Student Tasks

Begin with Your Experience

Before watching each video, take a moment to pause, breathe, and listen with your heart, not just your ears. Listen with respect. Many of these are stories that are being shared with courage. They are part of a larger remembering that includes all of us.
Describe or list three different situations where you gather with people (eg. family dinner, sports team, class…). What is the purpose of each kind of gathering? How does each help you live in a good way? If you had to choose, what is the most important kind of gathering for living in a good way? Why?

Listening to Teachings

Indigenous Knowledge | Gathering: Video 1
Elder Tony De Parry from Ginoogaming First Nation describes the purpose of a sweat lodge and explains the preparation needed before entering a sweat lodge.

Questions:

• What is the purpose of the sweat lodge? 
• Why is it important to Tony to teach people about what to expect before coming into the sweat lodge? 
• What can we learn about what it means to gather in a good way from Tony’s approach to preparing himself, the sweat lodge, and those who enter the sweat lodge?

Indigenous Knowledge | Gathering: Video 2 (repeat of Respecting: Video 4)
Tom Lachinette from Whitesand First Nation shared what he learned when listening to an Elder answer a question about the meaning of the word “Anishinaabe.”

Questions:

• What can we learn about what it means to gather in a good way from Tom’s story about asking an Elder a question?