Cultural & Ethnic Studies Money from the Sea A Cross-cultural Indigenous Science Problem

Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity Gloria Snively One way of engaging students in authentic science inquiries is to challenge them to solve a science and technology problem that would have presented itself to Indigenous peoples . The following activity is one of several that I use to engage students in lively discussion on the contributions that Aboriginal peoples have made to the sciences . I introduce the activity by telling the intriguing story known to west coast Aboriginal peoples and historians as Money from the Sea ( Snively , 2009 ) Shell Money Story For years , until the early century , North American Indigenous peoples used the dazzling white shaped shell of a marine mollusk as currency . is a to centimeter long mollusk of the class , a group also known as tusk shells because of their slightly curved , conical shape ( Figure and ) inhabit coarse , clean sand on the surface of the seabed in areas of deep water , and are often found in association with sand dollars and the purple olive snail ( Figure A The mollusk muscular foot and streamlined shell allows it to burrow into sandy bottom sediments . Illustration by Laura ( 2007 ) Figure A Cross section of burrowing into sandy bottom sediments . Illustration by Laura ( 2007 ) As predators , they use their streamlined shape and muscular foot to move surprisingly quickly in pursuit of tiny prey called . Aboriginal peoples used many substances as trade goods , but were the Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity 155

only shells to become currency . Harvested from deep waters off the coast of Vancouver Island , they were beautiful , scarce , portable , and not easily counterfeited . In 1778 , Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy visited the village of ( Friendly Cove ) on Island off the west coast of Vancouver Island , The islands fur trading potential led the British East India Company to set up a trading post at , which became a focal point for English , Spanish , and American traders and explorers . Trade between and Aboriginal peoples was initially conducted under the watchful eye of a powerful chief named who acted as middleman , purchasing sea otter pelts using as currency and then reselling the pelts to white traders in exchange for other goods . Figure A Here , members of an village , circa 1800 , barter strings of Chisels . Illustration by Laura ( 2007 ) Once the white traders realized that shells were used as money , they began trading directly with harvesters among the and people . The center of the fur trade subsequently moved to , a village on the northern tip of Vancouver Island ( 23 ) and shell money became a currency of trade , called in Chinook trade language spoken as a lingua franca in the Pacific Northwest during the and early 20 centuries ( Figure ) The currency was used throughout Alaska , down the Pacific coast as far as Baja California , and across the prairies of the United States and southern Canada to the Great Lakes ( 156 Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity

mute extent . trade Figure A Extent of trade . Illustration by Karen . In addition to their use as currency , the pearly white shells also sewed as decorative wealth . They were fashioned into necklaces , bracelets , hair , and dolls . The shells also decorated the clothing of both men and women ( Figures , and ) ax Figure Figure Figure A Sioux woman photographed in 1908 wearing a dress adorned with shells . Photo by Edward Curtis ( 1880 ) Public Domain . Figure A Braided hair adorned with shells , Two Bears daughter , Dakota . Photographer unknown . 1880 ) Public Domain . Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity 157

( Figure A Doll ( 1890 ) shells dangle from the braids and form a necklace for a Sioux doll . Making dolls was an important opportunity for young girls to learn to tan hides , sew , make clothing and beadwork . Sioux children used these dolls to play camp , complete with miniature and horses . Photo reprinted with permission , American School , century ) Detroit Institute of Arts , USA . All rights reserved . Figure A The headdress belonged to a woman in the early century named Anna Bebe ( name ) the wife of a shaman named Bay Jim . It is a rare type of headgear similar to beaded headdresses worn by the , and people of Southwest and South Central Alaska . Photo courtesy of Alaska State , All rights reserved . It is generally agreed that the best shells were those harvested by the and people from shell beds off the west coast of Vancouver Island . These beds lay deep deep for divers to hold their breath , too dark for them to see , and too cold to sustain a diving the people designed specialized gear to harvest the money shells . Historical records indicate that a device with a very long handle and a bottom end resembling a great , stiff broom was used to pluck live from the seabed ( 1993 , 114 ) Figure 119 ) Three of these implements still exist in museums in Victoria , British Columbia and Seattle , Washington . 158 Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity

