impression is left that these neophyte teachers are going there to practice their teaching skills on the students, and not to really teach them. She suggests that parents and teachers work together to educate the children. She believes that it is imperative for a 88 teacher to really care about who she or he is teaching (Int:
M#14). She claims that good teachers are those who will:
Understand the cultural ways, by looking at the cultural ways and his or her ways and trying to put those two together and try to make it work. Those are the kind of teachers we like to see here. (Int: M#14)
School teachers have to work more closely with community
members in order to really help students from the community.
Well, they [the teachers] have to really understand, first, before they can teach the students. They have to. The teachers around here have to go to house to house visiting, getting information. That is the only way that they can help the students in the community.
...Not house to house, but go and visit somebody, like an Elder or a medicine woman or medicine man, somebody who knows the community really good.
...You can't learn just from a book. You got to do it from the people, the community. (Int: M#ll)
Rose McCallum
Rose, Swampy Cree, Ithiniw, is a teacher, a mother,
grandmother, an artist and one great story-teller. In this
segment, Rose tells me about birch bark biting as a past-time and an art form. She recalls fond memories of learning from her family. Rose draws from her life experience as a student, and as a teacher to suggest better ways for teaching students today to ensure the students' school experience also reflects their culture.
Learning: Recollections of art, culture and family. So anyway, we go back to that birch bark. I asked my mom why they did that and they said that it was sort of a pastime for them, you know, people had a way of amusing themselves and they keeped those things in those 89 birch bark, baskets. I watched my grandmother and grandfathers, my uncles, my aunties and my mom and dad do those work. And they'd keep them. And you today, you know, I'd wish. What if I had know, but you don't know what you future holds. If I had known that it would come up somewhere. See they could have kept those things, somewhere. Now when I think back, you know. Ohh, I wish that all those beautiful things that they did over there. The work, you, know everything. Some are ... you know, it's really interesting to look at them in the sun there. Those are just like a stamp. You know, like a stamp?
All the imprint of your teeth and [hand gestures]
It was more of a pastime than you know. They just loved doing and according, my granny used to say... I picked it up form my parents. I guess that was like the old ways. You know, if they weren't doing something like beading, or making stuff for themselves. (Int: R#2)
This is where the beadwork comes in. From that kind of art. Probably that's were they picked the quill art... I watched my mom dye porcupine quills. I learned that, but I've forgotten over the years. I would rather learn how from the person, like how I learned it from my parents and it was more like it was passed on to them; family to family. (Int: R#2.1)
When I asked Rose about creativity, she replied:
I think , when you go out to learn something, and I think that its a gift. For me anyway. It is all, I have never forgotten this. But, you know, it was always. I always, always did that, even when my kids were small. When John, and I were alone in the bushes. I'd"rip off and do a piece there [birch bark]. I'd just fold it up and start biting it and "look, Look what I made!" and throw those things away, [hahaha] Like when ever I start doing that I think about my mom and my dad. (Int: R#17)
You know I would never forget that, always in the back of my mind. But it didn't dawn on me that its an art form. (Int: R#18) 90 Lorrie: Where does this gift come from?
Rose: From my, I guess it's from my ancestors, its from, you know, what you learn from your Elders. Like I learned, just like a dream that you see, you know, from way, you know way back . You know sometimes when I think, like when I was small. It's just like a dream... (Int: R#18.1)
Schooling. Rose was a student at the first official
school in Pukatawagan. Her life changed radically one hot
July.
That first year we started school, we started on a hot July! When it's hot, hot, hot!!! I remember when we went for registration at Father's place. "You mean you're going to, no more Russell Lake?" you know , like I asked my mom. She did not want to say anything because in the back of her mind she knew that she was going to leave me. And I was twelve years old when I started, when I was in grade one! A lot of those kids, you know you wouldn't believe it Lorrie, some of them were nineteen, eighteen years old, in grade one, all in one grade! Oh, was it ever, it was so funny now, when I think back. I have a picture there in my bedroom there with all those ... And after all these years I can name all those people. (Int: R#7)
Two French speaking teachers taught at the school the first two years of its existence. Oblate nuns took over the teaching positions after that. The following narrative shows how Rose really felt about her school experience and her learning experiences with her parents.
In 1954, I remember, 1954, that's when the black robes came [laugh]. Nobody knew, like everything changed then, it was, for me... It's just taking away a part of a, say, It's just taking away all of our culture and being forced to speak the language that we did not want to, like the French language. You wouldn't believe this but I knew how to say the Lord's Prayer in French! I 91 hated it so much that I just wanted to forget about it the day T left school, I just did not want...Even when they were talking there... I could pick up sentences. I could tell exactly what they were talking about because I learned how to understand that language. Oh, now when I think back...It was so hardJ [he, he] Ya, just run home after school so I could be with my mom, so I could start beading with her, Oh, I just loved being around her! I just loved... I just watched her and my dad tanning moose hides, tanning, anything. My dad taught me how to trap muskrat, and he taught me how to set rabbit snares, small animals. He taught me how to trap mink, muskrat, [he, he]...I caught my own. (Int: R#7)
Learning and Teaching: Community resources. Rose was very confident as a child. Even when she and her friends showed the nuns the bitings that they had made, they showed little interest. As a young student in the school, she encouraged the school principal to bring in local resource people. As an adult she became a resource person and then a teacher.
