My brotherās boats
What Iāve Learned (Final Blog post)
My personal ethic is that human beings need nature and that it is our separation from nature that is the source of many of this worldās problems from pollution and climate change, to food security, wellness issues, and even lack of purpose. When we are able to access nature in meaningful ways we are not only healthier and more mindful of the world around us but we develop a relationship with nature and learn to care about it. As interpreters it is our role to help people make, or expand, that connection with nature.
As an Indigenous Person I am aware of the bounty that nature has provided my family and my ancestors in order for us to thrive for generations. Nature has not only provided us with food and resources but it has also given us traditions and skills to share through the generations that allow us to support each other. In many ways our relationships with nature provide us with a sense of meaning and purpose. It also comes with a responsibility to protect and defend nature.
Often when I consider my responsibilities to the future, I think of the Haudenosaunee philosophy of the Seven Generations. Onondaga Elder and Faithkeeper Oren Lyons explains the philosophy as such, āmake your decisions on behalf of the Seven Generations coming, so that they may enjoy what you have todayā (Lyons as cited by the United Nations Development Programme, 2020). For me this is twofold, first we must develop a relationship with the natural world so that we understand its importance to care for it and protect it so that future generations may also benefit from its richness. And secondly, we must teach those around us, especially the younger generations, to develop their own relationship with nature so that they too will care about it and protect it when they are of age.
Growing up in Labrador I had no shortage of access to nature. I grew up in what Jacob Rodenberg aspires to create:Ā ānature-rich communities where kids feel a deep and abiding love for the living systems that we all are immersed inā (Roddenberg, 2019).Ā My family home is located on the edge of a community of 450 people on the banks of a lake. In winter I can cross-country ski from my front step for hours, and in the summer I am minutes away from kayaking. Five years ago I moved to Montreal but I was able to go home several times a year with work, but since the beginning of the pandemic I have not been able to return as often as I would like. While reading our text book I was struck by the passage where Beck et al. describes the soothing and healing nature of nature and nature interpretation during times of crisis (Beck et al., 2018). These past two years have become the most city-bound I have ever been and it has made me realize a few things.
When I began reading Gallavanās Helping Teachers Unpack their āInvisible Knapsacksā, I really thought at first that as an Indigenous Person I would not approach settler audiences from a place of privilege in nature interpretation. Although as I read Peggy McIntoshās concept of the Invisible Knapsack that āthe construct of privilege entails a set of beliefs and practices that are assumed or taken for granted by everyone throughout societyā (Gallavan, 2005), I realized that I do come from a place of privilege when it comes to nature. I have a life long relationship with nature that has been passed down and shared in my family for countless generations, to the point that I donāt remember anyone introducing me to nature, it was just always there in my life. Not only that but every place we went to in nature had a story about a relative, ancestor, or friend who was once there. These past few years in the pandemic have made me realize that it can be very difficult to access nature for many people, and as such they donāt have these relationships or connections with nature that I was fortunate enough to have had.Ā
I am also very privileged to have what Larry Smith would call, āa great careerā (Smith, 2011). This great career is as a journalist covering Indigenous news. I started with APTN and have been freelancing for the last five years. I come from a long line of storytellers, and writing has always been something that comes easily to me. While I love walking in nature and interpreting for everyone around, itās really the written word where I shine, where I can reach the most people. I see many parallels between interpretive writing and journalistic writing, especially when the subject at hand is science or nature. As a journalist thereās a lot I can learn from the field of interpretation. As someone who practices science and environmental journalism, this passage from our textbook describing Alan Leftridgeās take on interpretive writing as a style and genre really stood out for me. Beck et al. (2018) writes, āLeftridge (2006) explains that interpretive writing is a genre, a definable style of writing. It is āintended to make intellectual and emotional connections between the reader and the resource, and it is goal-directed, with the intent of eliciting a pro-social response from readersā (chapter 14). For me this is also the essence of good science journalism, but I have never seen it put so succinctly. Science and nature journalism are fields that need more journalists who understand research. There is an epidemic of sensationalized and inaccurate science reporting as people try to get the most clicks possible. What good journalism and good interpretation have in common is that they spark curiosity. If we want to get people to care more about nature, then nature journalists need to heed the words of Larry Beck, ā interpretation offers more than instruction through facts. It uses facts to pass on the meaning of something and to develop deep understandingā (Beck et al., 2018, chapter 1).
This has been a very interesting course and I feel that I have learned so much from it to make myself both a better journalist and a better interpreter. I am looking forward to reading everyone elseās posts!
Thanks!
-Ossie
ReferencesĀ
Beck, L., Cable, T., & Knudson, D. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Sagamore Publishing.
Gallavan, N. (2005). Helping teachers unpack their āinvisible knapsacksā. Multicultural Education, 13(1), 36-39. http://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A137921591/AONE?u=guel77241&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=9fe2f151Ā
Rodenberg, J. (2019, June 17). Why Environmental Educators Shouldnāt Give Up Hope. Clearing Magazine. https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/14300Ā
Smith, L. (2011, November). Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career [video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/larry_smith_why_you_will_fail_to_have_a_great_career?language=enĀ
United Nations Development Programme. (2020). Planning for the Future. Making Things Better. https://sdgs.undp.org/2020-sustainable-consumption/chapter-2.htmlĀ
Often when I consider my responsibilities to the future, I think of the Haudenosaunee philosophy of the Seven Generations. Onondaga Elder and Faithkeeper Oren Lyons explains the philosophy as such, āmake your decisions on behalf of the Seven Generations coming, so that they may enjoy what you have todayā (Lyons as cited by the United Nations Development Programme, 2020). For me this is twofold, first we must develop a relationship with the natural world so that we understand its importance to care for it and protect it so that future generations may also benefit from its richness. And secondly, we must teach those around us, especially the younger generations, to develop their own relationship with nature so that they too will care about it and protect it when they are of age.
I really like the Seven Generations approach of the Haudenosaunee. Ā I think that the deliberateness, mindfulness, and long-term planning thatās involved is really valuable. Ā I feel like itās a scale of planning that hasnāt existed or has been drummed out of Western philosophies, that most of the time people talk about leaving things to living descendants (grandchildren or great-grandchildren) but donāt go beyond that, or they approach development in a cradle to grave way rather than a cyclical fashion. Ā (Thereās a 2002 book called Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things that looks at shifting that paradigm, but itās almost two decades later at this point, and I think itās fair to say that it hasnāt revolutionised Western development practices and that there are systemic barriers to enacting that change. Itās a bit like trying to push through electoral reform; people in power tend not to be interested in radically altering the systems that put them there.) Ā I think that environmental protection is best supported by meaningful cultural and systemic changes, and that part of that is shifting away from a kind of advertising-fuelled emphasis on immediacy and consumption.Ā
What good journalism and good interpretation have in common is that they spark curiosity. If we want to get people to care more about nature, then nature journalists need to heed the words of Larry Beck, ā interpretation offers more than instruction through facts. It uses facts to pass on the meaning of something and to develop deep understandingā (Beck et al., 2018, chapter 1).
Thatās a really interesting way of thinking about that.Ā I think that it encapsulates the kind of duty of care that both journalists and interpreters have, that thereās a responsibility to present the factual and to use facts to reveal meaning and that great journalists and interpreters help readers make connections that weave that meaning into part of a greater framework.Ā
Iāll likely be thinking on that for a bit; thank you.


















