Stories of Ye'yumnuts
Podcasts
Ye'yumnuts: A sacred place
Part of a Cowichan landscape
Foodways at Ye'yumnuts
These are podcasts pulled together from a series of interviews with Cowichan Elders Ruby Peter, Diane Modeste, Luschiim, Harold Joe and Merle Seymour and Donna Gertz from the Hul'qumi'num Language Academy. The intention is to be an assemblage of stories and perspectives that situate this ancient site in the past and the present.
This is a teaching resource intended to accompany the podcasts when used in a classroom setting. These are a few suggestions of how to incorporate these podcasts into classroom learning.
Soundwalks
What Is A Soundwalk?
A soundwalk is when one walks through a place with the intention of listening carefully to all the sounds that are present, known as the soundscape. Scholars like Hildegard Westerkamp have been using soundwalks to encourage people to pay closer attention, and greater appreciate the soundscapes around us. Traditionally, soundwalks were supposed to be done without talking, for an example, please see the "Quiet Soundwalk" below. More recently, some soundwalkers have begun to include talking. You can listen to two more soundwalks that each have a different story-teller below in "Soundwalks with Dr. Brian Thom" and "Soundwalk with Tim Kulchyski". To do your own soundwalk, you can go visit Ye'yumnuts but you can also turn a walk through your home, community, or even a grocery store into a soundwalk! All you have to do is listen...
What Sound I Be Listening For in These Soundwalks?
Look at the pictures. What sounds from the picture can you hear?
Both of these storytellers talk about development surrounding Ye'yumuts. Can you hear any sounds of development?
Tim talks about the birds and the animals. Which birds can you hear?
Ye'yumnuts is meaningful to many people. What emotions can you hear in the voices?
Listen to the stories. What stories of your own come to mind when you listen to them? When you listen to the Quiet Soundwalk?
Quiet Soundwalk
Listen as two anthropology students from the University of Victoria walk through Ye'yumnuts in the early Fall of 2019.
Soundwalk with Dr. Brian Thom
Follow University of Victoria professor, Dr. Brian Thom and his graduate student, Lydia Toorenburgh, as they walk through Ye'yumnuts in early Fall of 2019.
Soundwalk with Tim Kulchyski
Walk with Cowichan First Nations member and biologist, Tim Kulchyski and Cree-Metis and University of Victoria graduate student, Lydia Toorenburgh, through Ye'yumnuts in the late Fall of 2019.
Additional Resources (DRAFT)
This document provides some additional information about the soundwalks and the story-tellers. This can be used for further learning or as a teaching resource to accompany the soundwalks when used in a classroom setting.