I was never shy to tell what I learned from the Elders and how it was done. We were asked a lot of times how "such and such" was done, like Indian medicine. They [nuns] were interested in that and where these could be found and ...A lot of things they were curious about. If I knew something, I was never scared or ashamed to tell how its done or how I seen it being done. They could have gotten someone to come in and teach us or take us out in the..[school].. That was my main interest and I brought it out in, this subject out to one teacher and they, she said " We cannot find the right person to come into the school," like most of the people. And when I mentioned this to the principal, it was a nun that was a principal, and she took the time to hear me out and "This is why"... And a short time after that we get the ladies and the elderly women and the resources from reserve come in twice a week... They founded sort of a sewing club for the older girls and my mom was involved in this and Mrs. Castel, 92 Adam's wife, and one of my aunties here, and two elderly women to come to the school twice a week. (Int: R#22- 23)
Although the school program that Rose prompted the foundation
of didn't last very long, she is still an advocate of
community based teaching. She would like to see more local
resource people go into the school.
Teaching: Passing on skills.
I tried to show Luke [her grandson] here, once. Did I ever laugh. I folded the birch for him and he said, "Okay" I am going to make you something" and he was chewing away. I forgot about him and was washing dishes and I said, "Luke!" and he said, "What!" "Where is that piece of birch bark, I thought that you were going to make me something?" [I asked.] "It's on the floor!" [he replied.] I came in and it was beside the TV where he left it, it was just full of holes! (laugh) I tried to undo it and I kept on tearing it up, cause I guess he must have really bit it hard. (Int: R#27)
Teaching and learning: A demonstration
Rose encouraged me to give birch bark biting a try with her expert instruction and demonstration.
Lorrie: So, you just lightly chew it.
Rose: Straighten it out a bit.
It takes nerve and a steady hand to peal the paper thin layers of birch bark.
Rose: come one piece, work for me.... [peeling a piece] If they start breaking then I just rip and keep the good piece, you know what I mean?
Lorrie: I've got holes in this one. It would have been a good piece. 93 Rose: It's hard to make it really really, you must have a lot of patience.
Lorrie: So I just fold it in four and at an angle?
Rose: Ya.
[sound of folding] (Int: R#27.1)
Rose goes on to make a bug while I decide to attempt a
flower. We continued to talk while folding and chewing the bark. Rose: Now I will make my bug....Shall I make you a bug, I'11 try...
Lorrie: I have to think of a flower a really simple flower, a poppy,
Rose: A lily
Lorrie: A lily....do I start at the center, at the point?
Rose: It doesn't matter, once you get going you think about the pedals.
Lorrie: Okay....
Rose: Think about your pedals You know this is interesting....this bug will have a square head... [long pause as Rose and I bite away on folded piece of birch bark] Ohh, [Rose sounds pleased with the results] She is standing my the window checking the design in the light as she goes] Look!
Lorrie: [unfolds piece] Oh, I was trying....[Rose laughs] We are both standing by the window checking our work.
There you are, Rose says as she checks my attempt at a flower.
Lorrie: I don't know what kind of a flower it is, it definitely isn't a lily. 94 Rose: It's a flower, [consoling my attempt, very kindly] (Int: R#28)
Irene Linklater
Irene, Swampy Cree, Ithiniw, is a mother, a secretary,
an expert seamstress, my boys' auntie, and my friend. Irene
and I had spent weeks talking at her house and out in the community. We planned several times to sit down and tape our
interview. With the weather so warm, her five children, my two and countless nieces and nephews coming and going in and out of the house, taping anything was futile. We finally settled on talking during the seven hour train ride to the
Pas. This was where I made my connection to come home.
Irene and her children were on their way to Winnipeg for a visit.
This interview is only one fragment of the numerous discussions that we had on culture, education, and art. The following narrative describes her learning experiences in and out of school, sharing skills, and passing on the culture to future generations.
Learning: At home. Irene started beading when she was about ten years old, taught by her mom.
I think the first time was when she was making moccasins. What she did with us was, she's give us some beads. She gave us beads, thread, and hide and she just showed us how to do it. So we were on our own and we did our first two patterns. But is was really crooked, I remember. It wasn't really... Me and my sister Maggie. And after that she showed us how to do it, you know, with the beads in a straight line and use another needle and pull them through, two or three at a time. I wasn't 95 very good at it, and I dropped it for a while. When I was a teenager, [laugh] (Int: I#l)
Learning from Elders. Irene takes an active role in
community affairs. She continues her learning and adopting
some of the cultural practices that she has picked up from
her meetings with people on her travels.
I usually go on a lot of business travels. All these people I meet, all the people from all over to. As I was talking to other people I started to know about the colors. What colors resemble [represent]. And, ah, mostly on my travels, just talking to people, talking to elders. I started to know the colors, what the colors mean.
I started to know about the culture about the colors, what colors to use. You know, what colors, the significance of the-colors... I used to sew anything that comes up, but know I know what colors to sew, what ribbons to use. (Int: I#2)
Schooling. Ironically, it was Irene's school experience that prompted her to start to learn about her cultural heritage. Irene was motivated to learn about her culture due to the sense of loss of her culture and confusion about her cultural identity. She attended the day school in
Pukatawagan that was taught by nuns up until 1984.
First of all I, em, I guess I was lost. I didn't really know what I was. Because, em, we were always taught by nuns. From grade one to nine I was taught my nuns. We were not allowed to speak our own language. And....
You weren't even allowed to talk about it. You weren't even allowed to speak your own culture. I guess w^ were taught to think white and I didn't know what to tftink. I didn' t know where I was, I didn' t know who I wa,^, 'Til I went down to high school. When I was fourteen. I went out to high school in grade ten. So, I know about 96 culture shock, I was really shocked, [laughing lightly] (Int: I#3)
It was not any easier for Irene in Brandon. She had
always been a straight "A" student and was suddenly getting
"D's". This was a very rude awakening for her.
