Centring traditional Indigenous knowledge and science is the driving idea behind the Tipis and Telescopes event which was held in Winnipeg in May, and hosted nearly 160 students from Frontier, Louis Riel, St. James-Assiniboia and Seven Oaks School Divisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tipis and Telescopes workshops were presented by local Elders and Knowledge Keepers including Winnipeg\u2019s own \u201cstar guy\u201d Elder Wilfred Buck who is an expert in Indigenous star-lore, as well as Dr. Juan-Carlos Chavez, a US-based researcher in Indigenous knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA big purpose of this event was to empower Indigenous kids with Indigenous knowledge,\u201d says Sarah Gazan, staff officer at MTS. \u201cIt\u2019s the recognition that there\u2019s other equally valid ways of seeing and understanding the world, besides just the Western ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three-day event was planned through a collaboration between The Manitoba Teachers\u2019 Society, Frontier, Louis Riel, St. James-Assiniboia, and Seven Oaks School Divisions, the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, Ogijita Pimatiswin Kinamatawin, and the Spirit Horse Initiative. Tipis and Telescopes events have been held since 2014 through Elder Wilfred Buck, though the collaborative May event was the biggest to date in Manitoba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Event Hosts Students from Across Manitoba<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students travelled from as far as Moose Lake, Wabowden and Grand Rapids to attend the event, which started with a welcoming and opening ceremonies on Monday night, followed by a full day of activities on Tuesday and Wednesday. Some of the sessions included: Animal processing, Archery, Art, Bottle rockets, Circle drumming, Indigenous games, Star stories in two planetariums, Traditional medicines, as well as Men\u2019s, Women\u2019s and Two-Spirit teachings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was wonderful for the metro and rural kids to connect through this event,\u201d says April Waters, who is the Administrator of Indigenous Achievement & Community Support at St. James-Assiniboia School Division, and was part of the organizing committee. \u201cThey don\u2019t often get the chance to interact and they learn so much from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waters also notes that a lot of the students in urban settings don\u2019t have a chance to go out to their home communities. \u201cFor us to be able to do some actual land based teachings within an urban setting was so good for the students and teachers because they could see that you don\u2019t have to go outside the city to still have meaningful learning in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First Nations Astronomy Teachings<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This meaningful learning is what has been driving Buck in his teachings of First Nations astronomy. \u201cIt\u2019s important for First Nations students that ancestral worldviews related to science are reflected in their education in as prevalent a manner as those associated with Greek and Roman mythology. When the Elders tell you their stories it\u2019s up to you to pull out all the knowledge that is there, and that was meant for you to understand. And you piece it together. It is our responsibility to pass these stories to our children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really about elevating Indigenous knowledge that has existed here for thousands of years,\u201d says Gazan. \u201cOne of the things that colonization and oppression have done is disconnect our kids from the land and their sense of who they are. It was wonderful watching the kids make those connections and see that you can be a scientist while incorporating an Indigenous understanding of the world as well, because it\u2019s equally valid. Our people had an education system prior to colonization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creating Partnerships Between Divisions<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gazan says that the May event also created partnerships between school divisions. \u201cBecause oftentimes, when you\u2019re doing Indigenous education, you\u2019re doing it in isolation. Doing this event, we\u2019ve created those partnerships and we hope to continue working together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waters has already started thinking about what her school division can do with events like this in the future. \u201cWhat can we do to bring in kids who are just so hungry for having themselves represented in activities and seeing their culture celebrated and valued? And it\u2019s so important for non-Indigenous kids to sit and learn as well, because that\u2019s how we build those relationships, and respect and understanding. That\u2019s still so highly needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n