7Potlatch as Pedagogy
The first time I recognized the potlatch was being used as pedagogy was at the gyaa ‘isdlaa in 2016. I had recently completed my PhD in education, and my eyes could only see the world through a lens of learning. As I witnessed the gyaa ‘isdlaa, I was able to understand for the first time how the Haida potlatch was being used as a tool to relearn and reteach ceremony. My father had relearned ceremonial knowledge from the Elders in preparation for the pole raising, and he was now using the potlatch as a means of sharing what he had learned about our ancestral knowledge with our community. However, my own understanding of my father’s achievement emerged from my observations as an educator, so I asked him if it had been his intention to teach about ceremony and protocol through the potlatch.
When I look back, it certainly has that feeling. But I don’t claim that, I think it has to come from someone else. But I know in terms of ceremony, it certainly helped me to understand the art form. Like up to that point, the art was really a commodity for me – and the fact that the Elders responded in the way that they did gave it more credence. I didn’t realize how important ceremony was until that event happened. I didn’t realize how serious it was, especially to have Naanii and Tsinii host the several meetings at their house. Inviting all the old people in the village to express their opinion on how to conduct the day. It was really all the old people, the Elders coming together that was the recipe for the day, the agenda.
My father follows his intuition, but my mind operates in frameworks. My knowledge needs to be attached to a solid structure that can support it to expand and grow. As I reflected on the ways in which my father had used the potlatch as a form of pedagogy I realized, that without knowing it or intending to, he had used the sk’ad’a principles to teach us about Haida ancestral knowledge. Through
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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68 | Potlatch as Pedagogy
the preparation and hosting of potlatches and feasts, he had demonstrated that learning emerges from strong relationships, authentic experiences, and from curiosity; that learning occurs through observation, contribution, and recognizing and encouraging strengths; and that learning honours the power of the mind, our history and our stories, as well as spirituality and protocol.
Learning Emerges from Strong Relationships
My father’s learning about the protocols associated with the traditional pole raising relied upon his relationships. Even his initial understanding of the information being shared at the Elders’ meetings relied upon his connections with his uncles Victor and Alfred who were able to translate the knowledge from Haida to English. Later, when he was preparing to host his own potlatches, his learning relied upon his ability to create strong allies. His relationship with his naanii allowed her to guide him in establishing these allies; she also taught him the songs and dances that were vital components of the potlatches and feasts.
As an educator, I know that my students’ learning relies upon my ability to develop strong relationships, and that without those relationships, meaningful learning is unlikely to occur. My first priority is always to develop strong and respectful relationships with my students. Though I have not always been successful, it remains essential to me to continue to work at developing and strengthening those relationships. Strong relationships are particularly important when students are struggling in school because they need to be able to trust educators enough to allow them to provide support.
Learning Emerges from Authentic Experiences
In the stories my father told, he learned from authentic experiences, and he attributed his learning to the experience of hosting the potlatches and feasts.
Naanii and Tsinii’s generation, they were the last generation [connected] to that ancient past, and I feel so lucky that I was able to relearn some of that. I don’t speak Haida, but hosting the feasts and the potlatches, it was a learning exercise for me. I wouldn’t have gained the insights if I’d just intellectualized about it. So actually going through the process. Sure I may have wrinkled a few people along the way, but that is the learning curve for me, to rectify it.
My father did not place much value on the intellectualizing aspects of his cultural experiences, but I believe these aspects did play a role in his learning.
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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Potlatch as Pedagogy | 69
However, “going through the process” had more of an impact on him because the theoretical knowledge became immediately applicable to a specific activity; it was not shared in isolation of the activity. The act of hosting a potlatch or feast provided a medium through which he could immediately demonstrate his learning and receive immediate feedback. Dancing the K’awhlaa mask gave my father the opportunity to learn more about the mask’s historical attributes. Creating the mask provided the opportunity to share what he had learned, and dancing the mask in a public forum provided the opportunity for immediate feedback. In this way, the learning was embedded in the activity.
I am often asked about the term authentic, as some people struggle with the word. In response, I explain that authentic learning experiences often take place outside of the classroom; however, this is not a requirement. Rather, the learning must be applicable to the students’ lives outside of school. When students learn from these authentic experiences, it also reinforces the importance of what they are learning. The sole purpose for learning something new should not be to “do better in school.” Formal education can lose its meaning for many students when it does not allow them to imagine themselves in the worlds they inhabit outside of school.
Learning Emerges from Curiosity
My father’s learning about ceremony and protocol emerged from the questions that he asked. This curiosity helped him to gather information when he wondered which songs to sing at the opening of the Charles Edenshaw Memorial Longhouse or whether or not he could introduce the end of mourning ceremony at his potlatch. Though my father continues to have questions, he must now seek his own answers to these questions. The Elders who were once there to guide him are now gone, and he must ask his family and friends or seek the guidance in books that have been written about our old ways. He firmly believes that he learned so much about Haida ceremony and protocol because of the questions he asked. Furthermore, he recognizes that it was through his ability to ask for help that he was able to learn from his grandparents and other Elders.