II . Figure A The broom was lowered to the shell beds by adding extensions to the handle . illustration by Laura ( 2007 ) Figure A Phil broom with a weighted board . Loosening the ropes lowers the weighted board , an action that partially closes the broom head for grasping the shells . Illustration by Laura ( 2007 ) Some scholars have thought it unlikely that could have been harvested live , arguing that the broom would be too difficult to handle and that the organisms burrow too deep in the sediment . In 1991 , Phil engineer and inventor of a robotic diving suit called the Newt Suit to fabricate a broom and find out for himself . What I came up with , stated , was a generic hybrid based on various old descriptions and my own knowledge of how tools work underwater ( 21 ) enlisted the help of master carver John , who built the implement from local materials . He made the broom from a hundred sharpened yew splints , scorched to increase their hardness . He then sheathed the bundle in thin slats of springy yellow cedar ( Attached to a handle made in sections , the head would be lowered from the surface and jabbed into the sea bottom . A board , weighted down by rocks and operated by a separate line , would then be eased over the outer slats , thus trapping whatever had been pinched between the inner splints ( 1993 , 114 ) Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity 159

Figure A In the Sea Urchin , scans the sandy sea bottom for . Photo courtesy of Phil , Research Limited ( 1991 ) Figure 1112 A Scientist and expedition leader Phil is lowered overboard from winch to land on the sea bottom where he observed the broom at work . Photo courtesy of Phil , Research Limited ( 1991 ) In Sound , on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island , looked for the underwater shell beds in his Native scuba divers had pointed him toward the site . To test the harvesting implement , he then donned his Newt Suit and was lowered overboard by a winch to land on the beds below ( and Figure ) Once was in a good viewing location , John lowered the broom over the shell beds and pushed it about 10 centimeters down into the sand and sediment . According to ( 1993 ) When he lifted it the broom ! It worked like a charm ( 114 ) Strategies for Changing Thinking In order to introduce students to the story of shell money , and to excite their interest in a solving activity , I developed a short powerpoint presentation . We began by looking at a 1908 photograph of the shell dress of an Sioux woman and discussing how clothing adorned with shells could signify an individuals or family wealth . Students were then shown a map of the routes of the North American shell trade . They marveled at the extent of the trade and wondered how it happened that a shell could become a currency . Finally , we looked at 1991 photographs of Phil and of in his diving suit being lowered from a ship . The photographs served to heighten the students curiosity . I asked If it takes a for modern scientists to locate beds , and a pressurized diving suit to harvest a few shells , how could Native divers have harvested large quantities of shells ?

It was clear that Native harvesters must have invented a tool , a trap , or some combination of a trap and strategy to harvest the shells . But what implement , and from what materials ?

To make the problem more intriguing , I informed the class that shells had not been harvested for over 100 years hence , the traditional knowledge required to harvest the shells appeared to be lost . I then challenged the class to invent a means of harvesting implement a technique for collecting or grabbing the mollusks . What knowledge would the have needed to solve the problem ?

A Grade class to whom this problem was presented brainstormed the following questions as I wrote them on the blackboard 160 Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity I How deep are the ?

I What do eat ?

I What are their predators ?

I Do they come out of their shells ?

I How do they protect themselves ?

I Will hermit crabs live inside their shells ?

I Can animals be attracted to bait ?

I How do they move ?

Do they stick to rocks or dig ?

Grade students asked similar questions , and added the following ones I Do rise to the surface to feed ?

I Do they live in sand or on rocks ?

I Would weather conditions such as storms make it impossible to harvest ?

I Would the tides or time of year affect harvesting ?

I Would the life cycle of be important to harvesters ?

In addition , I asked the students to brainstorm what materials would have been available to the Native harvesters or developing their technologies . The Grade students posited rocks , cedar trees , shells , hides and bark . The Grade students added obsidian , bones , ropes made from cedar strips or kelp , the power of water , and flotation devices made from seal stomachs . The students discussed possible answers to their questions , as well as how the might have answered these questions . The students then worked in groups of three to five to design and draw a implement . Each group was provided with large paper , coloured crayons and felt pens for representing pictorially the invented implements and harvesting techniques or strategies . The groups took turns presenting their drawings and ideas to the class , describing their implement , the materials it was made from , and how their implement strategy worked ( I encouraged the class to ask questions of the presenters , to critically explore practical considerations and to address the question , Would the implement work ?

