The First Flute: Whowhoahyahzo Tohkohya by D. Bouchard
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20361/G2W89WAbstract
Bouchard, David. The First Flute: Whowhoahyahzo Tohkohya. Markham: Red Deer Press, 2015. Print.
With poetic words, Métis author, David Bouchard, encourages his readers to find a quiet place to share the telling of his hardcover book The First Flute. Specifically, in order to honour the teachings of storyteller Standing Elk, Bouchard invites readers to “hear and dream it without interruptions” and this invitation immediately invokes a feeling of ceremony and spirituality; it attends deeply to protocol.
David Bouchard, Jan Michael Looking Wolf, and Don Oelze collaborate in the retelling of a traditional story about a young man who had many skills appreciated by his village – hunting, fishing and tracking – but whose real passion, dancing, was not recognized until Grandfather Cedar gifted him with a flute. This, the first flute, helped the young man prove his worth to his village and to the woman he loved.
The many different art forms that find voice in this book, such as storytelling, visual art, and music awaken spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental faculties and make space for thinking in new ways. The words, melodies, and gift of visual images that it shares serve to lighten the heart and invite the reader to hear and dream the story of Konhe Waci, Dancing Raven, but also to hear and dream their own stories of who they are in their own families and communities.
The First Flute is a resource essential to any K-8 arts education classes to open conversations about identity, and how identity is shaped in relationship with other people and places.
Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars
Reviewer: Lynne Driedger-Enns & Trudy Cardinal
Dr. Lynne Driedger-Enns is the 2015 Horowitz Scholar with the Centre for Research for Teacher Education and Development at the University of Alberta. Dr. Trudy Cardinal is a Cree/Métis scholar from the University of Alberta whose research interests center on the experiences of Indigenous children and families on and off school landscapes. They share an interest in stories and storytelling.
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