There were two courses in which I experienced experiential learning, and they were Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Resurgence of Land Based Pedagogies and Practices HRSJ 5020 and Food, Art, and Community Empowerment HRSJ 5710. It was in these two classes that I experienced field trips that made an impact on my life as each class involved guest speakers that shared their wisdom with us. In Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Resurgence of Land Based Pedagogies and Practices we were taken to the Kamloops residential school and had a guest speaker, Kenthen Thomas of Salmon Arm, tell tradition Indigenous stories. In Food, Art, and Community Empowerment we were able to visit an on-campus tour with Thompson Rivers University’s sustainability garden, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Food Sovereignty Garden in Kamloops, and the Stir in Kamloops.
The first experiential learning experience I will talk about is that of the Kamloops Residential School guided tour. This tour was a very emotional experience as I have family that attended a residential school on the east coast in Northwest River, Labrador. Having family that attended residential schools I feel made this tour feel exceptionally real. This local residential school remains open to this day and houses offices. It is hard to imagine that the building as it stands today was once a residence to so many Indigenous children from British Columbia, children who were torn away from their homes and told their way of life was wrong…children who weren’t shown love and affection by the nuns and priests that ran it. Children who experienced much trauma from all forms of abuse. The tour of the Kamloops Residential School took us from the gymnasium to the kitchen and dining hall to the living quarters of the children. The tour guide had family that attended this school and spoke of the horrors that these children faced. Being a part of this tour shed light on my own relatives who attended residential schools. My grandparents and their siblings never spoke of their time there and I can understand why now after hearing what it was like for Indigenous children in Canada who attended residential schools.
The next experiential experience was that of Secwépemc storyteller, Kenthen Thomas. This experience was a lighter one. Kenthen Thomas spoke of the history of storytelling and why Indigenous people have done so for thousands of years. It was a great experience as he performed the story of the Coyote and the Juggling Eyes. He was very animated in his performance and really brought to life the meaning behind the story. The reason I chose this as one of my experiential learnings was because it shows the value of spoken word in Indigenous culture. Stories of their land and knowledge go back thousands of years…these stories have proven ownership to lands and have coincided with events that have happened over centuries such as the last ice age. It is important that we listen to the Indigenous stories as they not only pass on wisdom but also of their history on this world of ours and their place within the lands. It is important that the tradition of storytelling be passed on throughout the generations. Being Indigenous, my own family has never passed on stories to me. A generation of my family attended residential schools and with that we lost our language and culture as well as our oral history. We shouldn’t take for granted the local Indigenous history of turtle island.
In Food, Art, and Community Empowerment there were several tours that we did. One was locally on the campus and the other two out in the community. It was interesting to see Thompson Rivers University involved in sustainability and how well it was doing. There was a lot of growth and available food. What was disheartening was the food waste. There weren’t enough volunteers to tend to the garden and because of that, a lot of food went to waste. If only there was a way to get students involved, this place could make a huge difference in the local community. This food could feed the homeless, low-income families or seniors. I believe that this project is worth looking into by the University. It could make for a good project for students and show ways in which to give back to our local communities.
Next, it was a great opportunity to explore the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Food Sovereignty Garden in Kamloops. This garden was run mostly by volunteers and what was fascinating about it was that it was vast and fed the local Indigenous community. The vegetables that were grown were meant to feed the elders and families who were low income and couldn’t afford to pay for healthy foods such as vegetables. Unlike the University’s campus sustainability garden, this garden was successful and kept those who were working there busy. Having a local sustainability garden also created a sense of community. There was space set aside for canning the vegetables from the garden. This way they could feed the community even into the winter months. A bonus was that the garden allowed the students who toured the garden to walk away with some fresh vegetables.
The final field trip was to the Stir in Kamloops. This was a great community non-profit organization that was local to Kamloops. This facility was a hub for local small businesses. This local business had an industrial sized kitchen where local small businesses who were in the food industry could rent out. In there, small food businesses are able to can food or bake massive amounts of goods…there was even a fridge that cooled goods fast. This was a great place to visit. What was great about the tour was the explanation of the usage of grants to keep the business running. It was amazing to see how much grants can do for a community. All it takes is passion for a non-profit organization to look at what grants are available and apply. This brought me back to Problem Solving in the Field: Study Techniques and Methods where we were taught about grant applications and for our final project had the chance to complete a grant application. It was nice to see how to apply grants for our potential future employment.