In order to really honour our past [I needed] to ask questions on how to conduct a feast, how to conduct a potlatch. And that’s one of the lessons I learned from Naanii was to ask so and so, go talk to so and so. Uncle Alfred, he was always a good guide, Uncle Victor, Dad. So I feel telling these stories [here] will add depth to my efforts.
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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I am sure it is not lost on my father that my own curiosity has prompted all of my questions, and it is a testament to his commitment to sharing his knowledge that he has never once become impatient and said, “jaa ‘aayaa.” The conversations have never been cut short, and perhaps this is his way of telling me that these are questions that need to be asked.
As educators, we often feel pressure to have all of the answers. As a result, we may guide our students to ask questions that align with our knowledge. But we do not need to have all of the answers. We can model curiosity for our students. We can seek answers to our own questions and teach students how to be comfortable with their curiosity and to find answers for themselves. Sometimes, the answers will not be known. In those moments, we can improvise based upon the knowledge we do have. We can also seek guidance in the same way that my father sought guidance so long ago, and the way he continues to seek guidance today.
Learning Occurs through Observation
My father observed gaps in our knowledge and understanding, and this awareness led him to host and co-host the feasts and potlatches. The understanding of these gaps guided the knowledge he sought, and his ability to learn through observation guided this learning.
When my great-grandmother taught my father how to dance the K’awhlaa, she did it by dancing the K’awhlaa, and he learned through watching her. His understanding of how he had learned through observation guided his thinking about how he might teach others through observation.
All that I’ve learned is through demonstration. I’ve hired outside [dance] groups so that they could share with us where they’re at through their song and dance. In 1981, I hired the K’san Dancers and they danced for us and that helped, so other people could witness where they’re at with their song and dance. And with the gyaa ‘isdlaa I hired Calvin Hunt and his group, and they danced for us and demonstrated where they’re at through their song and dance. In Vancouver when I hosted the urban feasts, I did the same again. I hired outside groups so that they could share where they’re at.
In this way, my father helped others to learn through observation.
Observation takes time. If we learn in this way, it will be a while before we are comfortable sharing what we understand. Therefore, we need to make time for learning through observation and honour the time that it takes for
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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new understandings to emerge. Sometimes, it means we need to provide opportunities for our students to observe new skills before trying them independently. Sometimes, it means we need to slow down in our teaching to make space to support engagement with new topics.
Learning Occurs through Contribution
In his teachings, my father has always emphasized the importance of making a contribution; he does this through hosting feasts and potlatches, mentoring emerging artists, and sharing the knowledge that he has gained through his experiences. The significance of contribution was a recurring theme throughout all of our conversations. My father understood that carving the pole was a way to contribute to the community. Later, the potlatches and feasts that he hosted and co-hosted were his way of making a contribution. The knowledge that he gathered in preparation for these feasts and potlatches was shared publicly and contributed by strengthening our connection to our ancestors. His art was also a contribution. It began with a pole, and throughout the years, my father has given bronze and aluminum sculptures back to the village in acknowledgement of the strength and inspiration that he continues to draw from his community. Though these examples of contribution differ from fishing for halibut with his tsinii, the significance of making a contribution remains the same.
There are two aspects of the principle, “learning occurs through contribution.” The first is how important learning becomes if we are learning for the purpose of contributing. If your family’s supper is reliant upon your ability to catch a salmon, then you are going to be very motivated to learn to fish. The second involves recognizing the importance of making contributions in our culture. My father learned from the Elders for the purpose of sharing his knowledge, just as I pursued my education because I wanted to be able to contribute to my community through what I learned at school. In each of these examples, the learning emerged through a motivation to make a contribution to the community. In other words, it may be difficult to make learning relevant for Haida students if what is being taught does not lead to the ability to make a contribution to their family and community. This commitment to community and family as opposed to the individual is a way of being that has been carried forward from our past and is often misunderstood by educators who have been trained in mainstream educational institutions.
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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Learning Occurs Through Recognizing and Encouraging Strengths
My father recalled that my great-grandfather came to help him carve the pole, even though he was 89 years old. He recognized that this was my great-grandfather’s way of encouraging him in his work. This was my great-grandfather’s way of recognizing my father’s ability to carve. My great-grandmother saw my father’s potential as a liaison between the old people’s knowledge and future generations, so she sent my father to talk to them. This was her way of acknowledging and encouraging my father’s strength to bring together the old ways and the ways of today.
We can do this with our students as well. It is easy to point out what they are doing wrong, but how many times do we remember to acknowledge their strengths and their successes? We can take the time to get to know the students in our lives well enough to recognize and encourage their strengths. We can provide them with opportunities to share their strengths with others, so that their strengths are developed further.
Learning Honours the Power of the Mind
My father began carving the pole with only an idea and the vision that he would complete it. Throughout our conversations he also referenced his commitment to visualizing the outcome with regard to the potlatches and the feasts. In this way, he honoured the power of his mind to guide him. His ability to trust his vision was nurtured by his family, who reinforced and encouraged his strength.
