Saskatchewan Bound

I'm headed home

Regina, Moose Jaw, North Battleford. In preparing for my upcoming trip, a quote from my book Prairie Born:

If I had a penny for each time I spoke 

Of cold, howling wind of deep drifting snow

Of darkness of  winter on route to the rink

Of so many memories I smile as I think 

Knowing full well that others who've never lived there

Will nod and listen but don't really care

As "morning, fine day" means nothing much more

But to me, it means....

To me it means... Come in and please shut the door

Will the kids be alright? Should I plug in the car?

If I start shovelling now will I get very far?

Will I have to start over before I am done?

Will the wind blow it back? I must weigh a ton.

Fill your cup up - let's visit...remember  the time

The snow bank was up past the telephone line?

Here's me in a picture, I'm shovelling the drive

The snow line is over the roof on three sides.

Say what? You can top that - well  try this for size

I'd shovelled three hours  and to my surprize

That night went I came home, d'you know what I saw?

The wind blew it...."

I know that I'm rambling but all this is true

It's more than just memories of times that I knew

It answers the mystery of what lies in our souls

Where nature's the teacher for young and  for old. 

It shapes us from childhood  through  sun, dust and rain

Compels us  to live for life's pleasures and pain

And the secret of me from the day of my birth

Is the nurturing seasons and our Mother the Earth. 

One of the things that we prairie ex-pats do on a daily basis is watch the weather. How it happens, I don't know but I always seem to find myself in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in mid-winter. I downloaded the image on the right this morning: 

I don't worry about the cold. Minus 25 or 35 or even minus 45...It's all the same. It's cold. No...I don't worry about that number. I do however worry about the condition of the roads. That and crazy storms.

The catch in our winter driving is to leave for your destination early and to drive slowly. I will be driving a  rental and will select a vehicle that can cope with harsh conditions. 

To choose one image that best represents my childhood memories, 

I defer to Allen Sapp.

 

LitCon 2025 Columbus Ohio

 LitCon 2025

Funny thing about LitCon is that it came so soon after the election in which President Trump all but calls for war on we Canadians. 

In truth, we are quite different than our southern neighbours. Though we have much in common, through some force of nature, we Canadians are more of a social minded people, i.e. gun control, social programmes for seniors, the needy and the disabled, universal medical coverage, educational rights and freedoms, the banning of books, penal systems, legalizing marijuana, etc...

The thing that has affected me the most is our differences in education - namely in reading. 

There was a time when our two countries were on a similar track - when whole language education was seen as the best option in education. Canadians wholeheartedly embraced the concept so much so that the Whole Language Consortium of Manitoba hosted a global conference in Winnipeg that drew over 5000 delegates from across the globe. Bill Martin Junior was our keynote speaker as we shared a common understanding on how best to  teach reading. Maria Montessori was our hero. Alfie Kohn and other innovative American academics appeared to have a solid footing in the US. 

This however was not the case. To mention Whole Language in many states today is waving a red flag. So when I was invited to speak to the IRA in Detroit, I expected the worst from the 5000 seated before me. I held nothing back in my opening, "America, you test your children too early and you test them too often!" You can imagine my shock when a big, boisterous man in the front row bellowed out AMEN! I came to understand that though government promoted standardized testing, phonics and strategies consistent with the idea of treating reading a science and not a humanity, there remained a substantial body who saw reading as Maria saw it....something as simple as walking and talking. Over the next few years, I was invited south of the border on numerous occasions. Yes, I ruffled feathers and stirred the pot but Americans, by far and large, are kind and polite. More often than not, they affirmed my belief in teachers, children and reading.

My keynote at LitCon in Ohio touched on missing indigenous children, on the importance of focusing on children and not the curriculum and as I always do, on our collective need to speak to mental health.

My goal was to outline individual roles in promoting reading/literacy in our schools and in our homes, a message that I have shared over the past twenty five years; through the teachings of Maria Montessori: It doesn't take magic or a new exciting programme to create readers. It takes time, heroes and books.

Over the past 30 years, I have presented at dozens of conferences. LitCon was the most well organized, from the setting at the beautiful Hyatt Regency in downtown Columbus to the amazing AV support through to the variety and quality of the numerous session presenters.

Thank you Allison, Billy and the entire executive for providing me with the opportunity to share my years of learning.

