Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Launch: BC First Nation Communities Read

The October 2006 launch and month-long tour for the BC First Nation Communities Read program was undoubtedly a highlight of our writing careers. In all, we were proud to present to some 1,547 children and adults at schools and libraries on the North Coast, Cariboo/Chilcotin, Vancouver Island, Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland. We also tried to do as much outreach as possible as we toured, to promote the program, First Nations cultural awareness and libraries in general.

The focus was on our book As Long as the Rivers Flow, the Honour Book selection for the 2006 First Nations Communities Read program. And we were also privileged to be able to introduce our new book When the Spirits Dance. We are so grateful to be able to do outreach on these two books as well as our third book, The Gathering Tree.

The BC First Nation Communities Read program accomplishes so much. It encourages reading, it inspires children’s imaginations and seeking minds, it opens the door for cultural understanding, and it promotes Canadian authors who happen to be of First Nations heritage. It reaches urban and rural communities, both Native and non-Native.

Librarians are an integral part of BC’s communities. Their role can’t be underestimated. They bring the pleasure of reading to all the communities in their region. Without the active support and encouragement of the librarians, and much hard work, the program could not have happened. We thank all the librarians that took part.

Tiny tots looked at us in wonderment as we read to them. Elementary school students asked a barrage of sometimes-tough questions. High school students put aside their reticence to ask about First Nations culture, writing, illustrating and publishing. Librarians and elders welcomed us to share their lunches. These are all happy memories.

We were fortunate to be the BC writers featured during this first year of involvement with the First Nation Communities Read program. We hope the program continues in various ways each year to support and promote inter-cultural reading across a wide swath of every community. A special thank you must go out to the funders who made this program possible.

Fraser Valley: Week 1 – Thurs Oct 5 - Fri Oct 6

Our first week on tour set the scene for the entire five weeks: welcoming librarians, enthusiastic audiences, and perfectly sunny fall weather.

The launch was exceptionally well organized, well attended, and included the local mayor and acting mayor. Organized by Ene Haabniit, Ada Conn and other librarians, it was a memorable event. Everyone (especially the students) enjoyed the refreshments, which included locally made bannock. Very well done and exciting.

The first event set the stage for whether the tour would be well received or not. The launch buoyed us up and set the mood for the entire tour. At the launch, students had prepared questions with the teachers, and that was a nice approach. It opened up discussion for other students to ask questions and feel comfortable. When they started asking questions, they couldn’t stop!

We met with students from a number of schools at three of the four locations. The fourth ran into a conflict with a professional development day but we visited the library and were interviewed by the Surrey Now editor Carolyn Cook resulting in a good article about the program with photo as well.

North Coast: Week 2 – Mon Oct 9 – Sat Oct 14

We flew to Smithers on Monday and our tour ran Tuesday to Friday. Karen, the librarian in Houston invited us to Thanksgiving dinner which was delicious and fun. It was exciting to visit the wonderful reserve schools as well as meet town-based students. We revisited Kispiox school and were remembered by several students from our visit three years before. In Moricetown, we were invited to the elders lunch and talked with them about the tour and the books before the presentation. The community centre opened up their Feast Hall for us adjacent to the school and we spoke to a huge crowd. The students were enthusiastic about having their photo taken with us.

After we finished, we were asked to drop by the band office. We did, and band members bought quite a few books. They were happy to hear about the visit because we had done outreach that morning visiting a number of band resources.

Shaun Thomas, reporter for The Northern View, came to our reading at Conrad Elementary School in Prince Rupert. The report appeared in the newspaper (but we haven’t seen it yet). The students were impressive: they created their own stories based on the illustrations by Heather D. Holmlund wonderful illustrations in As Long as the Rivers Flow and shared them with us.

Cariboo/Chilcotin: Week 3 – Mon Oct 16 – Thurs Oct 19 and Mon Oct 23

We drove to Williams Lake on Monday, Oct. 16, and once again with beautiful weather.

We visited Williams Lake, Hundred Mile House and Merritt the first week. Williams Lake has a strong alcohol and drug free program and we dropped by several community programs (including Thompson Rivers University, health centres, youth centres etc). It was gratifying because some of those we visited came out to the reading later that day.
We had a great turnout; the room was full. Children came by bus from the reserve school as well.

