Week 9 - Jane Kwak

In Ritskes’ “Connected: Indigenous Spirituality as Resistance in the Classroom,” he talks about how educational institutions prevent students from obtaining a “holistic education experience,” by preventing the teachings of spirituality (15).  Ritskes emphasizes the importance of connectedness with different aspects of the world.  When we consider our connectedness with the world, it is common to think about our relationships with other people in our community. Instead of only a connectedness with other people, we should consider a connectedness with aspects that may not be tangible. In the last few weeks of class, we have learned about the possibility of connectedness with other aspects of the world such as the earth. We went outside and listened to the “Earth Song,” and were able to learn about how we could become connected with the earth by disconnecting from expectations from academia. This week, we should consider building a connectedness with something that is not tangible, such as the spirits of our passed ancestors. Our ancestors provide a connection to our history and the past. Ritskes states that a connection with our ancestors is a ”reclamation of, hidden histories and obscured memories” (25). This demonstrates that we are able to learn and come to an understanding about what people in the past have encountered. Using our ancestors as guides, we are able to acquire knowledge from our ancestors to aid in making decisions in difficult situations.

Question:

How can we encourage Westerners that the spirits of our ancestors may serve as helpful guides when navigating through this life?

Reference:

Ritskes, Eric J. “Connected: Indigenous Spirituality as Resistance in the Classroom.” 2011.

Visual:

https://www.zenory.co.nz/blog/spiritually-love/