Zoom - Google Meet - Microsoft Teams

 Zoom -Teams - Meet 

There are many new exciting ways to meet and share...

Last week, I delivered a keynote address to LitCon, the biggest Literacy Conference in the US. 

This week, I shared my love for and the power of story with the students at Suncrest College. My goal was to enlighten and motivate an extremely diverse group of students from across my home province of Saskatchewan. 

The name Suncrest is  the combination of two words that hold significant meaning to each of the 11 campuses within the expanded region including locations in Canora,  Esterhazy, Fort Qu'Appelle, Kamsack, Melfort, Melville, Nipawin, Tisdale and Yorkton. The name represents Saskatchewas, one of the sunniest provinces in Canada. A crest signifies the top of the peak, representing the colleges' shared vision to exceed the needs of learners, partners and communities. 

Educational options include university degrees, skills training diplomas and certificates,  trades training, high school upgrading, employability programmes, safety training, and corporate/professional development.

My involvement was to speak to the need for and the power of story. I did this as any storyteller would do, for 90 minutes, I told stories.

I chose my stories with the intent of helping students (and staff) learn from some of my many life experiences across the globe yet remaining focussed on those I have had in Canada - from coast to coast to coast. 

I addressed the importance of reading. I touched on the how of becoming a reader. 

I spoke to the gifts each of us are given and the importance of building our lives around those gifts. 

Some of my stories focussed on the ongoing neglect in our Northern communities and on many of our reserves. 

I shared a few of my books. 

All this was done through Microsoft Team. The conference director was very well versed with the platform which allowed me to achieve everything I hoped to achieve. 

 No Apologies - No excuses 

It's been a year since I blogged. I can't really explain why other than to be honest with you. 

A few years ago, I gave into what I had come to believe in - generic direction. 

There was a time that I planned my entire life - a ten year plan...a five year plan...weekly and daily plans. As I grew, I was taught by life's greatest teacher, experience, that I needed not plan. My Grandmothers had me covered. 

We all have within us (in our DNA) memories and more. Our Grandmothers live in each and every one of us whether we know it or not...whether we listen to them or not. If this blog serves nothing more than to wake you to that important and meaningful truth, it will serve us both well. 

Once you come to realize that she (perhaps a collective of  Grandmothers?) lives there, within you, you might be lucky enough to come to know her name. And if you are fortunate to pinpoint the source of your guide, speak her name, as I do, Jeanne Charbonneau. This will strengthen the bond between you and sharpen your senses to her every direction. 

I am not fortunate enough to have her picture (though I have been to her gravesite in Kransburt, South Dakota). I do, however, have a picture of her Granddaughter, my Great Grandmother whom I had known as a boy. 

My full name is Pierre David Bouchard. I was named after my Grandfather, Pierre Mercier (showing here). 

Alrighty then, I'm back with much to share and even more to learn. Hug...

Implementing the recommendations of the TRC - A difficult challenge

Telling your students the Truth as you attempt to implement the recommendations of TRC is a very difficult assignment. 

If ONE person, a parent, a trustee, an administator or...any ONE person has an issue  with your efforts, it could be  disastrous. It could mean your job/your livelhood. 

Yet, you want to do your share. What can you do? 

Educate them - your students (and your community) about the values and beliefs of  those to whom we  know we are owing. One way to do this is for you to use my books that focus on the Sacred Teachings. These Teachings are consistent among many First Nations.  To  access those of the Haudenosaunee, use my book The Great Law.

For middle school - high school, the Seven Sacred Teachings is a beautifully illustrated look at the Grandfather Teachings/Teachings or the White Buffalo Calf Woman. To support the book, allo me to read it to them

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFPuRfqm9RY&t=359s 

For every right there is a wrong.  For each of the Sared Teachings there is a Deceiver. Again, the book and/or the video clip: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GLPfFM4RZA

I have written a version of the teachings for younger readers. Medicine Wheel Education has published We Learn from  the Sun - in English, en francais and in Ojibwe. They also have created and offer, for very little money, a teachers' guide. 

If you find success by using my books through what is a positive educational approach to implementing the recommendations, you might want to look at Meet Your Family, again in the three languages and again offering a teachers' guide. This book is currently the most popular of my books. I say currently as I have three exciting titles soon to be released. I will speak further to these this coming week.

If I can be of any further assistance, I'm here. 

I do online presentations as well as in person events. 

