2021 Johanna Sam - Grease Trail Storytelling Project Creating Indigen [retrieved_2025-03-09]

Teaching Reflection on the Grease Trail Digital Storytelling Project

• Authors: Johanna Sam, Corly Schmeisser, Jan Hare (Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia)

Background

• Indigenous learners and community members face exclusion in online learning environments, leading to an educational digital divide.

• Digital practices may misrepresent Indigenous knowledge, fostering stereotypes and deficit thinking about Indigenous communities and histories.

• Emphasis on educational approaches that provide voice, agency, and space for Indigenous peoples.

Aim

• Reflection on a teaching enhancement project combining land-based learning, Indigenous storytelling, and digital media.

Project Overview

• Grease Trail Digital Storytelling Project created by Indigenous pre-service teachers.

  • Focus on preserving and making accessible Indigenous histories, stories, and memories linked to local landscapes.

  • Principles: Respect, Relevance, Responsibility, Reciprocity (4 R's).

  • Documenting and curating Indigenous knowledge traditions through digital storytelling.

Discussion

• The project serves as a valuable resource for engaging with Indigenous digital storytelling for educational and preservation purposes.

• Integrates land, story, and memory into teaching and learning settings.

Introduction to Indigenous Digital Storytelling

• Indigenous learners are marginalized in virtual education, lacking access and representation.

• Digital storytelling is a mode for expressing Indigenous histories and worldviews, reconnecting people with their cultural roots.

• Quote: Digital stories represent a “living breath” that connects Indigenous peoples to their ancestors and cultural teachings.

Importance of Storytelling

• Stories are essential in keeping the spirit of a memory alive through interaction and re-telling (Manuelito, 2015).

• Digital storytelling fosters pride, ownership, and creative expression.

• Engages Indigenous youth and promotes intergenerational exchange via technology use.

Digital Storytelling Essentials

• Definition: Combines text, audio, imagery, and narrative for story creation.

• Also known as digital documentaries, digital essays, and interactive storytelling.

• Seven essential elements as per Bernard R. Robin:

  • Point of View: Central perspective of the story.

  • Dramatic Question: Engages viewer’s interest.

  • Emotional Content: Makes the story personal.

  • Gift of Voice: Personalizing storytelling enhances context comprehension.

  • Soundtrack: Enhances emotional connectivity.

  • Economy: Balancing content to maintain engagement without overwhelming the audience.

  • Pacing: Regulating narrative speed for effective delivery.

Indigenous Digital Storytelling

• Educational strategies that empower Indigenous voices and narratives, countering dominant stereotypes.

• Example: Indigenous youth documenting their realities through digital stories motivates cultural revitalization.

• Digital storytelling serves to correct historical inaccuracies and preserve community narratives by Indigenous peoples.

Projects within the Grease Trail Digital Storytelling Initiative

• Highlighted community-oriented stories:

  1. “Canada’s Genocide: Highway of Tears”

     • Focuses on violence against Indigenous women along Highway 16, advocating for social justice and remembrance.

     • Links to broader narratives of systemic violence and calls to action against Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).

  2. “Lhin Desch’osh (Stone Dog) Legend”

     • Incorporates oral traditions and educational perspectives on land rights and language revitalization.

  3. “Sqilye Te Secwe' pemc – The Shuswap Sweathouse”

     • Emphasizes holistic wellness practices, language revival, and community-based education on sweat lodge ceremonies.

The Four Rs Framework in Action

• Utilized as a foundation in the storytelling project:

  • Respect: Acknowledging Indigenous knowledge and diversity.

  • Relevance: Ensuring stories are community-driven and culturally significant.

  • Responsibility: Commitment to community needs and authentic storytelling practices.

  • Reciprocity: Sharing knowledge and resources fosters mutual growth.

Grease Trail Positioning

• Project situated on unceded territories of Indigenous peoples, focusing on land-based experiential learning.

• Collaboration with the Tŝilhqot’in National Government emphasized prioritizing language resource development and storytelling protocols.

Educational Impact of the Project

• Aimed at creating open-access resources addressing specific community needs.

• Engaged pre-service teachers in collaborative storytelling practices that honor Indigenous experiences and histories.

• Designed to support reconciliation and decolonization efforts in education.

Conclusion and Future Directions

• The Grease Trail Digital Storytelling Project serves as a paradigm for integrating Indigenous narratives into educational frameworks.

• Intent to continue enhancing Indigenous education through storytelling and land-based learning methodologies.

• Encourages ongoing exploration of how to further intertwine technology with indigenous storytelling practices in educational contexts.