In ECCU 400, we read the book “As Long as the Rivers Flow” by Larry Loyie (2002). This small chapter book is a wonderful resource that I will definitely display in my classroom library one day. It tells the story of how this family, like many other Indigenous families, lived a beautiful life before their children were ripped away to go to residential schools.
My Summary/Reflection Paper from ECCU 400:
The book “As Long as the Rivers Flow” by Larry Loyie (2002) shares the story of a boy, Lawrence, and his family. This novel gives a very detailed explanation of the way that Lawrence and his family lived a life of freedom off of the land and the resources that were provided to them by the Creator. Lawrence’s family and the First Nations peoples had sovereignty because of their relationship with the Creator. The Teaching Treaties in the Classroom book states that the creator gave First Nations people “Laws, values and principles that describe the relationship to the land and responsibilities for the lands given to them” (Treaty Commissioner, pg. 58). The story of Lawrence and his family proves this statement true as it shows how his parents and grandparents teach and raise the children to be responsible for the land. The book starts off when Lawrence finds an injured baby owl. His Papa tells him “It is a wild thing but it needs us now. Otherwise it will die of hunger or be eaten by a coyote. You children must care for it” (Loyie, 2002). This demonstrates how from a very young age, the First Nations children were taught how to respect and care for the animals who live on the land. This novel gives many examples of the lessons passed down by elders to the children about how they should live and treat other living things. Lawrence learns many spiritual philosophies, teachings, laws and traditions from his family throughout this story, which is why this book supports treaty education.
Every year, Lawrence and his family went on a two week long camping trip where they would gather berries and food, as well as various plants for medicine. The men would typically go hunting, while the women would cook and search for medicines. Lawrence was very eager to start hunting with the men, however, his Papa told him that he was not ready yet. Instead of hunting, Papa encouraged him to attempt to trick a beaver. His Grandpa gave him some advice on where to sit and to watch for the beaver’s nose sticking out of the water, as this is how the beavers check for danger. Lawrence followed this advice, sitting through hunger, thirst, and boredom. After lots of patience and discipline, he was able to trick the beaver. The Teaching Treaties in the Classroom book quotes “The creator put these [wildlife, medicine, plants] here and put us here. The creator gave us this land. I still live and try to live in the old ways and the ways of our traditional living, the ways that our old people lived. We were taught to take care of our old people, we were taught to respect them, we were taught to listen to their stories because their stories spoke of life” (Treaty Commissioner, pg. 51). This quote demonstrates how the book supports treaty education, because Lawrence was being raised in the traditional First Nations way, following all of the ways of living and listening to the old people in his life. I really enjoyed this chapter of the book, as it goes into so much detail about how they would dry out the berries, build shelters for sleeping, and hunt for food. It gave a great description of the free life that they lived and how they used the resources on the land in order to survive. I was really able to visualize how much the children learned from living this way of life, as opposed to what they learned at the Residential Schools. I think that this chapter is great to teach treaty education as it shows students how freely the First Nations people lived before the White settlers came and took over the land.
Lawrence always admired his Grandmother, talking about how smart she was and that she could hunt and fish better than anyone. His Papa even told him “Your Kokom is equal to anyone, you will learn a lot from her if you watch and listen” (Loyie, 2002). I thought that this quote was very heartfelt and shows how much the First Nations people cherish their family and those who came before them. I also enjoyed how they used a mixture of the words “Grandmother” and “Kokom” to teach readers that Kokom is how you say “grandma” in the First Nations language. In unit two of this course, we discussed a lot about how language creates a sense of spirituality, so I find it very fitting that they use the word Kokom in this book. On the camping trip, Lawrence tagged along with his Kokom to go out looking for medicine. She taught him how they sprinkle tobacco in the ground to give thanks to Mother Earth. Their afternoon was going great, until the forest suddenly went quiet and a grizzly bear appeared. It was the largest grizzly bear that they had ever seen, and Lawrence knew it was dangerous because it was standing up on its back legs. He learned this from the elders, who also taught him that to run from a grizzly would be certain death. His Grandmother was able to shoot and kill the grizzly bear, saving both of their lives. After the bear had passed, she gave thanks to it, saying “Thank you for giving up your spirit and not killing us” (Loyie, 2002). This demonstrates how she was grateful to still be alive, and felt sorry for the bear that it had to give up its life for theirs. It also shows how she acknowledges that bears also have spirits and are living beings that should be treated with respect. They used up every last bit of the bear for meat, rugs, and even used the teeth and bones for gifts. This shows how they did not waste any part of the bear, just like how they did not waste any parts of the buffalo. Whereas the White settlers would hunt the buffalo and then waste most of it, making the buffalo an endangered species.
When they returned home from camping, Grandpa stated how proud he was that his grandson met a grizzly bear and also took care of an owl. He said “From now on, we will call him Oskiniko.” This word meant young man, as his Grandpa was trying to tell everyone how he is growing into a brave, strong, young First Nations man. Lawrence felt honoured to have this title and stood proudly beside his Grandpa. The next day would be very tragic for the family, as Lawrence’s Mama and Kokom were crying and announced that the children were being taken away to go to school. The children were also crying and did not want to leave, Lawrence wanted to stay and start hunting and providing for his family like his Papa does. They had no choice, his parents were told that they would go to prison if they refused to let their children go. Mama told Lawrence “Be brave, Oskiniko. Take care of your younger sister and brothers” (Loyie, 2002). Two strange men came to pick them up, and abruptly told the family to hurry up and say goodbye. This part was very hard for me to read, and made me sad for the parents that they realized their children would be in the care of these insensitive, rude men. It just goes to show how they could not even be polite in allowing them to say their goodbyes, and shows that they did not care about the wellbeing of the children one bit. It displays how the relationship between the First Nations people and the White settlers was a very one sided and a negative experience for the First Nations party.
Overall, I would say that this book offers a lot of opportunity to teach students about treaty education and issues that the First Nations people faced. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Education states that “By the end of Grade 12, students will understand that Treaty relationships are based on a deep understanding of peoples’ identity which encompasses: languages, ceremonies, worldviews, and relationship to place and the land” (2013, pg. 4). This book explains how the rules were very harsh at the school, and that the teachers were strict and cruel. The children had to work very hard on chores, and could hardly read or write when they left. They could not even speak their own language or they would get the strap or have their mouths washed out with soap. Lawrence did not go home until he was fourteen, and he felt like a stranger when he did return. He could not find the same feeling of freedom that he once had, it just was not the same. The beautiful, free way of life that he had once lived was now gone. This book can help students reach the outcome mentioned above as it speaks thoroughly about Lawrence’s great relationship with the land and his culture before being sent off to the school. Another reason that this book supports treaty education is because it speaks a lot about elders and storytelling. This is something that was spoken about a lot in our unit two forum discussion, as most of my peers and I agreed that bringing elders into our schools on a regular basis is a great way to bring spirituality and culture into the school. Lawrence spoke very highly of his elders and references them many times throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading the story of Lawrence’s family, and will be sure to have this book on my shelf in my future classroom and to read it during my treaty education units.
References
Loyie, L., & Brissenden, C. (2002). As long as the rivers flow. Vancouver School Board Printshop.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. (2013). https://treaty6education.lskysd.ca/sites/treaty6education.lskysd.ca/files/Treaty%20Education%20Outcomes%20%26%20Indicators%20-%20Feb%2021%202013.pdf.
Teaching treaties in the Classroom: Treaty Resource Guide. Office of the Treaty Commissioner.