Singing ourselves in

Abstract

In a qualitative study, grade three students in an urban classroom were introduced to Aboriginal children's picture-storybooks followed by "menoh," which are literary response activities. "Menoh" is defined as aesthetics, although, in this study "menoh" activities stem from Anishnabe and Cree cultural ways such as in traditional singing, dance, drumming, art and cooking. The researcher used a reframing as a decolonizing methodology in order to reclaim Aboriginal voice and perspective. Reframing is taking greater control over the way Aboriginal research is structured, analyzed and written. The research data was collected over a period of several months within the classroom where the researcher read aloud and drew Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal listeners into the multi-layers of the stories. Through dialogue and critique, the students discussed the stories in literary circles. They shared meanings about the stories and made connections to their own lives and the lives of others. The stories contained messages about loyalty, respect, responsibility, honesty, humility, trust, and sharing-all those qualities that helped Aboriginal people live the life they did and still do today. Discussion was followed by a variety of "menoh," activities that introduced aesthetic ways of knowing from an Aboriginal perspective.