This elementary poster project highlights the intersections of family diversity, gender diversity and cultural diversity. This is a collaborative project of VSB, BSD, VESTA, Our City of Colours (http://www.ourcityofcolours.com/) and Love Intersections (https://loveintersections.com/).
The posters were designed with a literacy theme and can be used as a starting point for discussion of diversity and inclusion related to the Personal and Social Core Competencies. All posters are available in French.
Posters orders: pride@vsb.bc.ca
How to share the posters with students:
Begin with a lesson, book and/or film
Books and lessons
http://www.welcomingschools.org/resources/lesson-plans/
http://pridenet.ca/wp-content/uploads/the-gender-spectrum.pdf
Films
That’s a Family: A Film for Kids about Family Diversity, New Day Films (in your library)
Apples and Oranges, NFB (https://www.nfb.ca/film/apples_and_oranges)
Sticks and Stones, NFB
Out in Schools (email pride@vsb.bc for access)
Poster 1: Two Spirit, One Family
A sample script for discussions with students:
“This is a photo of a family with one parent who is Two Spirit from the Cree Nation and another parent who is Slovak and Hungarian. They live in Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories.”
“Here is how Chase explains what being Two Spirit (2S) means to him: “It’s all about our culture and ways prior to colonization…everyone had a place, a gift, a talent like say; carving a canoe or a great hunter which helped out the tribe…2S weren’t seen as any different, they functioned and had roles which contributed, some more difficult, sometimes more sacred roles, everyone had something to contribute which helped the overall collective survive. People’s natural gifts are given by the creator and no human being hasthe right to judge or question that…respecting a persons gifts or talents and allowing then to be who they truly are, makes a tribe strong. If a great warrior who looked like a man, fought like a man and had a wife, turned out to be female bodied, no one cared…what matters the most is that this warrior, was legendary was held up by all, respected by the tribe including the enemy. The stories of this warrior are still told even today all these years later…”
“Harlan Pruden, is a member of the Cree Nation and is a scholar and editor of the Two Spirit Journal. He tells us: “Two-Spirit is a contemporary word that refers to those traditions where some individuals’ spirits are a blending of male and female spirits… People of two-spirit gender functioned as craftspeople, shamans, medicine-givers, mediators, and/or social workers.” (Source: the Gender Spectrum: What educators need to know, http://pridenet.ca/wp-content/uploads/the-gender-spectrum.pdf)
Ask students: “This family walks as one, what do you think this means?”
Intermediate films about Two Spirit and trans identities from Out in Schools (access through pride@vsb.bc.ca)
Regalia: Pride in Two Spirits
This is a short documentary features Duane and his journey as someone who identifies as “Two Spirit” – a queer Aboriginal person. Duane speaks to the importance of art, creativity,
and tradition and culture, in his story of coming out and exploring his identities.
Kumu Hina: A Place in the Middle
In this documentary, eleven year old Ho’onani dreams of leading the hula troupe at her inner-city Honolulu school. While the group is normally just for boys, she’s fortunate that her teacher understands first-hand what it’s like to be “in the middle” – the Hawaiian tradition of embracing both male and female spirit. Together they set out to prove that what matters most is what’s in your heart.
Poster 2: One Family, Many Stories
A sample script for discussions with students:
“This is a family with two moms. Two women who love each other are called lesbians. One parent has Southeast Asian heritage and the other has European heritage. Both parents are teachers in the VSB.”
“What do you think this family means when they say they are proud that VSB schools value and respect family diversity?”
Poster 3: Be Your Own Hero
For younger (or older) students, start by reading the picture books, “I am Jazz” (discussion questions) or “A Princess of Great Daring” (discussion questions). Both books are available in your school library.
This is a poster of Tru and reading with her siblings. Tru is a transgender girl who lives in BC. What do you think Tru means when she says, “Being true to yourself is your greatest strength”? If Tru attended your school, how would you make her feel included and happy to be here. What would you say to someone if they told Tru she couldn’t be a girl?
For older students, you can use the gender unicorn to introduce gender diversity. Introduce Tru and show film clips (Big ball love ambassador, Most powerful people). Tru was voted 1 of Vancouver’s top 50 most important people. Tru is a human rights advocate. She appears in posters, she speaks to large audiences and also on TV and videos. She is in a RCMP video educating people about what it’s like to be transgender. Why do you think she does this? What do you think Tru means when she says, “Being true to yourself is your greatest strength”
Poster 4: Imagining a Colourful World
Coming soon…
What kind of world do you imagine?
To order more posters email pride@vsb.bc.