Rendell kids learn oral Aboriginal stories

Former teacher and Onion Lake senior, June Chocan, right, kicked off Aboriginal storytelling week with a Grade 2 class at Rendell Park Elementary School this past Friday with a spoken story told to her by her dad and grandmother. Geoff Lee Meridian Source

 

Former First Nation teacher June Chocan was in her element kicking off Aboriginal storytelling for elementary students in the Lloydminster Public School Division.

She told an oral story to Chelsea Thorpe’s Grade 2 students at Rendell Park Elementary School this past Friday, just like she might have done teaching kids in Onion Lake and Montreal Cree Nation in Saskatoon.

One story she chose for Rendell kids in the school library was about a character called Wisakedjak, told to her by her dad and grandmother when she was growing up.

“He had special powers and he was able to change animals and stuff like that, but he was also a trickster. He used to get himself into a lot of trouble. It’s kind of a humorous story,” explained Chocan.

She says the story has a moral or a lesson to be learned.

“The kids have to really listen to try and figure out what’s this story about and what it is trying to teach me,” said Chocan.

Thorpe says Aboriginal storytelling is part of the Grade 2 curriculum so the kids need to learn about it and they’ll be quizzed in her class afterwards.

“It’s a different way of storytelling so that’s interesting for the kids too,” said Thorpe.

“It’s awesome it can be presented to the Grade 2 in a different way other than just through me.”

Métis Shirley Gervais and elders Rose and Vivan Whitsone will also be sharing oral Aboriginal stories with other elementary-grade students this week.

Chocan calls herself a senior, not an elder and was also hoping to throw in a few Cree words for students to learn as well, pointing to her moccasins as having a Cree language origin.

“You hear a lot of Cree in locations like the North Saskatchewan River that means Kisiskâciwan-sîpî or swift flowing,” she said.  

Even though Chocan is Cree herself, she says her dad used to tell her she spoke “baby” Cree.

“Through my years in the residential school, I lost a lot of the words, but I can get by and speak Cree as best as I can,” she says.

She taught Grades 1-3 and 5 and last taught kindergarten in Saskatoon.

“I just loved it. I used to get satisfaction when they started reading and writing,” she said.

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Geoff Lee
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