Exchanges between Two Rivers: Possibilities for Teaching Writing in the Northwest Territories

• Main Author: Catlin, Susan Jane
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; French
• Published: Canadian Society for the Study of Education / Société canadienne pour l'étude de l'éducation 2013
• Subjects: Northwest Territories
• Online Access: https://journals.sfu.ca/cje/index.php/cje-rce/article/view/1266

My action research investigation into place-conscious writing practices invited experienced Non-Aboriginal teachers from the Northwest Territories to think through writing practices that might engage Northern students, many of whom are Indigenous. In this paper, I will focus on what the teachers had to say about the influences of aspects of Indigenous oral traditions on their writing pedagogies. I will consider the possibility that multiliteracies might provide a more dynamic conception of literacy that invites student engagement through multimodal connections and opens up spaces for Indigenous ways of knowing and being in approaches to teaching writing. Key words: writing pedagogy, multiliteracies, Indigenous education, oral traditions