Most students were skeptical that their newly invented designs would actually work . Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity 161 Figure 1113 A When challenged to design a implement or technique , students came up with a variety of practical and fantastical strategies Drawing by student ( 2009 ) I then showed the students the second half of the powerpoint presentation , which introduced the broom . We looked at sketches of the and discussed the organisms adaptation to coarse , sandy bottom sediments the long thin shells are streamlined for burrowing rapidly into sand with strokes of the mollusk muscular foot . I then showed sketches of the broom and explained how the broom worked its handle was made in segments , and the harvesters would lower the broom head by adding extension poles one at a time . Students marveled at the ingenious implement and the skills of the Indigenous harvesters . Our drawings had only begun to solve the numerous problems that would have been addressed as the broom was designed , tested , and modified over hundreds and thousands of years ( see additional student drawings in Chapter ) I asked the students whether , in the process of attempting to invent a harvester , they had been engaged in science . That is , had they asked questions , inferred , predicted , observed , communicated , built models , adapted , and interpreted information ?

The students were sure that they had engaged in science because the exercise had been an attempt to solve a difficult problem . I invited the students to consider these questions Did Indigenous people engage in science when they developed the broom ?

To what extent had they made observations , asked questions , predicted , inferred , speculated , theorized , interpreted , invented and built models ?

To what extent were the of the broom required to understand the tides , ocean currents , adaptations of , qualities of materials , buoyancy , water pressure , and so on ?

The students agreed that although the broom was likely developed without knowledge of all of these concepts , the quest to solve the problem was not haphazard . It was a systematic series of investigations conducted over a long period of time and involving a complex set of concepts and processes . As it turns out , for this purpose , the didn need to understand the life cycle ( egg , larval stages , adult ) or relationships , but they did need to have a good knowledge of the type of substrate live in ( rock , gravel , sand , mud ) the properties of available materials , tides and currents , and which organisms are indicators of the presence of ( sand dollars and the purple olive snail ) We discussed the likelihood that the built and tested numerous models of the broom before perfecting its technology . We also considered the similarity between attempting to build an implement that works in an unseen this case the deep , dark the way scientists build models to represent and understand what we can not see . 162 I Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity

Conclusion I have conducted similar workshops with teachers , practicing teachers and graduate students . The result is always a celebration of drawings and strategies ranging from fairly skilled cedar baskets operated with a cedar rope , to variously fashioned nets or hooks designed to capture in the water column , or a variety of baskets , traps , scoops , rakes , snares and shovels designed to catch on the seabed . There are also fantastical ideas , such as a hollow cedar tree trunk through which the are coaxed to the surface with bait , a hollow tree through which a person climbs down to the bottom to pick up , a collection of hermit crabs that pick up the shells , and a trained octopus . This activity is guaranteed to produce gales of laughter . Not once has a student or teacher invented an implement similar to the one described in the historical journals . Clearly , the introduction of Aboriginal examples adds interest , excitement and authenticity to the science classroom . Similar science and technology activities could be developed around such topics as fishing equipment ( the halibut hook or cod lure ) dugout canoe , weir , fish wheel , tanning hides and cedar bent boxes . Students might also explore how Aboriginal people in different regions have dealt with the same concept or process . Even small differences in environment can result in surprisingly different ways of tanning hides , harvesting fish or making a canoe . Educators wishing to incorporate Indigenous Science examples into their teaching practice can begin by consulting Elders and other Aboriginal resource persons or the burgeoning literature on Indigenous knowledge in the areas of natural and earth sciences , medicine , agriculture , botany , ecology , astronomy , aquaculture , navigation , architecture , engineering , climatology and political science . science education is not merely throwing in an Aboriginal story , putting together a diorama of Aboriginal fishing methods , or even acknowledging the contributions Aboriginal peoples have made to medicine . Most importantly , science education is not science . Its purpose is not to silence voices , but to give voice to cultures not usually heard and to recognize and celebrate all ideas and contributions . It is as concerned with how we teach as with what we teach . Instead of the teacher defining what science is for the students upfront , let students explore what the word science means to them . Encourage them to ask Do traditional peoples have their own science ?

Have they made contributions to the body of knowledge we call science ?

If our ultimate goal is to have the greatest number of students derive the most benefit from our science lessons , we must plan these lessons to be inclusive . Our choice of wording , readings , experiments , classifications , resource persons and concepts can include and engage all students , or it can risk alienating students who see no depictions of people like themselves and thus receive an unintended message that science has nothing to do with them . Much work needs to be done to create or revise science education lessons and activities to fit a science framework , but it is not impossible or overwhelming . If teachers can understand how the purposes of scientific activity have varied in different cultures and times , and how different cultures have developed science to meet their needs , then they can work towards developing innovative and culturally sensitive resource materials and teaching strategies that will increase the science literacy of all students . This chapter was adapted with permission from Snively , 2009 ) Money from the sea A Indigenous science activity . Green Teacher , 86 , Chapter 11 Money from the Sea A Indigenous Science Activity 163

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