Indigenous Storytelling Sunday: Sara Florence Davidson, Robert Davidson, and Janine Gibbons

with intro writing by Anisa Dhanji and artwork by River Miller

Young people (ages 18-30) form Ocean Wise’s Ocean Bridge program, a national team engaged for eleven months in co-creating and delivering ocean and waterway service projects for their home communities. Anisa Dhanji is a 2021 Ocean Bridge Ambassador residing on the Pacific coast.

As the Ocean Wise Youth community begins to learn about Indigenous sciences of place and relationships, we were excited to announce our social media event, Storytelling Sundays. We used our platform to share stories from Indigenous Storytellers on the four Sundays of February.

We’re so thankful that many of you joined us as we made space on Sundays for moments of multi-media learning, contemplation, and agency as we listened to Indigenous Storytellers. As a settler residing and dreaming on the stolen, ancestral, and occupied lands of the Qayqayt First Nation, I was so humbled to share the heart-work of Sara Florence Davidson, Robert Davidson, Janine Gibbons, Skookum John, Nathan Wilson, and Margaret Firlotte. We are also incredibly grateful for the thoughtful dedication from the very talented visual artist, River Miller, who created our beautiful social media posters for this event.

On our first Sunday, our storytellers featured a beautiful storybook, Jigging for Halibut with Tsinii by Sara Florence Davidson, and Robert Davidson, illustrated by Janine Gibbons.

Written by Dr. Sara Florence Davidson, a Haida/Settler author and SFU Education professor, and her father Robert Davidson, a respected and internationally acclaimed contemporary artist, Jigging for Halibut with Tsinii tells a “tender story [that] highlights intergenerational knowledge and authentic learning experiences.”

Off the northern tip of Haida Gwaii, a boy goes fishing with Tsinii, his grandfather. As they watch the weather, jig for halibut, and row with the tides, the boy realizes there’s more to learn from Tsinii than how to catch a fish.

“Written by the creators of Potlatch as Pedagogy, this book brings the Sk’ad’a Principles to life through the art of Janine Gibbons.” (Portage and Main Press)