Education Professional Development
Potlatch as Pedagogy
Learning Through Ceremony
- Publisher
- Portage & Main Press
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2018
- Category
- Professional Development, Multicultural Education, Indigenous Studies, Inclusive Education
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781553797753
- Publish Date
- Oct 2018
- List Price
- $19.00
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781553797739
- Publish Date
- Oct 2018
- List Price
- $26.00
-
Downloadable audio file
- ISBN
- 9781774920145
- Publish Date
- Dec 2021
- List Price
- $28.01
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 0 to 18
- Grade: p to 12
Description
In 1884, the Canadian government enacted a ban on the potlatch, the foundational ceremony of the Haida people. The tradition, which determined social structure, transmitted cultural knowledge, and redistributed wealth, was seen as a cultural impediment to the government’s aim of assimilation.
The tradition did not die, however; the knowledge of the ceremony was kept alive by the Elders through other events until the ban was lifted. In 1969, a potlatch was held. The occasion: the raising of a totem pole carved by Robert Davidson, the first the community had seen in close to 80 years. From then on, the community publicly reclaimed, from the Elders who remained to share it, the knowledge that has almost been lost.
Sara Florence Davidson, Robert’s daughter, would become an educator. Over the course of her own education, she came to see how the traditions of the Haida practiced by her father—holistic, built on relationships, practical, and continuous—could be integrated into contemporary educational practices. From this realization came the roots for this book.
About the authors
Sara Florence Davidson (she/her/hers) is a Haida/Settler Assistant Professor in Indigenous Education in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University. Previously, she was an educator working with adolescents in the K-12 system in British Columbia and Yukon Territory. Sara is the co-author of Potlatch as Pedagogy: Learning through Ceremony, which she wrote with her father, and Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii, which she wrote with her stepmother, Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson.
When she is not reading or writing, Sara can be found walking with her dog, drinking tea, or listening to stories and learning something new.
Sara Florence Davidson's profile page
Robert Davidson is a carver, sculptor, painter, printmaker and jeweller, whose work is in private and public collections internationally. He is also a student of the Haida language, culture and history, and performs Haida songs and dances as a member of the Rainbow Creek Dancers. Two books have been published on his work, Robert Davidson, Haida Printmaker by Hilary Stewart and Robert Davidson: Eagle of the Dawn edited by Ian M. Thom, in conjunction with a major retrospective of his work at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Editorial Reviews
Potlatch as Pedagogy is wonderfully wise, hopeful, heartful, eloquent, and loving! Every teacher candidate and teacher needs to read this book. The authors expertly evoke the history and culture of the Haida as they call forth the sadness as well as the hope and joy of generations of people who were misunderstood and mistreated. In this time of Truth and Reconciliation, we all need to attend to this book.
Dr. Carl Leggo, Professor, Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia
This is not a book to be read quickly; it requires reflection to fully appreciate its content, purpose, and value. But time spent with Potlatch as Pedagogy will connect you with the Davidsons’ stories and enrich your understanding of Haida knowledge, culture, and historical struggles; and stimulate thought for considering how Indigenous knowledge, storytelling, and pedagogies could be included in educational practices.
Highly Recommended
CM Review
Other titles by Sara Florence Davidson
Returning to the Yakoun River
Dancing With Our Ancestors
Resurgence
Engaging With Indigenous Narratives and Cultural Expressions In and Beyond the Classroom
Magical Beings of Haida Gwaii Colouring and Activity Book
Teacher Guide for the Sk'ad'a Stories Series
Intergenerational Learning and Storytelling in the Classroom
Learning to Carve Argillite
Jigging for Halibut With Tsinii
