Teaching Stories - How Our Stories Are Told

Abstract

In order to enter the exhibit area at the Museum of Man and Nature in Winnipeg, you first must face a mural depicting an Oji-Cree creation story. The painting, by Daphne Odjig, tells a story as old as life itself—one passed from generation to generation, carrying with it our religion, our culture, our existence. A story like that can only be told and listened to, never written down. Stamped in lines of black letters onto a white page, recorded and reduced, repeating itself with each reading, the meaning of that story would be lost. We must tell our stories carefully...