They always looked down on me you know. I wasn't allowed, you know, if I answered a question they would ignore me. If I put my hand up my teacher would ignore me, just as if I wasn't there. If I was doing all right, you know, if I had, ah, in my test I would always end up with fifty. I could never understand that. I always had a D in everything I did. But finally, when I was in grade twelve, I started talking for myself. I told them you know, "Give me a chance, I know I could do it, I am just as smart as anybody else." That is when I started speaking up for myself. I had enough. I said, "Enough of this." I went and talked to all the teachers, I said "Give me a chance, you're not giving me a chance at all. I do good work." You know sometimes I was the top student in there but they wouldn't recognize that. Because of my... because I was an Indian. And they thought I was stupid. (Int: I#4)
After that, Irene talked to all of her teachers. All of her marks went up to being As again. That year, she was the only
Native person to graduate with honors.
Teaching and sharing knowledge. Irene talks about how she shared her skills with students and teachers in her high school. She continues this practice by sharing ideas and skills with other people in Pukatawagan.
So the other thing I taught in grade twelve was sewing.
I went and talked with the teacher. One of the teacher asked me, you know...I guess everybody was using, sewing machines and said, " I don't know how to use a sewing machine, I'd never used a sewing machine in my life! But I know how to stitch. I do really good stitches.. I 97 make them urn, what do you call those blankets where you put those.... [quilts].
I made a quilt by hand and I made little stuffed animals by hand and I taught them how to do beadwork. In grade twelve I taught that, because I started talking to these teachers and said, you know, "I know how to do all that, but, you know, I just don't know how to use a sewing machine. But I know how to stitch." So with some of the materials I made, I sold that to the school, for [to] the teachers. So I had a chance to teach what I was taught, to them. After I got to know them they were really nice, they were kind to me, That, you know, I couldn't be that person that they could just ignore, keep ignoring.
Just recently after I graduated I, that's when I started learning how to use a sewing machine.
My teacher taught me how to use it. So she taught me that, and I showed her my stitch work. All the stitches I could make. So, we exchanged our talents. (Int: I#5)
Today, she shares ideas and skills relating to her sewing projects with her friends and neighbors.
What I usually do is talk to my friends, you know, "How do you think this will look if I sew this on to this pattern? On this dress, how do you think I should make it?" Whoever I pass by," How does this look?" I go home and ask the kids, '"Do you like this on your dress" It's like that. I usually just talk to them, get ideas from them. They don't really give you all the ideas because they don't want you to take ... But they still share what they are doing. But you really don't copy, as long as you get those ideas. Don't copy the exact same thing. But she showed me how to do 'fluffs' , you know 'fluffs' and how to sew the ribbons so they will look good. How to sew laces on, how to do a neckline or how to do sleeves... Little things like that. (Int: I#ll)
Lorrie: What keeps you motivated?
Irene: I guess, knowing my work will come out. 98
Lorrie. What it's like when you're done?
Irene: Ya, and the kids are really so proud of what they are wearing cause they know you made it for them and they didn't buy it at the store and you took all that time to make that outfit. And that really makes them proud of what you are doing. I think that I get a lot of more satisfaction from making my own. When I get the kids to go out and display their own outfits. Ya, I get a lot of satisfaction from that. And I don't think that I sold any of my work, I usually just give my work away.
Lorrie: That's not the key reason.
Irene: No that's not. For me it's just doing the work and making someone else happy. (Int: I#ll.l)
Art: School art. Irene talks briefly about the art
class from her high school. Her idea of art is very much
related to a Euro-Western notion of fine arts.
I took art. I even had great marks there too. I had "A's" there too. [We learned] Just color schemes, you know which colors, the color wheel. You know, just basically, you know, just drew this person there. So that's what I did. That was pretty easy for me. But I didn't know that I had that kind of talent. What ever they said, I just did it. You know, but I didn't know that I was that talented., [laugh together] So I surprised myself too, But I haven't pursued that either, art. (Int: I#12)
Art of the Ithiniw. When asked about the art of the
Ithiniw, Irene connected it to culture and community.
Art of the Ithiniw... urn... [pause]. I don't know. For me it is just bringing people together. Ithiniw art...Because I've always been taught to respect other people. (Int: I#10) 99 As a respected beader and seamstress in the community, she was stumped when asked about her role as an artist. She described artists and herself in this way:
I think of an artist as somebody making drawings or selling their drawings. That's how I see an artist. I don't see myself as an artist. I'm not really sure how to describe [who she is as a beader, artisan, artist.] I guess, I just figured, you know, my ancestors did it so why can't I ? [defying defining, intrinsic in culture and daily living] (Int: I#12)
Teaching: Parents teaching children. Irene talks about parental obligation to teach children as much as they can.
She hopes that if a child has the opportunity to learn the culture that the child will choose to continue to pass this knowledge on. Both exposure to the culture and teaching are important parts of assuring a future of the culture for the children (Int: I#6).
