#unit 06

“Those northern lights that shine so bright when the night is cold and clear

The snow is bright from the pale moonlight and silence fills the air

I cast my eyes to those sparkling skies and I can see once more

Those northern lights that shine so bright in the skies of Labrador”

-Northern Lights of Labrador by Corey & Trina

Growing up in Labrador, I remember one cold dark February night when I was a little kid, my mom woke me up and bundled me up in my snow pants and jacket and walked me out on the frozen lake to look at the northern lights. An iridescent band of electric chalky green zigged and zagged across the sky, fading in the distance over the mountains. If you held your breath you could almost hear the crackling and buzzing of the auroras. The way they danced felt like magic, we stayed out watching the northern lights that night until our faces grew too cold and we had to go in. I am very fortunate to be from a place where you can see the aurora borealis all throughout the year, and no matter how many times I see them in my life I am always just as amazed as I was that night.

The three writings about the northern lights I chose each describe them in different ways. The first is the entry on the northern lights in the Canadian Encyclopedia, the next is the FAQ page from Northern Tales Yukon tours who offer northern light tours, and the final piece of writing is one the first pieces of media I can remember about the aurora borealis: The Northern Lights of Labrador by Newfoundland musicians Corey & Trina.

The entry on northern lights in the Canadian Encyclopedia is informative and authoritative in its approach. It explains the natural mechanisms that cause the auroras, their size and shape, and range. It is effective in that it provides an objective and accessible understanding of the northern lights.

The FAQ page from Northern Tales Tours in the Yukon is very vivid and exciting in its description of the science behind how the auroras are formed. The sections about visiting Whitehorse and the best time of the year to see the northern lights are engaging and speak to the visitors directly addressing them as “you.” This is effective because it makes the experience of seeing the northern lights seem fun and exciting and entices people to visit.

The song, the Northern Lights of Labrador is very romantic, portraying the northern lights as a beautiful sight so rare that nowhere on earth compares to them, and that they will always think of the auroras. The song is effective because it describes the beauty of the auroras ang the nostalgia that comes with seeing them once they are over.

The first two writings are similar in that they explain how the northern lights work, however, the first post differs from the last two as it is an objective explanation of the aurora borealis and not an exciting or romantic portrayal. What the last two posts have in common is that they appeal to the reader's sense of wonder and excitement and make them want to go see the northern lights themselves. These two posts want the reader to understand the excitement and beauty of seeing the northern lights as opposed to just understanding how they work.

Blog Prompt: There is no peculiar merit in ancient things, but there is merit in integrity, and integrity entails the keeping together of the parts of any whole, and if these parts are scattered throughout time, then the maintenance of integrity entails a knowledge, a memory, of ancient things. …. To think, feel or act as though the past is done with, is equivalent to believing that a railway station through which our train has just passed, only existed for as long as our train was in it. (Edward Hyams, Chapter 7, The Gifts of Interpretation)

Without knowing where we have been, how can we know where we are going, or even where we want to go? As our textbook states, “History forms values to guide living in the present” (Beck, 2018). History is a series of successes, failures, and in-betweens that we can learn from, and once we know better we can do better. Without our history guiding us we will be forced to repeat the same mistakes again and again. When we know our histories we are richer for it, we have a deeper knowledge of who we are and why things are the way they are. In times of need we can look back at the past as an example of how to tackle the problems we see today, or sometimes past mistakes are a dire warning of what can happen if we mess up.

We need “ancient things” as they can help us tell the story of who we are. As we have learned there are many types of learners out there, for people who are visual learners or more hands-on learners using physical artefacts and places as a guide the better image a time or place gone by can help connect visitors to the past. If someone is more of a verbal learner and requires to hear about a place or time a physical object, whether a real artifact or a prop, can be used as a narrative device to make a story feel more real.

Our textbook talked about interpreting Indigenous Peoples, and as an Indigenous Person who wants to work in interpretation, who has Indigenous friends who work in national parks I felt a little insulted. The textbook framed it like Indigenous communities and Indigenous people are somehow external to interpretation. Like the little girl in the Old El Paso ads famously said, “'Porque no los dos?” (why not both?). Why can’t someone be both Indigenous AND an interpreter? Why can’t Indigenous People interpret themselves? Don’t just engage with local Indigenous communities, hire Indigenous People and put them on staff! If your workplace actively interprets Indigenous knowledge and places and no Indigenous People want to work there, then change the workplace so they want to be involved!

This past September 30th was this country’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The holiday was created as a day for Canadians to remember the horrors of residential schools and learn of their long term impacts on the lives of Indigenous People. While Indigenous People knew what had happened in residential schools the majority of the Canadian population never learned about it. While I have a lot of complicated feelings about the national holiday (I could write several blog posts about this, but that is for another day), what I am glad for is that it remains as a teaching tool for the younger generations. We have this day as a yearly reminder, to teach and learn about residential schools, colonialism, and repairing the relationship between Canadians and Indigenous People - and that most importantly we will never forget what had happened at residential schools so that we can make sure it never happens again.