Block 1 English 9 25/26

   We opened today's block with a conversation about the Super Bowl halftime show - and the significance of identiy/space/language etc. Students saw one academic's version of "word of the day"   We talked about the Dewey Decimal system , problems with it, and this Maori overhaul happening in Aotearoa (New Zealand).  Students wrote down a new question for future class discussions, then we read the remainder of "Frenchie's Coming-to" Students received note sheets, but were unable to begin that work due to a course-programming visit from Ms. Higgins. We will continue the work next class.   

   We open today's class with the last session of silent reading for a long while - we will come back to personal novels when we finish our class novel work.  We opened with a discussion of some student questions.  We talked about the blind spots of those who refuse to study history   (or pay attention to the present).  We re-visited the Kashechewan community ( location and current crisis/ disconnect from the land )   We talked about the difference between hereditary chiefs, matrilineal Indigenous governance, and band and council systems imposed by the Indian Act - We did this by returning to Wet'suwet'en and connecting the disagreements between systems there to previous discussion of Amber Bracken's case and press freedom. We also touched on the relationship between these two issues and Sleydo' Molly Wikham.  We then read the opening section of  The Marrow Thieves - up to the middle of page 12 - with a particular focus on...

  After a gallery walk and self-assessment, students handed in their TADR  projects. Students were introduced to their upcoming novel,  The Marrow Thieves  by Cherie Dimaline  We talked about a few student questions, before talking about the following questions: How closely connected are you to the fight against climate change? What changes can you imagine for Canada in the next 100 years (what is "for sure" and what are possibilities?) We talked about the setting of the story, what bone marrow is, and the following quote from William S. Burroughs that Dimaline uses in her text:            "The way to kill a man or a nation is to cut off his dreams, the way the whites are taking care of theIndians: Killing their dreams, their magic, their familiar spirits."  Anyone who feels they would benefit immensely from having their own copy of the text to use at home should pick one up   from a library, or purchase a copy....

   We opened the class with a student question followed by: A reminder that resistance, protest, and activism have been treated as threats to the state in Canada not just abroad. We talked a bit about the Ipperwash Crisis (one of those mentioned in the article above) This took place in territory related to the play we've been working with. I mentioned again the current case against the RCMP that Amber Bracken and the Narwhal have in B.C. court - Central to the case is what it means to have freedom of the press in Canada. We watched a quick reel asking the audience to re-think/re-frame/think critically about the differences between how resistance is viewed in popular film/fictions and how it is viewed in day-too-day life.  We wrapped up by looking at the art below from Dylan Miner - Words for everyone who cares about fellow humans of the past, present, and future Students had 50+ minutes to work in their projects which are DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON WEDNESDAY....

   We opened the class with discussing a student question, touching on the concept of land ownership in Greenland, and this reel from an Indigenous community member in Minnesota. Students had the remainder of the block to work on their assignments. Please note: Students will also have Monday's block to work on this piece - It will now be due at the start of Wednesday's class.

Students began the class by reading their personal novels (please note, these are to be novels , and students should actually be reading them during the allotted time). We discussed the Canadian-led effort to weaken the language of UNDRIP . We talked about the fact that B.C. signed on to UNDRIP, but that now that the government is finding following through on its commitment to Indigenous rights challenging/complex/counter to some of its aims, Premier Eby is looking to alter parts of the legislation. We looked at a quick Reel - a satirical land acknowledgement by an Indigenous creator, after which students had the remainder of the block to work on their assignments.