I was trying to show my daughter how to make fish, she's ten years old. I told her, "When I was ten years old, my mom put a tub of fish in front of me and I had to make all that." Here, I gave her one fish and I said," You make it." And I showed her how to do them and she did really pretty good job of doing them. She was really proud of herself. I think that's the only way to teach our children. You know whatever we learn try to teach them as much as possible, 'cause nobody else will take the time to teach them. It's up to you to teach them yourself. 'Cause I know some girls my age don't even know how to make fishes. They were never taught that. And I was very fortunate that my parents did teach me some of the skills I have. So lots of that is gone because we don't teach our children, I guess. Same as the language. My children don't know how to speak Cree. They understand me when I speak, but they can't speak it themselves. Which is very unfortunate. We were always... I guess when we were in 100 school we were scared to speak our language. And I guess we pass it on to our children. Maybe because we don't want them to go through the same hurts and pains we did. When we spoke our language we'd get a slap in the face, or "don't say that." Or "Kneel down for an hour and pray, repent for your sins for speaking your own language!" So this is one of the things I am sorry about that I didn't get to teach my children my language, because I was kind of scared that they would get the same punishment that I did. I guess I will still continue to teach as much as possible. Pass on as much of the culture that is left, but now its more free to learn about the culture than when we were young. (Int: I#6-7)
Teaching for the future. Irene has a very open approach
to education. She would like to see more local people holding
teaching positions in the school (Int: I#9). She also
believes that more exposure of the traditional arts would
also help to teach the children. To bring about this on•
going exposure, she would suggest the community artists show
their work more frequently than only during the Winter Games
and the Summer Games (Int: I#9). She believes that
everyone, regardless of their heritage, should have the
opportunity to learn about everything.
Everybody should be taught about anything. That way they'll understand all the cultures and everybody will understand each other. And, maybe one of these days we will all live in harmony! No one is better than the other. I think that's what we need. [to] Work together in harmony. I think that if that had happened, many people wouldn't have suffered, Our people wouldn't have suffered that way. (Int: I#8)
Irene thinks that things may have been different for her people if the Catholic Church hadn't moved in, if somehow
Pukatawagan had been missed on the map. 101
Then maybe we could have had.. We would have been a very proud people on the reserve if they did miss us. Because we would have still had that respect for each other and that unity that we all lost. (Int: I#14)
She has some hope that things will get better in the future.
I see that coming, but it's very, very slowly. I think that we are just starting to realize that our Elders are very, very...that we really need them. We are starting turn to our Elders. (Int: I#14)
Throughout the layers of these women's narratives an intricate pattern is woven. We can see how tightly the learning and teaching of cultural and artistic content can lead to a sense satisfaction and pride for both the learner and teacher. The following chapter will present an analysis of these findings. For now we ponder these women's concerns that are echoed on Fran's statement: "I've probably just come to realize, now that it needs to be carried on" (Int:
Fl#9). 102 CHAPTER FIVE
Discussion of Analysis
In this chapter I address the emergent themes that have
been illustrated in Chapter Four. There is a data analysis
model, Formal and informal learning and teaching experiences
of art and culture, to help illustrate the complexities and
overlapping of these themes as they are woven through the
stories of the participants. This chapter is organized in
two parts, the discussion of the analysis and an epilogue.
Discussion of the analysis is sub-divided into three
sections.
In the first section, three of the major themes are
discussed on their own as they relate to the participants'
narratives. These themes are: Learning, Teaching, and Art
and Culture. They are presented in this order.
The second section discusses the intersections among the
first three themes. The compound intersection of the first
three themes is the third major theme, Pride. This theme is
intertwined in all of the other areas and is discussed in
this capacity. The summary and implications for curricular development make up the third part of the discussion.
The second section of this chapter is an Epilogue which includes personal reflections on the writing and research process, implications for future research and final comments. 103 A model of participants' learning and teaching
experiences is presented to illustrate the connections
between Learning, Teaching, Art and Culture, and Pride.
Major Themes
Learning
The teacher/learner relationships were key to positive
learning experiences for the participants. These favored
learning experiences involved good relations with their
teachers whether it be a family member or a school teacher
(Int: D#2, 3; J#2; F2#4; M#8; I#l, 5; R#7).
The participants commented on the effects of
encouragement and their desire for approval from their
families, communities and peers (Int: M#8; M#4.1; J#2;F2#3-
4; D#8; I#8). This aspect is also discussed in the section with Art and Culture.
The generational learning, or informal learning, that was described by participants always included aspects of their cultural traditions. The participants found demonstration and observation to be a valuable and effective teaching methods in their own learning experiences, regardless of the activity to be learned (Int: D#2-3;J#3-4;
F2#3-4; M#8; R#17, 27; I#6-7). Children are often expected to learn through involvement and observation. Children's skills and knowledge are directly related to activities
(Farrell, 1993). 104 Rose talks about old ways of preparing hides:
The moose hide and caribou hide, it's store bought [now]. Where at the time when we were growing up, you get it off the land and it was the Elders that fixed it. I did some help myself, tanning hide. Like scraping, the scraping the hide. Scraping the hair off the hide, that plus, you know, like my family, the oldest ones, myself and the twins would pitch in. You know, like, they'd have to. . . my dad always made my mom the scrapers and the stuff to use from bones of animals. It is interesting to watch these things being made, the tools. Even I watched him make needles for my mom. (Int: R#9)
The notion of gift and creativity in artistic practices was
strongly linked to ancestral artistic practices, a gift from
the Creator, and learned from parents and Elders (Int: R#18;
M#4; I#7).
Rose: I guess it's from my ancestors, its from, you know, what you learn from your Elders. Like I learned, just from a dream that you see, you know from way, you know, way back.
As indicated in the analysis model, there is also
learning also occurs outside of the intersection boundaries with Teaching. This accounts for the learning through an
implicit or hidden curriculum in school. Some sense of loss
of culture can be linked to curricular omission in the school
(Int: D#10; J#2; F#2-3; M#9; R#7;I#3,).
Dionne tells about an interaction with her high school art teacher: I did a picture of a Chinese couple and it turned out really good. I thought that was really neat.
