kistikwânihk êsko kitêhk: Storying Holistic Understandings in Education

Abstract

Learning alongside Dr. Dwayne Donald and Elder Bob Cardinal in a Holistic Understandings of Learning class held in Fall 2014 on Enoch Cree Nation evoked different ways of living well and wisely in the world. This course created a sacred place for the “four-part person” (mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual) to emerge, as we learned to pay deeper attention to the interconnectivity of creation in our educational practices. This multimedia métissage (Hasebe-Ludt, Chambers, & Leggo, 2009) combines life writing, readers’ theatre, and visual representations, weaving together our embodied responses to Elder Cardinal’s teachings. Each individual’s journey kistikwânihk êsko kitêhk (Cree: from head to heart) maintains its integrity and unique voice as it is intentionally woven into the Cree principles of meskanaw (pathway), miyo waskawewin (to walk in a good way), and the Blackfoot concept of aokakio’siit (being wisely aware).