The passing of an amazing person -

                              https://www.facebook.com/774715303/videos/537161068504906/

 Robb DUNFIELD

May 17, 1959 - June 19, 2023

Robb was remarkable his whole life. He was the fourth in a family of five siblings (Kim, Barbara, Liz and Peter) and from the day he was born on May 17, 1959, he started to make his mark on the world, little knowing, that in his lifetime he would become 'the first in the world' on many stages.

In his youth, Robb excelled in all sports through his singular focus. As a freestyle skier, performing aerial flips, he always challenged himself to go higher and further. Robb loved soccer and golf but, also taught himself to embroider, embellishing a jacket with a colourful giant he'd drawn himself. He proudly wore it until he framed it as the piece of art is was.

After his accident, from which he emerged as the 'first in the world', to survive a C2 spinal cord injury, ventilator dependent. Robb began his journey to become the world's most positive minded man with the ability to look at life through a lens, that made him truly believe, if he just put his mind to it, he could find a way to make the impossible, possible and, he did just that.

Robb yearned to leave hospital, have his own room with a door and music. So, again he put his mind to creating the world's first independent living space for high-level quadriplegics. Everyone said it couldn't be done but, he did it and, that's where he met and fell in love with Sarah. They married and had twin girls Emma and Sophia, who have grown into very accomplished young women. Over the years raising a family, Robb became a proficient painter with his paintings widely collected both in Canada and internationally. Some of his paintings became part of a book titled "If Sarah Will Take Me" and accompany a poem by Dave Bouchard. Robb's paintings were made into prints that Variety Club auctioned for its annual charity fund raisers.

Robb was awarded the prestigious National Achievement Award by the Mother's March of Dimes and Easter Seals and honoured on centre ice at a Canuck's game when he donated his painting of 'The Canuck House'. Calona Wines produced the Dunfield-Soon wine series with Robb's paintings featured on the wine labels. The last big project Robb undertook was a large mural for the lobby of the Blusson Spinal Cord Research Centre at Vancouver General Hospital.

Robb's life was full of love and respect and all who met him were enchanted by his gentle manner and bright smile. In the early days after his accident, he travelled all through North America educating the public on the importance of independent living for the disabled. As part of his Above and Beyond program he toured public schools in the lower Mainland and captivated the attention of the children with his motivational speeches. Robb, an intelligent, kind and caring man spoke at medical conferences and was honoured with the Courage to Come Back Award. He created the Ambassador program for the Rick Hansen Foundation in which, he played a meaningful role as Ambassador for many years.

Above all, Robb loved his family and his home and was happiest spending time with them in the garden or working on a project. His ideas were big and bold whether for education, renovations, landscaping or a vacation. We will all miss time spent with Robb, the best listener, always wanting to hear what we were doing, encouraging our hopes and dreams.

Robb is indelibly etched on our hearts and we will never forget his unbreakable spirit. He defied all odds and left an awe-inspiring legacy of perseverance in his mighty will to live.
There will be a celebration of life in August.

 

Canada Day - a time for Canadians to take a long, serious look in the mirror

 

David Bouchard’s “I Am Not a Ghost”: A Story of Resilience and Heritage

Bouchard’s new children’s book I am Not a Ghost spotlights an under-appreciated but important part of Canadian history.

BY NATHALIE DE LOS SANTOS & MAY AU ● COLD TEA READS ● JUNE 30, 2023

David Bouchard, a renowned Canadian author, released a new children’s book, I Am Not a Ghost: The Canadian Pacific Railway. The work recounts the story of a Chinese man who migrated to Canada to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway. He came in search of a better life. The railway workers treated him harshly, but Amelia Douglas, a Métis woman, who was one of the founding mothers of British Columbia, and wife of the former governor of BC, saved him from death. This fictional but historically accurate story carries an important message and describes the racism and hardship that these newcomers to Canada endured.

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was completed in 1885. The construction of the railway was a massive undertaking that required the labor of thousands of workers. Many of these workers were Chinese immigrants. Despite their significant contributions, the Chinese workers faced racism and discrimination, including lower wages and dangerous working conditions.

Image credit: David Bouchard

A creative process with reciprocity at its heart

Bouchard collaborated with long-time friend, Zhong-Yang Huang and his son, Sean Huang, who illustrated I Am Not a Ghost. When they first came up with the idea, they wanted to highlight the injustices done to the Chinese community.

