Newswise — Young people in the northern Quebec community of Opitciwan will soon be able to go online to explore the land around them and what it means to their culture and history, via a new platform focused on landscapes, nature and biodiversity.
The platform is being developed as part of the second phase of E itaskweak: Reviving Memory – Rediscovering the Territory of Opitciwan, a project aimed at promoting ancestral knowledge.
It is led by the Council of the Atikamekw of Opitciwan in partnership with the Chair in Landscape and Environmental Design at Université de Montréal (CPEUM).
Support has come from Quebec’s First Nations and Inuit Relations Secretariat, the Council of the Atikamekw Nation, the First Nations Education Council and UdeM’s Vice-Rectorate of Research, Discovery, Creation and Innovation.
Knowledge passed down by elders
The Atikamekw word “itaskweak” encompasses everything that makes up the forest – its vastness as well as its trees, plants and animals – and also all that guides people in their relationship with the land.
The E itaskweak project is based on a rich body of ancient and contemporary knowledge about the land in many forms, including maps, drawings, photographs, texts and oral accounts.
It draws on research dating back to the 1980s, teachings and stories passed down orally by elders, and contemporary activities such as excursions on the land, group discussions, pictoral and written documents, and more.
The goal is to reconnect Opitciwan young people to their natural and cultural environment and support intergenerational transmission of knowledge about the land.
“Young people will be encouraged to explore the territory of Opitciwan and discover the knowledge passed down by elders,” said Sylvain Paquette, a professor at UdeM’s School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture.
“The project promotes the transmission of ancestral knowledge in order to educate the younger generation,” said Paquette, who holds the Chair in Landscape and Environmental Design.
Bridging past and future
The digital platform will map the land and represent it in alignment with the knowledge systems of the Atikamekw First Nation. It will be a bridge between past and future, its proponents say.
Through it, young people will gain access to a vast archive of maps, documents, images and sound recordings on a wide range of topics. For instance, it will show the Earth’s many transformations since the Ice Age.
Teachers will be able to use the platform for learning activities, in particular to make students aware of the richness of the land and of land-based knowledge. The hope is that it will inspire young people to get out and explore their real-world surroundings and experience firsthand the natural setting of the village.
As well, the community’s leaders, the Council of the Atikamekw of Opitciwan, will have full access to this reservoir of knowledge and will be able to use it, for example, when designing cultural and social activities for the community’s youth.
The project is being carried out with UdeM’s Centre for Digital Expertise for Research (known by its French acronym CENR), with content developed collaboratively with members of the Atikamekw community.
“We’re not the experts on the land of the Atikamekw,” Paquette noted.
Under the direction of Gerthie Chachai, Opitciwan residents such as cultural officer Noella Chachai and technoliguist Véronique Chachai are creating the content, working with the community’s land-use department, under the direction of Louis-Michel Dubé, and the planning/environment department, under the direction of Marie-Soleil Weizineau.
“Our role at the Chair in Landscape and Environmental Design is to help set priorities, ensure the content is relevant to the community and imagine different use scenarios,” Paquette said. “Thanks to this collaboration, we have the privilege of being able to access this knowledge about the land and incorporate the concerns of Indigenous communities into our research.”
‘Not simply a backdrop’
“A landscape isn’t simply a backdrop or a panorama; it’s both outside and inside us,” he added.
“We apply labels to a landscape based on its value to us or our relationship to it, which is enmeshed in social and cultural values. Collaborating with the Atikamekw gives us a unique insight into the relationship with the land.”
Paquette also pointed out that the word “landscape” has no direct equivalent in the Atikamekw language. They use various words to describe the land and their toponomy provides valuable indications of their relationship to it.
“This project is also in line with efforts to decolonize knowledge and represents an incredible learning opportunity,” he said.
UdeM welcomes a delegation from Opitciwan
On Sept. 9, a delegation from the Council of the Atikamekw of Opitciwan visited Université de Montréal for the official launch of Phase 2 of the E itaskweak project.
The delegation included the community’s chief, Jean-Claude Mequish, and his fellow members and executive director, as well as the directors of the education, land-use and community development departments, and young graduates of Mikisiw High School.
Representatives from UdeM’s vice-rectorate of community and international partnerships, and from Cap Campus and Salon Uatik, UdeM’s dedicated space for Indigenous students, gave the young guests a guided tour of the campus.
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