Lorrie: Where did that idea come from?
Dionne: Miss Kelly, she was showing me this book and I did it in pencil crayon and it turned out really heavy. Miss Kelly had suggested that. She suggested everything 105 else but Native. I didn't know if she was... didn't want to offend me or, I don't know why she didn't. (Int: D#10)
The implicit, or hidden, curriculum is neither entirely good
nor bad. What teachers teach in class is never entirely what
they had intended to teach (Eisner, 1991). It also represents the learning that is student initiated where the
learner seeks knowledge without contact with an "educator"
(Int: I#l, 6,). This may involve media exploration on her own, as well as book learning (Int: I#12, D#10).
Teaching
In the participants' schooling experiences, the content of the art classes tended to be studio focused and lacked cultural content entirely. There was no discussion of historical or contemporary art practices of any other person or group (Int: D#2, 7; J#3-4; F#2-3).
Banks (1981) advocates a curriculum that reflects the ethnic learning styles of the students within the school community. Many students find the school culture alien, hostile and self-defeating. Banks (1981) suggests that schools should aim to "help students be aware of and able to acquire cultural and cognitive alternatives, thus enabling them to function successfully within other cultural environments as well as their own" (p.157). This was hardly the case for those who attended residential schools, boarding schools and Catholic-governed day schools. At these schools 106 the policy of deculturalization was prominent in the
participants' experiences (Int: J#2,3; F#1.3; R#7; M#ll;
I#3) .
Melanie: It was very hard because we were away from our families. Being young, I didn't want to go to a strange place. I always cried myself to sleep because I wanted to come home. I didn't want to stay there. Eventually I quit half ways because I couldn't stand it. I came home. (Int M#9.2)
The children were often removed from their cultural
environment which often meant their homes and families. The
children were also denied their cultural practices and
traditional languages. Today there are more subtle forms of
cultural repression that are evident through exclusion of art
forms that reflect the cultural heritage of the student body
in the art class (Int: D#9, 10).
The Teaching sections of the diagram that are outside of
the center circle, Art and Culture, represent the case where
another content area is being taught. When the Teaching does
not intersect, Learning represents the case where the
opportunity for meaningful learning was available but
realized by the others. Fran talks about the missed
opportunities:
Mary was an excellent basket maker and she has like thousands of grandchildren, but none of them learned how to do baskets. They thought that she would be here forever, I guess, to teach them. (Int: F2#5)
Art and Culture 107 The reasons that the participants involve themselves in
their art forms tend to be strongly related to pleasing other
people (Int: D#5,8; J#4,7, 8, 8.1; I#ll; M#5). The forms of
art that they make vary with each participant as do the
materials that they use. Some of the women draw, and paint
while others sew, spin wool, knit, bead, and chew designs
into birch bark. They have varying definitions of what art
is. For the participants there is an undeniable link between
art and culture. This involves traditional art forms,
cultural symbolism, metaphorical representation of culture as
well as spiritual beliefs, language acquisition and community
unity (Int: J#2; J2#3; M#5, 7; I#2,10; F2#3-4; D#10; R#18).
Talent and creativity are closely associated with their
art practices (Int: J#7-8; D#9; F2#3-4; R#18.1; M#4.1,ll;
I#12). Melanie's quote illustrates this:
Melanie: You know, a lot of Elders told me, "You have a gift, but you have to find it." So, I found my gift is making stuff like that, creating stuff, beading, moccasins, anything. (Int: M#4)
There is a strong sense of motivation among the participants to learn and practice the art skills as part of their daily lives (Int: R#17; F2#5.2).
Irene: I guess, I just figured, you know... my ancestors did it so why can't I. (Int: I#12)
Intersections
Learning / Teaching 108 Motivation for the participants to learn artistic
cultural traditions as adults relates to their loss of
culture, whether it be in contemporary society or from their
previous schooling experiences. The motivation these women
have for teaching varies among participants. Their teachers
were also motivated for varying reasons which were dependent
upon the education policies and the teacher/student
relationship. The teachers in the schools had different
reasons for teaching than the mothers and aunts of the same
students.
Five of the six participants, who are mothers, talk
about the obligation that they have to teach their children
their culture (Int: F#4; R#2.1; M#8; J2#l; I#6). Fran also
talks about the pleasure that her mom has knowing that Fran
has learned to knit from her.
It is something in my history and something that my mom is very happy that I have learned how to do. She is [was] always trying to teach us. None of my sisters or brothers do [knit]. They all know how, but none of them do it. (Int: F#l)
The participants' positive learning experiences are reflected through their reactions and responses as adults to not only continue their own learning but to also teach what they know (F2#5, 5.2). They seem to feel obligated to pass on their knowledge and skills. While describing their own teaching practices, they frequently describe the methods by which they were taught. The participants adopted similar 109 methods of teaching when their learning experiences were
positive and meaningful (Int: F#5; R#27-28; M#7-8; I#l,6).
Sharing knowledge and skills with.peers is yet another
area that appeared repeatedly throughout the women's stories.
Rose tells how she taught her class-mates, while at
university, how to do birch bark chewings (Int: R#25). Irene
tells how she taught her peers and her high school teacher
how to hand stitch, in exchange for being shown how to use a
sewing machine (Int: I#5). Irene still shares her ideas and
skills with her peers in Pukatawagan. Irene suggests that
others who are interested in the same art form should:
Irene: Show other people what you can do, because they can get other ideas from you. And you could learn from them at the same time. (Int I#ll)
Learning / Art and Culture
Although many of the participants learned some of their
skills in their youth, they continue their cultural and
artistic learning with a sense of obligation. This also
directly relates to their dedication to teach (Int: F2#5.2;
M#5.1). Their motivation to learn also seems to stem from
their loss of culture and identity (Int: I#3), as they now
seek out information from Elders in an effort to make up for
their loss of culture and to ensure a future culture for
their children (Int: I#14).
