WEEK 8 (Jennifer Agcanas)

In reading "Earthsong as Storywork Reclaiming Indigenous Knowledges", it explores the central theme of how the earth and all of its countless, natural components such as fire, rocks, and creatures have innately possessed a song in which everyone can individually listen to and interpret as empowering, overarching stories. This discovery has been noted by indigenous people. By humankind, and especially by indigenous women in conjunction with scholars working as one, having an ability to understand these songs as powerful stories, will, in turn, pave way for a deeper understanding of the mysterious workings of earth/nature but more importantly create a balance that will create a harmonious future. This central message is expressed through memory recollections of indigenous women working within an academic environment: Bronwyn Fredericks and Frances Wyld,  in which they go into great detail of their life-opening experiences that were brought by the workings of the earth song and how they used the knowledge and wisdom gained from these experiences to transform and create academic curriculum in which students can understand and learn the powers of the earth song. Personally, I feel and understand the reading's message in that listening to nature such as the sound of rain or even birds chirping in the background soothe me and allow me to feel more in tune with myself. My question is: what other ways can we "listen" to the animals?