There’s a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh saying that “rocks are our oldest teachers”.
Earthquakes happen when tectonic plates move away from each other to create valleys (divergent), push up against one another to form mountains (convergent), or simply brush past the other (transform). Geologists view the earth as either snapping, sliding or colliding—and, if rocks are our oldest teachers, what are they teaching us?
This art project is an attempt to answer that question. […] Every incision on the paper resurrects the spectre of colonialism, that strategic plucking of people from their lands, and placing them back down to die by extraction for Her Majesty’s Pleasure.
The movements of our people seem complex to many, but they are simple to us. If rocks are our oldest teachers, then the land has taught my son how his ancestors diverged, converged, and transformed together to make him.
My entire entry can be read here: http://bild-lida.ca/blog/uncategorized/rocks-are-our-oldest-teachers-by-rhonda-chung/#more-4508
Audio version: https://soundcloud.com/bild_lida/part-1-rocks-are-our-oldest-teachers#t=0:03
BILD is a critical sociolinguistic blog started by members of McGill University's Department of Integrated Studies in Education with the goal of discussing our language experiences in the multilingual setting of Montreal.