Culture is learned, transmitted, maintained and modified through language, behavior, ritual, play and art. Culture 110 has more subjective, universal, collective and individual dimensions. To be effective in cultural teaching and cross- cultural teaching and responding to art, teachers need to become more aware of their own cultural patterning, less ethno-centric, and less judgmental (McFee, 1966).
Teaching / Art and Culture
The conscious teaching of culture usually occurred outside the school system in a family or community setting
(Int: D#2-4; F#1.5; M#l, 4, 8; R#l, 2, 2.1; I#l). Although infrequent, exceptions to this were mentioned.
Jenny talks about beading while in school (Int: J#3-4).
Jenny goes on to describe the headbands that the marching band members would wear with the feathers sticking straight up in the back. The design that she described was not only painfully stereotypical, but also extremely removed from any
West coast First Nations' tradition. Interestingly enough, it was Hollywood that was responsible for the creation of beaded headbands (Bataille and Silet, 1980), as a device to hold braided wigs on white actors. Over the years this image has permeated both non-native and Native cultures.
Indian people themselves, for so long exposed to the
stereotypical Indian through comics, books, sculptures
and paintings and, of course, Hollywood and television,
have become somewhat hazy at times about the exact
source of what they wear and carry. (Pakes, 1987, p. 43) Ill Jenny had fond memories of the marching band and beading
decorations for the uniforms, regardless of the implications.
Cultural activities, as reflected through Jenny's
testimony, are all too often trivialized (Chalmers, 1992;
Stuhr, Sleeter and Grant, 1991). Fran praised the mini- program in her Squamish language class in high-school (Int:
F#5). Dionne mentioned the time that local artist Bradley
Hunt went into her grade two classroom to teach about traditional Salish designs (Int: D#2). Rose instigated the involvement of local resource people in her school while she was a student at the Catholic day school on the reserve (Int:
R#9-10, 22-23).
Rose: After the coming of the nuns, when they were teaching here, they used to get. resources like trappers, fishermen and you know the older ladies there of the community, like grannies and , you know like, to come in and talk to us, legends. After I left [Pukatawagan] everything changed. I wonder if the teachers that came here [after] did that. (Int: R#9-10)
Compound Intersection: Pride
Learning / Teaching intersect throughout the entire center circle Art and Culture. The fourth major emergent theme, Pride, comes when the three initial themes: Learning,
Teaching, Art and Culture, overlap and intersect. "For experience to be educational students must have some investment in it" (Eisner, 1979, p.50). Many of the schooling or formal learning experiences of the participants did not include culturally relevant content. The informal, 112 or passed-on learning experiences, as told by the
participants, were culturally relevant and personally
meaningful. When talking about Art and Culture, the
participants always included aspects of Learning and Teaching
in their discussions. From the testimonies presented in this
thesis, it is evident that effective teaching of relevant cultural art content that results in meaningful learning
leads to increased self knowledge, confidence and pride
(Int: D#4, 11; F#9; F2#304; R#22-23).
Some of the time the participants talk explicitly about pride, and at other times it is implicit. In either case,
Pride is woven throughout their stories as something that was missed in much of their school experience. It is also something that they desire for themselves, their children and other community members.
Fran: Share the knowledge, because they all have to do with how people feel about their spiritualism. For me this is what my spiritualism is. The Salish people and my mom's history, especially learning to do what my mom does. It makes me feel really good. It does! I was very proud when I made ..[toques].. When I made it when I was sixteen or seventeen, I wasn't. It didn't mean anything to me. It does now. So I am very proud of my toques. When I made one, I think, "Oh, this is great!" [I am] so happy and proud of it an I keep on knitting. (Int: F#16)
Pepper and Henry (1991) remind us that we need to regard the student as a wholistic being. "The cycle of nature, and life, is a circle, without beginning and without end. While individuals are unique beings, to try and understand them 113 separate from these aspects and cycles is to isolate them
from a large part of who they are" (p. 145). Throughout the
analysis, linkages between the women, their stories and
communities have remain constant. Art and culture, teaching
and learning are woven together in the familial fabric of the
community. In many of the stories, this was most often the
case. Rose speaks fondly of her childhood memories spent
with her family learning what her parents had learned from
their parents.
There were books, no TV, no books. There were radios. There were radios then, because my parents had one. You know, like, it was a hobby [birch bark biting]. It was sort of a hobby that they loved doing together as a family and like I said earlier, it was passed on from their parents too and they must have done it a lot when they were young, themselves. They got good, and good, and good at it and then it is sort of competing with one another. I loved just watching them laughing at one another you know. My dad was really good at it. (Int: R#21)
Melanie reflects on her learning experiences and describes how she is passing on some of her knowledge to her sons.
I learned how to do beadwork by watching my mom. Her showing me how to do crafts like how to make necklaces, how to make moccasins... Like for my son, Michel, he is six years old. He has his own beads that he strings, once in a while. Every time I do beadwork, he will bring them out and start doing beadwork with me. All my boys are into doing beadwork. Every time I do beadwork they are there too, making necklaces and stringing beads. (Int: M#8)
A lack of pride is evident when the learning, teaching and art and culture do not intersect. Melanie described a commonly occurring situation in the school where she was 114 working (Int: M#7) where none of the students would admit
that they were "a Native". All of the students in that
classroom had Native ancestry. This school was located on a
Cree reserve.
