A story of courage and faith

At the beach with my grandmother who always was teaching it was the most memorable time of my life granny would be cooking fish on the fire the traditional way; “Grandson you can never learn less, only what does not work”. Then she would smile and my soul would warm up she could hug you with just a look. Grandson you must learn to pray in your own language so the Creator Na-us hears you better.

A long time ago a Chief Haa we had ten sons’ TEN Hi-uu! His oldest son was a renowned hunter and gather; and known for his bravery and being the one who was at the front of the whaling canoe chup-its.

A time came when the Chief decided to host a gathering for his people he went to his eldest son and asked him to get a whale to feed the community; this son was proud and puffed up his chest and said I will have the greatest whale by the end of the day it will be most fat and full of blubber to feast on; he set out on the Chup-its and searched all day but with no luck he came back and his father the Haa we was disappointed. The Chief went to the second son and asked him; he was a good hunter but not a good whaler; the older brother who just failed started to laugh at his younger brother; “hhha you’re not a whaler!” The young man said by two suns I will have a whale for the community.

He came back and the canoe was not bringing a whale; the father was sad and went to the third oldest son and asked him to get a whale and the two brothers who were unsuccessful started to laugh and pick on their brother “He is not a hunter or a whaler! He is just a gatherer like a little girl”. This young man gave his word he would find a whale to feed the community; but he too failed in this task; the Chief went all the way to his youngest son; “Son you’re my last hope to get a whale to feed this community” the son said with a smile I will feed the people. All nine brothers started to laugh and pick on this there youngest brother.

The young boy paid no attention to his nine brothers taunting him; the young boy went up the river to pray; there he went into the water and started to pray for the whale; just then a he saw something in the water come to him; it was a Serpent a Hia-kleet! A Hia–kleet had special powers; the serpent spoke to the boy and said; “Put me around your shoulders and I will help you”; the boy did and he turned into a Thunderbird and flew off; from up high he could see where the whales were and he swooped down to pick up the whale and he flew back home and put the whale on the beach and he then turned back in to his human form in front of all his community.

Prayer is powerful grandson learn to pray in your own language; it will give you courage in hard times and give you compassion in good times. Having the courage to change your life can be hard, but in the end you will be a better person; as a young person I took control over my life and picked up a book that encouraged me to explore my life; and soon after a reading my first book , I found myself reading another and found joy. My Grandmother who never went to school taught herself to read by picking up the newspaper; in her last years of her life she was an avid reader and always said to me, “Grandson you always learn, till you breathe your last breath.”

Collaboration by Michael J McCarthy & Dr. Joshua Guilar Traditional Story from the Nuu-chah-nulth

Reflection of Listening to Dr. Brokenleg

”Indigenous storytelling is rooted in the earth. Years upon years of a kinship with the land, life, water and sky have produced a variety of narratives about intimate connections to the earth.”[1] 

The knowledge that permeates our being from our communities and environments shapes who we are and our responses.  I never understood the importance of storytelling until yesterday when I listened to Dr. Martin Brokenleg share his stories and wisdom.

Success of an activity or project is not based on how hard you work or the countless hours of research, it is the level to which others are engaged.    The notion of doing something to or for an individual or community is much less powerful and sustainable than the action of engagement.  This valuable lesson in community development and project management was confirmed through Dr. Brokenleg’s message of not creating dependency, but rather providing opportunities for individuals to find their right place in life and community - meeting individuals and communities where they are.

One of the mandates of the Aboriginal Literacy and Essential Skills Pilot Project is to create community learning plans for 5 of the First Nations Communities on south Vancouver Island.  Through history we have learned that the creation must occur in partnership and in community with those we work with.  We, the project staff, are only the conduit for the activity, the supporting cast.

When projects such as these are undertaken I believe the learning curve is equally challenging for the host organization as it is for recipients of the project activities.  As a project staff we have learned many lessons, the most valuable for me is the importance of meeting communities where they are.

The articulation of the “Circle of Courage” [2]by Dr. Brokenleg reaffirmed for me the importance of belonging, that each of us as members of the Global society needs a place to be.  It is my hope that the creation of Community Learning Plans can assist in the development of more places to be and to learn. 

Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.

Jim Rohn [3]

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[1] http://www.pbs.org/circleofstories/voices/index.html

[2] http://www.reclaiming.com/content/about-circle-of-courage

[3] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jimrohn147502.html

A Literacy Word Cloud

A word cloud program is a fun way for creating “word clouds” from famous speeches, inspirational quotes, your favourite book, themes, songs, or poems that you provide. The clouds are an enjoyable way to have fun with literacy. Once you create your word cloud you can proudly post it in your home to inspire others. This is one I created for Aboriginal Literacy and Essential Skills. Have fun and make your own word cloud!

Welcome to the Aboriginal Literacy & Essential Skills Pilot Project

Below is a summary of the Aboriginal Literacy and Essential Skills (ALES) Project hosted by Literacy Victoria and funded by the Government of Canada's Office of Literacy and Essential Skills.


This pilot project helps First Nations adults build the literacy and essential skills needed to effectively contribute to their communities. This will be achieved utilizing the Canadian Council on Learning First Nations Holistic, Lifelong Learning Model , as well as direction from the WILNEW Committee (10 South Island First Nations) and other First Nations community champions.  It will be the first such comprehensive First Nations literacy/essential skills plan for Southern Vancouver Island.

All ten of the WILNEW communities will have the opportunity to be involved in our project.  These communities include:  Beecher Bay, Esquimalt Nation, Pacheedaht, Songhees, Tsawout, T’sou-ke, Malahat, Pauquachin, Tsartlip, and Tseycum.

This project has four main organizing principles:

1. First Nations communities are culturally diverse and have varied learning needs and approaches to learning.
2. A series of First Nation based literacy and essential skills levels are needed to inform all Aboriginal literacy based curriculum, assessments, learning plans, programs, and services.
3. The creation of culturally relevant First Nations literacy curriculum needs to be both clear and transparent and done in collaboration with our First Nations partners.
4. Culturally relevant individual and community First Nations learning plans are needed to foster individual and community ownership regarding literacy skill development.

This project has four main outputs:

1. Creation of a regional First Nations Literacy Framework, drawing on the First Nations Lifelong Learning Model, developed by the Canadian Council on Learning.
2. Development of culturally relevant First Nations adult literacy benchmarks.
3. Creation of innovative and culturally relevant literacy curricula.
4. Formation of individual as well as community First Nations learning plans.