Week 10 Reading: The Spirit of the Medicine Will Lead Us Back: How Avis O’Brien is guiding elders to weave their first cedar hats (McKenzie, 2021)

Summary: Haida and Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw artist Avis O’Brien is guiding Elders in her community to weave cedar hats. A cultural practice that they never had the chance to learn due to colonial policies, such as residential schools and potlatch bans, trying to erase Indigenous cultures. O’Brien explains how cedar functions as both a material and a form of medicine that supports healing, identity and community. She describes a time when she was resistant to learning weaving because she was ashamed of her culture, but when she did choose to engage, cedar became a pathway back to a sense of belonging. The work is especially meaningful as an intergenerational exchange, where Elders reclaim knowledge and a community is positioned to preserve it.

Stop 1: Elder Theresa Wasden is quoted within the article as saying: “Cedar is who we are and where we come from. It’s entwined in everything we do — from birth on a cedar mat, to death in a cedar box. It’s used for potlatches, for skirts, wreaths, head pieces. It was used for storage, cooking, blankets, mats, and even personal hygiene. It’s a part of our art. We use it when carving masks, poles, and making hats. I just think, wow, our Ancestors were so smart in how they thought about all these different uses and ways.” This quote reinforces how central cedar is; how important it is. The article goes on to mention that making cedar hats is the first thing Wasden has ever made out of cedar, sadly pointing out how colonial efforts stripped these practices in such a short amount of time. What knowledges will be lost completely in this timeframe? Not remembered how to be brought back? I love that Wasden celebrates the “smartness” of her ancestors for all the uses of cedar. I think that it can be easy for younger generations to see ancestral practices as outdated and not holding value in a modern world. How can we flip this mindset, and celebrate knowledges and ways of many cultures within the classroom as “smart” and valuable?     

Stop 2: “The power of this intergenerational exchange.” Across out readings, viewings and activities this week the power of intergenerational exchange is really prevalent. It preserves knowledges and ways of being, and it builds community, identity and sense of belonging. How can we develop teaching practices that position students to be receivers and givers of intergenerational exchange?   

Question: (trying to capture all of my questions above...) How can we celebrate culture and identity in the mathematics classroom, in a way that preserves and passes forward knowledges of the body and hands? What specific tasks may help with this?   

Reference: 

McKenzie, A. (2021, April 11). “The spirit of the medicine will lead us back”: How Avis O’Brien is guiding Elders to weave their first cedar hats. APTN News. https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/the-spirit-of-the-medicine-will-lead-us-back-how-avis-obrien-is-guiding-elders-to-weave-their-first-cedar-hats/