Potlatch as Pedagogy
eBook - ePub

Potlatch as Pedagogy

Learning Through Ceremony

Sara Florence Davidson, Robert Davidson

Compartir libro
  1. 200 páginas
  2. English
  3. ePUB (apto para móviles)
  4. Disponible en iOS y Android
eBook - ePub

Potlatch as Pedagogy

Learning Through Ceremony

Sara Florence Davidson, Robert Davidson

Detalles del libro
Vista previa del libro
Índice
Citas

Información del libro

In 1884, the Canadian government enacted a ban on the potlatch, the foundational ceremony of the Haida people. The tradition, which determined social structure, transmitted cultural knowledge, and redistributed wealth, was seen as a cultural impediment to the government's aim of assimilation.

The tradition did not die, however; the knowledge of the ceremony was kept alive by the Elders through other events until the ban was lifted. In 1969, a potlatch was held. The occasion: the raising of a totem pole carved by Robert Davidson, the first the community had seen in close to 80 years. From then on, the community publicly reclaimed, from the Elders who remained to share it, the knowledge that has almost been lost.

Sara Florence Davidson, Robert's daughter, would become an educator. Over the course of her own education, she came to see how the traditions of the Haida practiced by her father—holistic, built on relationships, practical, and continuous—could be integrated into contemporary educational practices. From this realization came the roots for this book.

Preguntas frecuentes

¿Cómo cancelo mi suscripción?
Simplemente, dirígete a la sección ajustes de la cuenta y haz clic en «Cancelar suscripción». Así de sencillo. Después de cancelar tu suscripción, esta permanecerá activa el tiempo restante que hayas pagado. Obtén más información aquí.
¿Cómo descargo los libros?
Por el momento, todos nuestros libros ePub adaptables a dispositivos móviles se pueden descargar a través de la aplicación. La mayor parte de nuestros PDF también se puede descargar y ya estamos trabajando para que el resto también sea descargable. Obtén más información aquí.
¿En qué se diferencian los planes de precios?
Ambos planes te permiten acceder por completo a la biblioteca y a todas las funciones de Perlego. Las únicas diferencias son el precio y el período de suscripción: con el plan anual ahorrarás en torno a un 30 % en comparación con 12 meses de un plan mensual.
¿Qué es Perlego?
Somos un servicio de suscripción de libros de texto en línea que te permite acceder a toda una biblioteca en línea por menos de lo que cuesta un libro al mes. Con más de un millón de libros sobre más de 1000 categorías, ¡tenemos todo lo que necesitas! Obtén más información aquí.
¿Perlego ofrece la función de texto a voz?
Busca el símbolo de lectura en voz alta en tu próximo libro para ver si puedes escucharlo. La herramienta de lectura en voz alta lee el texto en voz alta por ti, resaltando el texto a medida que se lee. Puedes pausarla, acelerarla y ralentizarla. Obtén más información aquí.
¿Es Potlatch as Pedagogy un PDF/ePUB en línea?
Sí, puedes acceder a Potlatch as Pedagogy de Sara Florence Davidson, Robert Davidson en formato PDF o ePUB, así como a otros libros populares de Education y Professional Development. Tenemos más de un millón de libros disponibles en nuestro catálogo para que explores.

Información

Año
2018
ISBN
9781553797753
1
Two Working Together
My father is a Haida artist who
began carving at the age of 13.
For nearly six decades, he has
contributed to the revival of Haida
art7. As an artist, he carefully
observes the world and translates
what he sees and learns into colours
and shapes, such as ovoids, U shapes,
and tri-negs. As an educator, I also
observe the world carefully, but I
translate what I see into words and
stories. My father refers to the shapes
that he uses as the Haida alphabet,
an insight that came to him when
he looked at a picture I had drawn
as a young child. The picture (right)
consists of shapes and letters of the
alphabet, and he says that when
I drew it, I explained to him that
“the alphabet is the doorway to the
other side…” As an educator, I have
seen the barriers that are created
Alphabet drawing by Sara
for students who have challenges
with print literacy. For these students,
mastering “the alphabet” or print
7
See Steltzer, Ulli and Robert Davidson. Eagle Transforming: The Art of Robert Davidson. Vancouver, BC: Douglas
& McIntyre, 1994.
literacy allows students to pass through “the doorway to the other side.” Today,
when I look at the drawing, I see it as a representation of the space where my
father and I both connect and diverge: we both see the world and feel compelled
to share how we understand it, but my father uses shapes to form images
whereas I use letters to form words.
My father created the painting on the cover of this book. It is called hlGed sda
sGwaansang, which means “closely related” or “two working together,” like a
bow and arrow. The first time I saw this painting in my father’s studio and heard
what it symbolized, I knew it would be the cover of this book. He explained that
the painting represented the bow and arrow, or “two working together,” and this
is the way in which my father and I work together.
Years ago, I attended an event hosted by another nation. Our traditional Haida
dance group, the Rainbow Creek Dancers, had been invited to perform.
Unfortunately, many members of our group were unable to attend the event, and
only a few of us were present that day. When the time came for us to sing our
songs, it dawned on me that I did not truly know the words to the songs. Though
I had been singing them since I was a child, in that moment, I suddenly realized
that I only knew how to follow our songs and not how to lead them. This
moment of awareness led me to wonder what would happen to these songs when
our leaders were no longer with us. What would happen when the time came for
me to lead these songs?
Sara and Robert Davidson in the studio.
8 | Potlatch as Pedagogy
When I returned home, I asked my father if he would teach me some of the songs
well enough to lead them. I worked closely with him to learn the words and the
meanings and the protocols associated with them. To learn the Haida songs,
I would listen carefully to my father singing them, and then I would practice
singing them alone. Later, I would return to my father and sing the songs for
him. He would listen to me sing and tell me when I was making a mistake,
correcting me when necessary. This was the way my father taught me the songs.
This was the way I made sure I was learning the songs correctly.
My father believes that we are “all connected to the past by a thin thread. And
when we come together as a group, then those threads form quite a thick rope”
(Davidson in Steltzer & Davidson 1994, 99). I learned those songs because I did
not want to be the one to weaken the rope that connects us to our ancestors.
This story is one of the threads that I hold.
It is my responsibility to ensure that this story accurately reflects my father’s
perspectives, even after it has been woven together with my own understandings
and interpretations. To honour this responsibility, I have based this story upon
a series of interviews that I conducted with my father in his studio between 2014
and 20188. I recorded the interviews and then transcribed them to enrich my
own understanding of our con...

Índice