Haida Gwaii: Using Art to Teach Identity Teacher Support

“It’s very important that we share our culture and our history; it’s my responsibility to share some information and to teach the younger generation how we should take care of the land and the water. I think through dance it’s important to do that because it always represents something like the eagles or the ravens and the salmon and the killer whale. These are all the things we have to strive to protect so that seven generations to follow can enjoy that as well.”

– Cynthia Samuels

The film HORIZON offers glimpses of a traditional Haida dance filmed in Haida Gwaii, BC. In addition, the film features the work of acclaimed Haida carver Christian White. Theses segments in the film are just two examples of how artists use their art form to preserve history, educate others about their culture and share their perspectives about issues important to them. This teacher support explore these processes using behind-the-scenes footage from the film HORIZON.