Mathematics & Traditional and Contemporary Practices of Making and Doing

 Summary of article: “‘The spirit of the medicine will lead us back’: How Avis O’Brien is guiding Elders to weave their first cedar hats”

In this news article, Avis ‘Nalaga’ O’Brien is spotlighted for her work on teaching weaving using cedar bark, which helps her feel connected to her culture and ancestors, thus pushing her to want to share this practice with others. O’Brien facilitates workshops with the goal of “supporting Elders to re-engage with cedar as a way for her to give back something that was taken from them throughout history” (McKenzie, 2021). 

Stop 1

“Even though it wasn’t her own culture, she says the experiences and relationships filled a need for spiritual connection.” (McKenzie, 2021). Creating these types of opportunities for students, may spark their own spiritual connection. Allowing students to experience all types of spiritual practices, such as those that can be brought into our classrooms by local elders.

Stop 2

“It was 2010 when I learned to weave from my sister, Meghann O’Brien. Prior to that, I watched my sister weaving, but wanted no part of my culture… I still embodied the impacts of our history. I felt a lot of shame about my identity and it wasn’t something that I wanted or understood” (McKenzie, 2021). This quote left me thinking about the indigenous cultural practices that are embedded within our teaching and how we do this. All students come to school with their own journey. Some students have no experience with Indigenous cultural practices, others embrace their cultural practices with the school, but some students might not be comfortable with this yet. We need to ensure that we are respecting where every student is within their journey. This served as a reminder for me. 

Exploration of Mathematical Task 

For this week’s mathematical exploration, I decided to tackle the 7-strand double braid. After watching the video a few times, I decided that I would use 7 different colours of yarn, as I thought that it would be easier to differentiate which strand to use next. I noticed in the video, rope was used to demonstrate the braiding, however, all I could find around my house was yarn. I think that the rope material may have been easier than the yarn that I used as it is easier to see the pattern forming. As I started to get the hang of the pattern created with the yarn, I found myself using the terminology to go over one strand, then under 2 strands. This left me thinking about this as an activity for my grade 1/2 students. Although I think the 7-strand double braid might be a bit challenging for grade 1/2 students, it is a good goal to get students to. First starting with an easier braid, while having students explain to a partner how to braid. They can use over and under to describe to their partner how they are connecting the strands to create the braid. At the end of the activity, ask students to describe the pattern that they were creating with the strands of yarn. 

After immersing myself in this week’s course content, I am left wondering: 

• Have you embedded braiding within your classrooms? If so, how have you embedded it?

References

McKenzie, A. (2021). ‘The spirit of the medicine will lead us back’: How Avis O’Brien is guiding 

elders to weave their first cedar hats. APTN News. 

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/the-spirit-of-the-medicine-will-lead-us-back-how-avis-obrien-is-guiding-elders-to-weave-their-first-cedar-hats/