Sask. Indigenous family opted out of son's remote lessons to teach him about the land

When schools across Saskatchewan closed due to COVID-19, Michelle and Philip Brass began thinking about the long game.

With an eight-year-old son, the Peepeekisis Cree Nation couple knew they had to pick up where his schooling left off — and not with a textbook, but the land.

As a land-based learning instructor with the Prairie Valley School Division, Philip's lessons have always melded into his home life, but when the pandemic hit pause on their busy schedules, the family was drawn to Indigenous teachings more than ever.

"What I'm finding is that we're falling into more of a natural, land-based rhythm, as opposed to this superficial or artificial time structure that's been imposed upon us in this current society," said Michelle.

Before, she said their days were mostly filled with commuting to work or school and sitting in front of computer screens. Now, it's about making time to canoe, fish, climb the nearby Lebret hill and learn about Indigenous food sovereignty.

"These teachings will sustain us through any time period — they always have and they always will," Michelle said. "We're living in a time that has so many amazing things but they come at a really deep cost, so it's always really important to remember those teachings and why they're there."

A balancing act

For every climb and canoe, Michelle said they still have a child at home who loves screen time and misses playing with his friends.

"He doesn't want to sit down, so doing these activities is a great way for us to connect with him; it goes with his nature," she said. "It's baby steps because his attention span isn't as long as ours."

They are also teaching their son about raising laying hens and planting gardens.

They bake and cook together as well, using the recipe measurements as an impromptu math lesson, Michelle said. 

Land-based teachings 'beautiful for all humans,' says U of S prof

Kevin Lewis thinks more youth — both Indigenous and non-Indigenous — can learn from the land.

"It improves Canada and it can improve our education system," said Lewis, who's a teacher at kâniyasihk Cultural Camps on Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation and an assistant professor in curriculum studies at the University of Saskatchewan.

Lewis said the pandemic is providing more of a chance for families to get outdoors, and with that comes opportunities for storytelling, which can help provide guidance in these turbulent times.

"Say if you have an opportunity to be by water, it's OK to stop and give thanks to that water once in a while — and we don't do that enough … In [the Indigenous] world view, we call [the elements] grandmothers and grandfathers," he explained. "Those types of teachings are out there and they're beautiful for all humans."

Planting the seed for a 'spiritually strong' child

Down the road, Philip said he doesn't have any rigid expectations for his son; it's more about the comfort of knowing he's been exposed to experiences he can use later on in life.

"You can plant a seed when they're eight years old and maybe when they're 28 years old, that seed's going to bloom. Then they're going to look back and it's going to be something of value," Philip explained. "It's about instilling flexibility and resiliency — that's the greatest gift we can give our children."

Raising a "spiritually strong" child in this time is most important, he added.

"When I do think of the future, it's much more vast," Michelle said. "It's not looking at a year from now, but what kind of life is our son going to have and what kind of skills will he need? Because I do see more and more changes coming in our society."

'A good life lesson'

While Philip acknowledges the hardships of many during this pandemic, he said "it's been a good life lesson."

"For myself, it's a relinquishment of control and acceptance that everything can change in a day," he said. "We need to be mindful of the uncertainty that we're facing and we need to be prepared to move in any direction that we're going to need to."

As for Michelle, she's grounded in gratitude.

"Everything has changed around us, but we're so rich in our little wee family and one another," she said with a smile. "We have this abundance of food and we have this land space to live on that provides us with so much."