Nicola J. Campbell: Shi-shi-etko: Connecting to Place

Shi-shi-etko is a picture book I use to help students learn about the concept of 'Connecting to Place.'

Using the activities, students will be able to follow Shi-shi-etko around her traditional territory with her family members and learn how each of them share their knowledge of the land with her. On her journey she finds objects that are special to her and she places these objects in a Memory Bag so that she will always remember the land before she travels to Residential School.

Teachers can use the Guiding Questions to focus their discussions:

Guiding Questions:

•In what ways are First Nations cultures connected with the land?

•What are different ways that we learn? Beside teachers, who else can we learn from?

•In traditional First Nations communities, how were the children taught?

•Why is remembering the past important for us in understanding the future?

•How do writers use the five senses to bring meaning to their stories?