In response to the undeniable lack of knowledge of the
cultural arts and the lack of pride among many of the
students, the participants believe that there needs to be
more exposure to the arts and culture on a daily basis.
Waste in education (Dewey, 1963) from the standpoint of the
child occurs when she or he is not able to use her or his
life experiences in any complete and free way.in school and
at the same time is unable to apply daily in life what is
learned in school. This reinforces the importance of
community involvement in curriculum planning.
Sterling (1992) compares two models for contemporary
Native education pedagogy that have roots in the teaching
models of two of her great-grandmothers. One method, which was strict and authoritarian in nature, was effective in
getting many children to achieve short-term goals. Whereas
the other grandmother's teaching method was more egalitarian
and fostered a climate of trust and acceptance with her
grand-children. Sterling tells how the teachings of Yetko,
the second grandmother, had life-long effects and have been passed on in content and method through the next three generations. She suggests that "as educators we may not have 115 the option to overhaul the educational system, or to change
society's philosophy of self-concept. But we can, like
Yetko, choose a teaching style that is genuine, respectful,
and empathetic" (p.173). Valuable generational teachings and
teaching methods offer implications for. contemporary school curriculum and teaching practices.
The testimony of the participants also push for
increased exposure of cultural arts and utilization of community resource people as they are central if there is to be a positive and lasting change (Int: D#9,11;. J#6-10; J2#3;
F2#5.2, 4; M#ll, 12,14;R#23; I#7, 13).
Irene: Have some people coming into the school, coming to the homes to talk to children about the old culture. Talk to them about their own experiences and show them their art. That would be the best way. (Int: I#7)
Melanie: You can't learn just from a book. You have do it from the people, the community! (Int: M#ll)
Rose: I would get [local] people to get teaching... I'd get the school board and say "Heh, this is what should be going on, you know!" So, in other words, the kids would learn more and more about their culture and how it was in the past, not only the present because everything is so different. (Int: R#23)
Banks (1981) states that a multi-ethnic curriculum should provide students with continuous opportunities to develop a better sense of self. This includes three areas: help to develop accurate self identities; improve self concepts and greater self understanding. A curriculum that is more reflective of the students ethnicity, in this case First 116 Nations, should also help to develop a better sense of self identities among the students.
Summary and Implications
Summary
The following questions formed the foundation of the interview schedule (see appendix A). The participants responded to the questions and elaborated their key concerns, stories and ideas. Question 1: What (learning) experiences have influenced their decision to pursue life-long art making? 2: Who were their role models? What are/were their inspirations? 3: What does it mean to be a First Nation woman artist living in a First Nations' community? The answers and testimonies of the participants offered further insight to the relationship of learning and teaching of art and culture.
In this collection of segmented narratives there is an urgency of a shared commitment to the responsibility of teaching the children their culture, traditions, and language. The learning experiences that have influenced the participants to pursue life-long art-making vary among the women. However, the positive influences usually involved encouragement from teachers and family. The moce- negative learning experience that influenced these wosen. is one where all aspects of their cultures, languages and histories were absent. These experiences usually occurred a school system 117 that often left them feeling alienated from their own
culture. This sense of cultural loss has motivated many of
them to learn all they can about their own histories,
heritages and cultural traditions.
The role models that these women have looked up to were
people that they knew intimately, whether it be a
friend/teacher, aunt, mother, or father. Their motivations
and inspirations for making their art are linked closely to
pleasing other people, self satisfaction, and cultural
preservation.
The roles that these women play within their communities
are plentiful. They each play multiple familial roles as
daughters, mothers, aunts, and grandmother, and wives.
Within the larger communities they are role models and
teachers to both youth and their peers with whom they work on
similar artistic endeavors.
The means of acquiring information, and artistic skills
are strongly linked to sharing skills with others,
observation of parents, relatives and Elders. There is an
urgency around teaching and passing on wisdom and knowledge,
to ensure a future for their cultures.
Implications
The findings of this study relate directly to teaching practice within First Nations' communities. There is solid evidence to support the need and desire for community-based 118 art education within First Nations' communities. It is
strongly suggested by all of the participants that the local
artists and Elders be invited into the school on a regular
basis. The need for this has been recognized in Sechelt,
where a program has been initiated at the elementary school,
which involves Elders working with elementary teachers and
students. At the time of this study, the high school had not,
adopted this initiative.
There is a clear connection between the findings of this
study and one conducted by Colleen Anderson-Millard (1986).
Her study focused on culturally relevant materials in a visual design module for First Nations. Although her study dealt with student design ability, the study showed an increased enthusiasm among the students when local Native content material were used. Kathleen Forman (1987) researched how to create an improved and effective curriculum for Native
Canadian classrooms. Her study concluded that there is a need for community involvement in the curriculum. Responses from a review regarding this topic indicated that this 'would be beneficial to all Canadian students and educators.
Many other educators and researchers (Banks, 1981; Doll*
1989; Duncum, 1988; Klien and Tye, 1973; Re^&re, 1982;
Linklater, 1978; Stuhr, Petrovich-Mwaniki^ and Wasson, 1992) also support the importance of the eommujiity in all aspects of school and curricular development. Unfortunately, as 119 things are now, there is often little connection between the
curriculum of the school and life at home (Doll, 1989).
The women's testimonies also imply that there is a need
for curricular reform and teacher education reform so that
the school experience for First Nations' students will
reflect and be sensitive to their histories, traditions and
overall cultural identities. Teachers should have a
knowledge and understanding of the social, cultural, ethnic
and religious make-up of the community in which they teach
(Rebore, 1982; Linklater, 1978). It is not enough to be
aware of the needs of the community. Teachers must
incorporate this knowledge into their teaching practices.
