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Description
The Island Is a Canoe" focuses on the revival of traditional Native Hawaiian food forests and agroforestry practices. The film highlights how these practices, disrupted by Western influence, are being revitalized to improve food security and cultural knowledge in the face of climate change. It showcases the work of Hawaiian farmers and practitioners who are restoring these traditional methods to create more sustainable and resilient food systems.
The film explores the impact of global warming and rising sea levels on Hawaii, leading to increased natural disasters and food insecurity. It emphasizes how the reliance on imports for 90% of Hawaii's food and energy, a result of century-long impositions of Western agricultural practices, is unsustainable.
This story highlights the voice of Native Hawaiian practitioner Reverend Kalani Souza, a cross-cultural facilitator focusing on food sovereignty and working to build community resilience to climate change. The founder of the Olohana Foundation, his work focuses on the use of traditional Native Hawaiian edible food forests as a post-disaster recovery strategy and helps communities utilize ancient Native Hawaiian principles to build resilience in the face of climate change.
The film specifically highlights the efforts of Hawaiian communities to revive their ancestral knowledge and practices related to food production and land stewardship, demonstrating the importance of these practices in building a more sustainable future.
The film is one of five companion films that accompany the lesson plan on Indigenous Perspectives for Restoring Our World, which explores the relationship between Indigenous peoples and their ancestral lands.
General Assessment
Recommendation of how and where to use it
Hawaiian farmers and practitioners are working to revitalize traditional Hawaiian agroforests. This effort will enhance food security, build resilience against climate change, and restore traditional foods and cultural knowledge. Have students research local Indigenous land management practices or environmental initiatives. Students can explore other examples of traditional ecological knowledge and sustainable practices. Encourage students to reflect on how they can implement the principles of ecological stewardship in their own lives. As a class, explore the complete "Inhabitants" film and related resources from the Global Oneness Project. Connect the themes of the films to current environmental issues and climate change.
Relevant Curriculum Units
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- British Columbia
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 11
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- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 11: Human practices affect the sustainability of ecosystems
- Environmental Science 11:Humans can play a role in stewardship and restoration of ecosystems
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science for Citizenship 11: Scientific understanding enables humans to respond and adapt to changes locally and globally
- Grade 12
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 12: Sustainable land use is essential to meet the needs of a growing population
- Manitoba
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- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Indigenous Languages and Cultures
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Other Cultures: Connections and Influences
- Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Specific Aboriginal Culture
- Grade 10
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- Indigenous Languages and Cultures
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Other Cultures: Connections and Influences
- Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Specific Aboriginal Culture
- Grade 11
- Step 3Select a subject
- Indigenous Languages and Cultures
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Other Cultures: Connections and Influences
- Grade 12
- Step 3Select a subject
- Indigenous Languages and Cultures
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: Other Cultures: Connections and Influences
- Northwest Territories
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- Grade 9
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- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 9: The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them.
- Grade 11
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 11: Human practices affect the sustainability of ecosystems
- Environmental Science 11:Humans can play a role in stewardship and restoration of ecosystems
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science for Citizenship 11: Scientific understanding enables humans to respond and adapt to changes locally and globally
- Ontario
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 10
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science (Academic):Earth and Space Science: Climate Change
- Grade 11
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- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science (Univ/College Prep.) Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry
- Grade 12
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- Indigenous Studies
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Contemporary Indigenous Issues and Perspectives in a Global Context, (Univ./College prep.): Indigenous Peoples and Perspectives
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon Territory
- Step 2Select a grade level
- Grade 9
- Step 3Select a subject
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science 9: The biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are interconnected, as matter cycles and energy flows through them.
- Grade 11
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 11: Human practices affect the sustainability of ecosystems
- Environmental Science 11:Humans can play a role in stewardship and restoration of ecosystems
- Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Science for Citizenship 11: Scientific understanding enables humans to respond and adapt to changes locally and globally
- Grade 12
- Step 3Select a subject
- Environmental Science
- Step 4Relevant matches
- Environmental Science 12: Sustainable land use is essential to meet the needs of a growing population
Themes Addressed
Air, Atmosphere & Climate (1)
- Climate Change
Ecosystems (1)
- Appreciating the Natural World
Food & Agriculture (2)
- Food Security
- Local Food
Indigenous Knowledge (2)
- Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing
- TEK -- Traditional Ecological Knowledge
