Project Report - La Trobe University
Project Report - La Trobe University
Project Report - La Trobe University
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centers and pre-schools across the<br />
country.<br />
So, what exactly do we hope to produce in<br />
five months? Our wish list is ambitious:<br />
an ethnographic account of Ichananaw<br />
life; a photo essay or coffee table book; a<br />
Chananaw-English dictionary; a history<br />
reader and other educational materials; a<br />
series of illustrated story books in three<br />
languages simultaneously (Chananaw,<br />
English and Filipino), telling the<br />
Ichananaw’s legends, fables and history;<br />
and a ‘knowledge bank’ of materials<br />
relevant to the Ichananaw, collected from<br />
museums and libraries. We will be<br />
pleased even if we only accomplish a few<br />
of these, but we like to dream big.<br />
And how are we doing it? Maria is staying<br />
in Chananaw, gathering stories, elder’s<br />
oral histories, and general observations<br />
from sharing daily life, as well as working<br />
with the teachers to indigenise the<br />
educational materials. Our assignment<br />
supervisor and close friend, Agom, is<br />
working very closely with us on all<br />
aspects of the project, as is Daniel, and<br />
several others in the community are also<br />
involved. Edwin joined Maria for the first<br />
month, and is now based in Manila to<br />
gather all materials from external sources<br />
and to liaise with project partners. Of<br />
course, we are both travelling back and<br />
forth to see each other from time to time.<br />
In this first month, we have been soaking<br />
up all aspects of daily life (planting rice<br />
seedlings into knee-deep, soupy mud;<br />
documenting bedtime stories; drinking<br />
copious amounts of coffee), and mixing<br />
structured activities (running art classes<br />
for the children) with just taking the<br />
experiences and opportunities as they<br />
arise (taking up all invitations to share a<br />
meal with a new family; staying up late<br />
into the night with more than 50<br />
members of the community to attend a<br />
songa – the butchering of a pig by a young<br />
man in honor of his sick grandmother).<br />
Indigenizing Education in a Kalinga Public School | 39<br />
But five months is a very short time, so<br />
we see this project more as laying the<br />
groundwork for future engagements – by<br />
us, by local NGOs, or by any other<br />
interested Australians – with the<br />
Ichananaw for development on their own<br />
terms.<br />
We are also simply enjoying living in what<br />
is one of the most beautiful places we’ve<br />
ever found, in the company of good<br />
friends. What more could we ask for?