ERIC Number: EJ1246749
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1927-6117
EISSN: N/A
An Investigation of the Role of Legends and Storytelling in Early Childhood Practices in a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) Early Childhood Facility
Deer, Sandra
in education, v22 n1 p110-126 Spr 2016
Through the course of Indigenous history, cultural and spiritual knowledge remains, in many places as faint as the smoke rising from the embers of last night's fire; in other places, with enough flame to ignite another log. In spite of the genocidal acts portrayed through colonialism's experimentation through religious doctrine, residential school, legislation, treaties broken and unbroken, reservations, and spiritual disregard, the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island remain living, breathing and believing that their history is alive through the oral stories of their beginnings and endings. Indigenous education can only be defined through the culture of the people themselves. Historical Indigenous education was transferred orally for thousands of years with very little disruption or inconsistencies; therefore distinct meanings and connections were continuously addressed through one's lifetime through the wisdom of elder's legends and stories. The investigation of the role of legends and storytelling in an early childhood setting in Kahnawa:ke, Quebec is portrayed through a combination of research literature, classroom observations and personal interviews documented as portraiture. The main finding was that cultural legends and stories familiar to historical, ceremonial and spiritual practices are vital to the cultural foundation of the Haudenosaunee (peoples of the longhouse or the Iroquois) and Kahnawake'hró:non (people of Kahnawa:ke).
Descriptors: Indigenous Populations, Indigenous Knowledge, Oral History, Culturally Relevant Education, Cultural Maintenance, Foreign Countries, Canada Natives, Story Telling, Early Childhood Education, Child Care Centers, Teaching Methods
University of Regina, Faculty of Education. Education Building, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, SK S4S 0A2. e-mail: editor@ineducation.ca; Web site: https://ineducation.ca/ineducation
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A