The findings of this study relate closely to previous
research that has addressed issues of practice, as stated
above, as well as educational theory. Banks (1981) argues
that it is necessary for the school staff to reflect the
ethnic pluralism that exists in the American (Canadian)
society if the school is to be truly multi-ethnic and
sensitive to the needs of ethnicity. This has very special
implications for First Nations' schools where teachers are predominantly non-Native and not from the community.
Implicit messages sent to students are disenfranchising, marginalizing and devastating. "Children learn as much, if not more via the hidden curriculum" (Duncum, 1988, p.93).
There needs to be a curricula and adequate resources that 120 reflect the local population. Steps should be taken to
ensure that the dominant culture within the schools of First
Nations' communities is First Nations.
Epilogue
Personal Reflections
Writing and Research
In this final section I describe and discuss some
personal concerns about conducting this research, writing
this study and implications for future research.
I entered into this study as a white educated woman with
intentions to record what I believed to be the true stories
of others. There have been many moments throughout this
study when I have questioned my involvement, as an outsider,
in this research. During one of my last bouts of "concern"
near the end of the study, I received a very timely letter
from Melanie. As both a friend and study participant, she
reassured me that "it" was all right. This incident really
brought home to me the importance of the relationship between
the researcher and the participants within a study of this
nature. Mutual trust, respect and communication between the writer^and those who are written about are vital to this
research.
Infocsaation about my personal interactions with people mentioned in -this study have been -documented in both -«j8g*t.icit and in subtle terms. Initially, 1 saw this as a way to 121 provide the reader with further insight. This type of public
self disclosure left me feeling uneasy at best. Yet, upon
finishing, I do not regret having included some personal
experiences within these pages. I hope it will clarify the
context in which the discourse took place.
I have tried to remain inclusive in my research in that
I have invited the participants' input into the editing of
their testimonies. I have also tried to write in a language
that will not alienate an average person who participates in
an academic study (hooks, 1990).
The dilemmas that I encountered while writing this
thesis were multi-faceted. My initial dilemma was both
organizational and conceptual. How was I to organize these
non-linear testimonies into linear text and still retain
their essential integrity? After much consideration I
utilized the analysis model to illustrate the complexities of
these narratives. Some researchers have likened this
organization and writing process to quilt-making (Haig-Brown,
1990; Farrell, 1993). The metaphor that I feel is the most
connected to my research and writing process is that of a
textual/conceptual collage artist, where I selected, layered,
arranged and juxtaposed to complete a balanced coherent work.
Future research
There were many emergent themes which could lead to seemingly endless research possibilities. There seemed to be 122 a .genuine interest by some Native people in making items like
the popular dream catchers and other Native crafts from
pattern books. It would be interesting to explore this
further in terms of their interests are in making and
marketing such items.
There was a concern among participants that current
culture, First Nations' histories'and current Native affairs
were lacking in school curricula. This could lead to a study
on colonization in contemporary school experiences that might
entail an extensive and critical look at school curriculum
and teaching practices to see what is"and is not being
taught.
Since participants frequently commented on their
personal relationships with their teachers, the impact of the
student-teacher relationship may be another area that
warrants investigation.
These women spoke about a variety of preferred art-
making and learning settings. Many of their favored learning
experiences occurred outside of the traditional school
environment. It would be of interest to pursue the impact of
traditional and alternative school settings on the students
learning experiences.
Many of the women connected their art making to their
spirituality. This topic would also be worth studying.
Finally, pride was one of the major themes to emerge through 123 analysis. The investigation of pride and self-esteem building through learning and teaching experiences would be a
natural extension to this thesis.
A Final Word
These women have knowledge, skills and wisdom to pass on to future generations of youth, not only to those who wish to pursue art making, but to all youth, so that they might be more sensitive to and knowledgeable about the art, culture and artists in their community. Their stories bring to light the integral role that positive learning experiences of artistic cultural content plays in the building of individual and group pride.
I came to this study having a fairly solid sense of what it meant to make art as an artist. I also had a reasonable working definition of what I thought art was. As I leave this study I am less certain about who artists are and what art isn't. My definitions of art and artists have been challenged and expanded throughout this study. With continuation of this type of research I hope to add to the available curricular resource materials in a way that will be more equitable to both race and gender.
In some ways this study is also my story, one of travel, discovery, deliberation, reconsideration, requestioning, and so on. My journey continues. This has been one researcher's 124 account of a journey in which I sought to hear some First
Nation women artists' narratives. 125
Model of Participants' Learning and Teaching Experiences
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Interview Questions Sample
Interview one
• Where did you feel that you received your most valued art
learning experiences?
- Can you tell me about this experience?
How old were you when you first started making your art?
What first got you interested in your art form?
Did you have art classes while you went to (name of
school)?
• Who or what do you think influenced you the most?
• What kinds of changes do you think may have made your
school art experiences more meaningful to you?
• What advice would you offer to a young person who is
interested in becoming an artist?
Interview two
Tell me about your (art form).
- How do you make your art?
- where do you get your ideas for new pieces?
- what keeps you motivated?
When do you do most of your art making?
Tell me about your role as an artist in your community.
What do you think about the growth of this art form here in
your community? 139 What advice would you offer to a young person who is interested in becoming an artist?
Interview three
These questions will be formulated from the contents of the previous two interviews. This time would be used to clarify statements, and comment on topics that were raised earlier.