“Yang’s input to all of this was, can this be real? Were Canadians truly that way?” Bouchard said during an interview with Cold Tea Collective. “It became clear to us this history wasn’t being shared in schools. I Am Not a Ghost is a telling where a racist is a racist, a bigot is a bigot, and a brutally harsh society has to be called out for what it was.”

No one person can represent an issue in its entirety or be the sole voice for history itself. Storytellers must work together to cultivate stories with reciprocity for the community it serves.

Together, Zhong-Yang’s artistic direction guided Sean’s illustrations and Bouchard’s writing. From this collaboration came a creative process approach that had reciprocity and inclusion at its heart.

“I Am Not a Ghost is meant to spark curiosity and have people say: Did they really do that? Those living conditions were real? It is a hard reflection on who we are and what we did as a people. And I think Chinese-Canadian kids deserve to know that,” Bouchard says.

A friendship full of inspiration

Bouchard recounted Zhong-Yang’s rise to becoming a great artist: “When the Mao Revolution came to be, Yang was a young man who was sent to work in the rice fields. One day somebody in the fields saw him figure drawing and asked him, ‘Would you draw my mother?’ Yang agreed. Within a matter of months, he had a lineup of people waiting. He was given the nickname Lazy Boy because he didn’t work his garden.”

Zhong-Yang went on to become a master professor in China. In the eighties, Zhong-Yang came to Regina, Saskatchewan. Zhong-Yang had a large art show of his work, and there he met Bouchard. Despite a language barrier, Bouchard exchanged his contact info with Zhong-Yang and the two immediately became friends. The two went on to create more books: The Dragon New Year, The Great Race, Buddha in the Garden, The Mermaid’s Muse, and Dragon of Heaven: The Memoirs of the Last Empress of China.

“We taught each other many things. I wanted to learn about his culture, and he wanted to learn about mine,” Bouchard reflected on his friendship with Zhong-Yang, which has been full of inspiration and creativity.

Image Credit: Canadian History Ehx

Remembering and reimagining our heritage

Currently, only a few Canadian illustrated children’s books directly address the racial discrimination and exploitation the Chinese endured during CPR’s construction. I Am Not a Ghost: The Canadian Pacific Railway is a needed children’s book that highlights this often untold history.

“Make this book a doorway to opening up new perspectives on how we must all remember and share our stories. Canada is still writing its story as a nation, and this book is an important part of that story,” says Dr. Brandt C. Louie, Chairman and CEO of the H.Y. Louie Company Limited and the ninth Chancellor of Simon Fraser University. Dr. Louie has generously bought two copies for every school in Western Canada. 

If you would like to read more about the Canadian Pacific Railway and the lived experiences of the Chinese community, we recommend these books. Another children’s book that is available is The Railroad Adventures of Chen Sing by George Chiang. Other higher reading level books include Gold Mountain Blues by Ling Zhang, the two books, Blood and Sweat Over the Railway Tracks and Blossom in the Gold Mountain by Lily Chow, The Diary of Dukesang Wong by Dukesang Wong, the two books Blood and Iron and A Superior Man by Paul Yee, and Ghosts of Gold Mountain by Gordon H. Chang.

See also: 7 books about identity, race by Asian authors for children

Feature Credit: Plumleaf PressAuthor(s)

NATHALIE DE LOS SANTOS

Nathalie De Los Santos is based in Vancouver, and is the founder of PilipinxPages, a bookstagram featuring Filipinx authors. You can read her work or hear her in TFC, CBC, Filipino Fridays Podcast, Stories with Sapphire Podcast, Chopsticks Alley Pinoy, the LiterAsian Festival (2020), Marias at Sampaguitas, Ricepaper Magazine, and Gastrofork.

MAY AU

May Au is a business lawyer, philomath, and story-addict who seeks to approach life with wonder, connection and a critical mind. May has always been captivated by stories. As a young child, she would be the first to get lost in a book, a movie, a drama, a song, for hours upon hours, often forgetting about the normal life activities of sleeping, eating and homework. Now, as a more responsible adult, May tries to limit her reading, movie, music or drama marathons to evenings and weekends only – with varying degrees of success. As an editor of Cold Tea Collective, May feels privileged to have the opportunity to participate in the sharing of stories that inspire individuals to connect, engage in meaningful dialogue, build relationships, and be the best versions of themselves.