Ieheri:ne Kennedy December 15, 2019

EDEC 262 - Learning Narrative #1

The class trip to Concordia to listen to the presentation by Skawennati Fragnito was a

very interesting one and one that I am sure that I will reflect upon in my own teaching career.

Last year I listened to a similar presentation that was done here in Kahnawake at the language

conference where she presented what ABTEC does and how they have collaborated with the

KOR to re-create the creation story. At the time, I thought it was really cool but seemed very

complicated as each team member spoke of the different roles they play in such a project. It

was all a little too complicated for my liking.

As much as I am not a tech- savvy person, I was intrigued by the presentation. I did not

know about all of the projects that their group has created and worked on. I was most interested

in the fact that they reach out to different communities to try to gain interest in students through

their video game workshops. Most of our youth relate so well to video games because they

spend most of their personal time glued to these gaming systems. For these students, gaming is

part of their world, a different reality. To be able to offer opportunity for students to be involved

in the process of creating their own video game could be a very useful teaching tool. These

students would be more interested in learning and participating due to fact that it relates to their

own environment. From what i saw in the presentation, the skills that students are taught in

creating video games are skills that they can use later on in their lives. Everything that we do

today requires use of some sort of technology and so it would be very valuable for students to

be introduced to different types of media systems and how they work. It also helps students

develop a better sense of what they are interested by introducing a new skills set. Many

students are into drawing and computer graphics. It allows them to see the many different

career opportunities that there are in the field of media and technology and may help to guide

their choices in what they choose to do in college.

 I loved the fact that Abtec has tried very hard to incorporate culture into all of their

projects. They consulted with different indigenous groups and worked with these different

groups to create video games that told a story or incorporated different elements from that

culture. Our stories/legends have always been passed down orally, and later on through books.

I think that it is a really interesting way to pass along this knowledge of our stories through

media sources. Playing a video game that helps a person connect to their own culture is

something that I thought to be so new, creative and unique.

I also enjoyed watching video clips from Skawennati’s other personal projects. It was

evident that the virtual world that she has created means a lot to her. It has been her outlet for

connecting with her own culture and helping her form her own identity as an Onkwehon:we

person. Her videos were done very well and caught my interest. I am definitely going to check

out the rest of her videos when i have the opportunity. I thought that it would be a good thing to

show my students in class as we have covered different parts of creation story and the

peacemaker in class. Although i teach in Kanien’keha, I thought of showing my students during

lunch hour just to introduce them to another persons perspective and take on these stories. I

want to show them the possibilities that are out there for telling about our culture. I want them to

see that media could be a good outlet for sending messages and informing others about who

we are as Onkwehon:we people. I have many students who are interested in gaming and i think

that they would enjoy seeing the different games they have made with communities.