Skywoman Analysis

Madeline Coleman

Mrs. Bartnik

ENG 3U1

27 September 2017

Acknowledging the Past to Improve the Future Upon examination of Joanne Shenadeah and Douglas M. George’s creation story “Skywoman,” Marilyn Dumont’s poem “A Letter to Sir John A. Macdonald,” and Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire’s multi-media project The Secret Path, it is evident that Indigenous history and literature needs to be taught today in Canadian schools because it will challenge students’ regular way of thinking. First, educating students on this prominent culture will teach them to explore alternative ideas. The indigenous creation story “Skywoman” begins with the line, “Before the beginning of time there lived human like beings in a place the Haudensaunee called Skyworld” (Shenadeah

Second, students will learn that actions have unintended consequences. When Marilyn Dumont gives her opinion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), she says, “that goddamned railroad never made this a great/ nation” (Dumont 8-9).While the CPR was intended to promote unity across the nation, it had many consequences that not many Canadians are aware of. It displaced Indigenous people and destroyed their land. Exploring historical events from different angles will demonstrate to students that actions with sincere intentions can have unforeseen consequences. This will teach students to fully explore possible consequences before acting. Lastly, common and accepted stereotypes will be challenged. When Chanie talks about his dad in the song “The Stranger,” he says, “My dad is not a wild man[.] He doesn’t even drink” (Downie and Lemire). Children learn and inherit a lot of their opinions and thoughts from their parents, regardless of if they are correct or not. Teaching Indigenous history will allow students to develop their own, fact-based, opinions instead of just accepting false opinions and stereotypes. In closing, Indigenous history and literature should be taught today in Canadian schools because it will teach students to challenge ideas, it shows them that actions have unanticipated consequences, and it