| As a First Nation person and a teacher/counsellor of First Nation students, I explore the question of what it means to be a First Nation educator in the public school system. Important to this inquiry is following Coast Salish protocol regarding the sharing and receiving of traditional knowledge, and showing how this knowledge can shape and inform academic research and classroom teaching. The traditional speaker and the training for war canoe racing are the central metaphors through which questions of relationship to personal identity, to curriculum, to school as institution, and to student are examined. The study uses a variety of writing styles, which is intended to evoke an understanding of the question as if heard/experienced from a traditional speaker. The main sources of this inquiry are personal journal writing and reflections, narrative, related academic research, and conversations with elders. |