The Hundred Mile House library was a cozy, fun reading, standing room only. We also read twice at the Merritt library, two separate readings. The first was younger students, the second older students. The older students asked a lot of questions. They were enthusiastic about our presentation, and asked questions about aboriginal culture, publishing and being a writer. We also did an impromptu presentation at the learning centre nearby and visited several community resource centers.

We drove back to Vancouver on Thursday night because Friday was a teacher development day in Lillooet. Then we returned to Lillooet on Sunday for three presentations on Monday – tiny tots, high school and elementary school. The tiny tots were adorable. Reporter Tina Alexander of The Statimc Runner took photos of them as well as Larry and Constance that appeared in the above newspaper. The caption reinforced the fact that children love stories (and families should encourage reading).

The high school was a good experience. A huge crowd joined us in the library, from about grade 7 and up. We focused on books, publishing, how hard it is to write books, and the importance of pursuing goals and dreams. Larry always emphasizes that reading is fun but it’s also the way to good grades and accomplish dreams and goals in life. After the reading, a male First Nations student in a hoodie approached Larry. He told Larry that he was an artist. Larry gave the student feedback and encouragement. The interaction summed up the purpose of the tour in so many ways.

Vancouver Island: Week 4 – Tues Oct 24 – Thur Oct 26

We came back from Lillooet on the Monday night and on Tuesday on 3 pm, we went to an after-school session at the Strawberry Hill library in Surrey en route to BC Ferry in Horseshoe Bay. We couldn’t say no to the librarian although it wasn’t on our official tour. It was such a heartwarming visit! The students ranged from 7 years to 14 years and were so enthusiastic. It was a parent-supported group and we just about sold all the books we had brought with us for Vancouver Island.

After that, we caught the 7 pm ferry and stayed in Nanaimo. The next morning, we went to the Nanaimo library and spoke to a good-sized group of about 60 students. They had a lot of questions and we enjoyed meeting them.

Then we drove to Duncan where we gave a reading at the library. The children responded very openly to the books, and liked getting a copy of the poster. We gave out the First Nation Communities Read poster everywhere we went and it was a big hit. We were invited to speak to a youth at risk class on the reserve after that, but when we went over to the school, the coordinator had left abruptly for the hospital in Vancouver after an injury. It was disappointing but we felt good that we had gone there and tried anyway.

In Central Saanich, the library had invited the reserve school. Students arrived on two buses. The instructor was worried and said they were full of energy after lunch. But her worries were for naught as they were great listeners, very attentive and had excellent questions. It was satisfying to encourage them to set goals, work hard to attain them, and not give up on their dreams. We took the 4 pm ferry back to Vancouver.

Vancouver, Thurs Oct 27

The next day we read at the Strathcona Branch Library which is connected to the Strathcona Elementary School. An added plus was that this was a reading also promoted by the Heart of the City Festival. We had a full house of students, plus members of the public, plus a group of eight Korean visitors who were researching community centres. The Korean visitors stayed for the reading and were amazed because programs like this do not happen in Korea. One of the older students (about 13 years old) told us he had read As Long as the Rivers Flow and thought it was the greatest book. We were beaming!

Vancouver: Week 5 – Fri Nov 3

On Friday, Oct. 27, we completed our tour with two presentations, both at the Carnegie Community Centre in Vancouver. Both were part of the Heart of the City Festival as well. They were promoted in the festival program with a credit to the BC First Nation Communities Read program.

The first event was a 90-minute writing workshop. We had the perfect number – 18 writers – plus more showed up to listen to the results for a total of about 25 people or more. The results were excellent. When we do a workshop, we take the writers through a step-by-step process which amount to only 12 minutes of writing but has vibrant results. All the writers shared their creations, and all were memorable.

In the evening, we gave a public reading, also in the theatre. Before the reading, a freelance reporter Angela Dopud interviewed Larry for a CTV/APTN feature which will be broadcast in the near future. Many people stayed behind to share their stories that were inspired by the readings from Larry’s new book When the Spirits Dance. We enjoyed hearing this response so much. A special thanks to the Heart of the City crew who did a great job setting up the Carnegie theatre space for us and worked so hard on our behalf.

Bye for now -- Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden