The Sockeye Mother

The Sockeye Mother

by Hetxw'ms Gyetxw (Brett David Huson) & Natasha Donovan

Description:

Publisher's description (Orca Book Publishers, 2018)
To the Gitxsan people of Northwestern British Columbia, the sockeye salmon is more than just a source of food. Over its life cycle, it nourishes the very land and forests that the Skeena River runs through and where the Gitxsan make their home. The Sockeye Mother explores how the animals, water, soil, and seasons are all intertwined.

Author and Illustrator biographies (Orca Book Publishing, 2018)
Hetxw'ms Gyetxw, also known as Brett D. Huson (he/him/his), is from the Gitxsan Nation of the Northwest Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Growing up in this strong matrilineal society, Brett developed a passion for the culture, land, and politics of his people, and a desire to share their knowledge and storie

Natasha Donovan (she/her/hers) is a Métis illustrator originally from Vancouver, British Columbia. Her sequential work has been published in This Place: 150 Years Retold, Wonderful Women of History, and Thomas King's graphic novel Borders. 

Resource format: Picturebook

Age recommendation: Grades 4 - 7

Keywords: salmon cycle, Gitxsan, animals, interconnected nature, salmon, land based learning, traditional ecological knowledge, British Columbia, science, scientific definition, definitions, knowledge, informative, nature, story, ecosystem, traditions, ceremony, reliance, land

Year of publication: 2017

Publisher information: Highwater Press

Teaching and Learning Ideas

Our team collaborated with new teachers, alumni of the Werklund School of Education’s Bachelor of Education program, to create teaching and learning plans for texts in this website. With audiences ranging from Pre-Kindergarten to Post-Secondary, lesson plans across this resource address a wide range of school subject areas, inclusive approaches, and Indigenous education topics, such as the revitalization of Indigenous languages. As this website was designed with Undergraduate Programs in Education instructors, as well as teachers in mind, connections to UPE courses have been flagged on each lesson plan. These lessons are intended as a starting place for educators, to help you envision ways in which you might bring Indigenous literatures, as well as ways of knowing, being, and doing, into your teaching contexts. Please adapt, use, and share these lessons in ways that are generative for your teaching practice. We offer our sincere thanks to the dozens of new teachers who gifted us with these creative ideas!

The Sockeye Mother Grade 5 Lesson

The Sockeye Mother and The Elders are Watching Grade 7 Plan