Exploring Truth and Reconciliation Through the Arts
I received fantastic news on the last day of school in the 2018-2019 term. The Saskatchewan Arts Board has awarded Warman High School and Ray Keighley an artist-in-resident grant. We will be exploring Truth and Reconciliation through the Arts together this year. Our inquiry goal for students is "How can I connect to Truth and Reconciliation?"
Art 10
Medicinal Plants
Art 10 students went on a medicine walk at Wanuskewin. While there students also participated in a tipi raising and learned about the various meaning of the poles according to the Plains Cree. The next day Anna Leighton, a researcher who completed her master's degree studying plants in Stanley Mission and Pelican Narrows (Woodland Cree regions) in 1979, came to our class and talked about her experience and some of what she learned. Finally, we looked at Christi Belcourt's "Medicines to Help Us" art cards, which depict various medicinal plants historically used by the Metis people.
My understanding is that medicinal plants are considered sacred, and so we have sought permission from our knowledge keeper on our project to photograph medicinal plants and draw them. Art 10 students will share our knowledge about these plants' properties through these drawings. We will be using a Renaissance grisaille technique with pencil crayons to try and create lifelike depictions. Below are images of the various plants we photographed at Wanuskewin and several others that we learned about and that I (Ms. Gerrard) photographed.
The specific plants our guide spoke to were: the Trembling Aspen, Chokecherries, Rose Hips, Hawthorne berries, and Cat tails. Below the following seeds used by the Plains Cree are encapsulated in jars. They are: Crawling Juniper, Amaranth Plain, Marshmallow Root, Tobacco, Sage, Wolf Willow Seeds, Beaver Berry, Juniper Berries, Muskeg Leaves, Rosehips, Dandelion Roots, Raspberry Leaf, Bear Berry, Stinging Nettle, Dogwood Willow, Cat Tail, Licorice Root, Creeping Juniper, Bergamot, Sweetgrass, Prairie Crocus, Flax Seed, and Hissop.
I have found additional resources on the internet regarding medicinal plants. You can check out this link about traditional Metis medicine and healing. This unit plan, published by the U of S, also has lots of information about various plants.
Art 10 students went on a medicine walk at Wanuskewin. While there students also participated in a tipi raising and learned about the various meaning of the poles according to the Plains Cree. The next day Anna Leighton, a researcher who completed her master's degree studying plants in Stanley Mission and Pelican Narrows (Woodland Cree regions) in 1979, came to our class and talked about her experience and some of what she learned. Finally, we looked at Christi Belcourt's "Medicines to Help Us" art cards, which depict various medicinal plants historically used by the Metis people.
My understanding is that medicinal plants are considered sacred, and so we have sought permission from our knowledge keeper on our project to photograph medicinal plants and draw them. Art 10 students will share our knowledge about these plants' properties through these drawings. We will be using a Renaissance grisaille technique with pencil crayons to try and create lifelike depictions. Below are images of the various plants we photographed at Wanuskewin and several others that we learned about and that I (Ms. Gerrard) photographed.
The specific plants our guide spoke to were: the Trembling Aspen, Chokecherries, Rose Hips, Hawthorne berries, and Cat tails. Below the following seeds used by the Plains Cree are encapsulated in jars. They are: Crawling Juniper, Amaranth Plain, Marshmallow Root, Tobacco, Sage, Wolf Willow Seeds, Beaver Berry, Juniper Berries, Muskeg Leaves, Rosehips, Dandelion Roots, Raspberry Leaf, Bear Berry, Stinging Nettle, Dogwood Willow, Cat Tail, Licorice Root, Creeping Juniper, Bergamot, Sweetgrass, Prairie Crocus, Flax Seed, and Hissop.
I have found additional resources on the internet regarding medicinal plants. You can check out this link about traditional Metis medicine and healing. This unit plan, published by the U of S, also has lots of information about various plants.
Treaties
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Video to show with treaty simulation exercise. Taught to me by Cort, whom adapted it from Lyndon Linklater's simulation activity.
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Resources
Tobacco is a medicinal plant in Indigenous culture, and is typically offered as a gift in exchange for knowledge when an Indigenous person comes to speak. This is a good how-to guide from Carleton University for creating tobacco offerings.
The OTC website has lots of resources, including speakers and print resources, to facilitate treaty education.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Education mandates that teachers teach students about Treaties. This is the document that lists outcomes and indicators by grade.
The OTC website has lots of resources, including speakers and print resources, to facilitate treaty education.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Education mandates that teachers teach students about Treaties. This is the document that lists outcomes and indicators by grade.