Congratulations to Dr. Danielle Lamb and Rose Alexis, École Peter Greer Elementary, on receiving funding from the Partnership Recognition and Exploration Fund for their project, Co-Creating a New Understanding of Eagles.
Learn more about the other 2023 summer funded projects.
Project Description:
École Peter Greer Elementary (PGE) is located in the unceded, traditional, and ancestral territory of the Syilx Okanagan People. This project seeks to reimagine space and place at PGE and co-create new understandings of eagles and their importance to this place. For decades, the eagle has been a mascot at the school. The clipart eagle image that dons the school gym, the uniforms, and all the branded material is a reminder of the colonial present. Working with a Syilx artist, and local storytellers, we would like to introduce students to captikʷł, a collection of Syilx Okanagan teachings about eagle.
Storytellers will support the project by sharing captikʷł, a collection of teachings about Syilx Okanagan laws, customs, values, governance structures and principles that, together, define and inform Syilx Okanagan rights and responsibilities to the land. The Syilx artist will provide experiences that support students (grade 4/5) as they navigate the ideation process, and provide technical instruction to realize their works. Students will have the opportunity to explore different art forms as led by the artist. Students will also collaborate with peers, creating a cohesive body of work that intersects with the learnings from the captikʷł. The students and artist will also co-create a piece of artwork that can be displayed at the school.
This project comes from our desire to find ways to live better in this place. It is also a response to call 62 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and UBC’s Strategic Plan.
This project will affect the way the students interact with art and stories about the spaces and places that they live. For many students, this may be the first time that they get to learn with, from, and alongside a Syilx artist. Bringing Syilx art to the school will also allow the greater school community to see, learn, and reflect on what it means to be in the Syilx territory and what our responsibilities are to this space and place. We hope that by weaving together art and story, students will come to gain a deeper appreciation not only about this space and place but also the importance of eagle. The deliberate scaffolding of the project will help students to work towards a co-created project and an opportunity to display their work in the school—a reminder of the student’s and school’s commitment to reconciliation.