Cowboys, Indians, and Education

• In Event: Kumu ’Ula’ula: Who Are We and Where Are We Heading?

Abstract

This presentation, paper and video, follows children and grandchildren of former Kamloops Indian Residential School students as they work to regenerate traditional knowledge in their current contexts. It explores the tensions encountered as activists, educators, a poet and a rodeo family each work to find an uncompromising balance between ensuring culture and language live on while deploying Western literacies to accomplish their goals. Four families of the great Secwepemc Nation in British Columbia share their perspectives with the audience. The film director, (Tsilhqot’in Nation), herself the daughter of a former student, works her cinematographic magic to deliver their messages for all those committed to regenerating cultures. The work is a collaboration with her aunt, the co-researcher for the project.

Authors

• Celia E. Haig-Brown, York University

• Helen Haig-Brown, Indpendent Researcher