In schools, we must reinforce and encourage students’ strengths so that they too can use the power of their minds to successfully achieve what they set out to do. They must be able to see themselves as successful so they can accomplish these outcomes for themselves. As educators, we also need to support our students to strengthen their minds against adversity and continue to visualize a positive outcome for themselves.
Learning Honours History and Story
We have access to much of our knowledge today because our history and stories were kept alive through picnics, Christmas dinners, and weddings. Fragments of knowledge were pieced together to form a mosaic of narratives that taught us and connected us to our past. This knowledge is the reason we can still sing our
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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Potlatch as Pedagogy | 73
old songs. This knowledge is the reason we can still dance our old dances. This knowledge is the reason we still know how to feast and potlatch.
In the classroom, I also use stories to teach. The narratives I share have the power to build connections between my students and me, and I always encourage other educators to share parts of themselves that they are comfortable sharing, by telling the stories of their lives. In my experience, it rarely works to formally teach a teenager about life. On the other hand, they will often listen to my stories and occasionally enjoy a laugh at the expense of my much younger and less wise self.
We can also follow appropriate protocols to incorporate traditional Indigenous stories into our classes. This provides students with different perspectives on the role and use of stories while introducing them to diverse story arcs. I am consistently amazed by the power of stories to connect me with the generations that came before me, as well as with present and future generations.
Learning Honours Aspects of Spirituality and Protocol
My father explained that in 1969 all he had to contribute was the pole, and it was the Elders who brought the pole to life through their old knowledge. He said that the depth of the knowledge emerged through the ceremony they brought to the pole.
When we share our knowledge, there is no separation between the spiritual realm and the one in which we live. With his chant around the pole, my father breathed life into the pole – as a living being, his equal. My great-grandfather spoke to the halibut like a person; there was no distinction between the human and the animal worlds. The end of mourning ceremony allows us to visit our loved ones one more time after they are gone.
Though it may not always be appropriate to share ceremonial knowledge publicly in a school setting, we need to recognize that this spiritual knowledge is a significant aspect of the knowledge that our students bring with them from their homes and communities to school. We need to ensure that we do not undermine that knowledge with our teaching. Spiritual understandings may significantly contribute to our students’ identities, and they need to be honoured and respected.
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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The Paper Bag
The Potlatch Ban severely impacted our ability to use the potlatch to reinforce our identity and culture as Haida people. Our Elders managed to preserve some of the knowledge to share with future generations, but so much of it was lost. Those Elders, who my father used to seek out for guidance, are now gone. My father recognizes that it is now his generation that people seek out for direction, as we continue to piece together our past while recognizing we must also embrace the new ways of the present. I asked my father about the difference between the pole raising in 1969 and the potlatches and feasts that he hosts today, and he explained, “The biggest difference is my generation is the Elders now. I asked, where are my teachers? They’re all gone. So, we have to take responsibility now, my generation.” Each time that we come together, we continue to add threads to the rope, and as we work together to remember our ancient knowledge, we reinforce our memories and keep our knowledge alive. Though the contemporary potlatch is different than the old ones that were hosted before contact, it continues to serve an integral role in maintaining and strengthening our traditions.
According to Métis father-and-son researchers Jeff and Lee Baker (2010), “Many of us have been severed from our roots and forgotten the deep sense of relation with our ancestors, the planet, and the cosmos, that have characterized human experience for millennia” (98). However, based on what I learned from my father about sk’ad’a and ceremony I believe that our connection to our roots has merely been dormant, and as we honour and bring together the pieces of our ancient knowledge and our history, we will revive that connection once again.
I know the K’awhlaa dance today because my grandmother put a paper bag over her head so she could teach my father this dance, so this knowledge would remain with us long after her life ended. I will never know why she hid her face with a paper bag when she shared her knowledge of this dance with my father. Sometimes I wonder if it was because of the residual shame that she was made to feel about her ancestral beliefs and practices. Sometimes I wonder if it was to find the courage to pass on the dance. Always I am grateful that she was able to improvise using that paper bag so the dance could be passed on to her grandchildren and their grandchildren and all of the grandchildren in the generations to come, and always I am grateful that my father was there and willing to learn the dance.
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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A long time ago, my father began to see the gaps in our understanding of our ceremonial practices. He, my uncle, and others were determined to learn more about our ancestral knowledge in order to share it with us. I am grateful that my father believed that every time he hosted a potlatch or feast, it expanded his experience and knowledge. I am grateful that he felt good about giving. As he explained, “I feel good about giving. I feel that I am also learning from it. Every potlatch that I’ve hosted and co-hosted, I’m learning something from it.” Always, I am grateful that my father was able to teach us some of the old ways using potlatch as pedagogy.
Potlatch as Pedagogy | 75
Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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Davidson, Sara Florence, and Robert Davidson. Potlatch As Pedagogy : Learning Through Ceremony, Portage & Main Press, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=5493224.Created from ubc on 2023-06-19 04:18:26.
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