Sun

"April is the month of the geese. This is the nearest moon to Easter, or the day the sun dances." - John Tetso, Trapping is My Life, 1970

Primary Objective:
Knowledge of the spiritual nature of the sun and the gifts it gives to people will give students a greater appreciation of it. Learning the survival skills which use the sun will help them when on the land.

	The Spiritual World		The Land
	The People		The Self
	Special Information for Teachers

The Spiritual World

Students will:

Know that the sun is seen as powerful because it can change its form from season to season. (K-6)
Know that the sun is a symbol of eternity: It is used in the quotation, "As long as the sun shall rise..." in the signing of Treaty #11. (4-6)
Know that the sun is associated with re-birth (spring and morning). (K-6)
Know that the sun is a gift from the Creator which should not be taken for granted because it can be taken away. Disrespect for nature can hurt our relationship with the sun. All living things need the sun. It is there for all people, good or bad. (4-6)
Know that the sun is a source of medicine power. (K-6)
Know that the sun brought the gift of "fire" to the people. (K-3)
Know that the person who rises with the sun is given the gift of long life. (K-3)
Know the local customs and beliefs regarding eclipses of the sun. (4-6)
Know how to ask the sun for good weather, and things can be done as planned. (K-4)
Be familiar with legends which tell about the sun and its power. (K-6)
Be aware of the joy that the Dene feel with the sun as it rises or when it comes back in the Spring. (K-6)

Hear elders tell legends and stories about the sun. (K-6)
Dance with the drum in the direction that the sun travels. (K-6)
Hear stories from elders about how they felt with the comings and goings of the sun. (K-6)
Research the local customs and beliefs associated with the eclipse

The Land

Students will:

Identify the different positions of the sun during the day. (K-3)
Be familiar with different sun phenomena in Winter: (K-4)
- sundogs
- sun dancing
Understand ways in which the sun is connected to all living things. (K-6)
Be able to use the sun to tell the time, find direction, and forecast weather. (4-6)
Be able to use the sun to tell the five seasons (Sahtu and Dehcho): (K-4)
early spring when the sun "dances" with the rebirth of the earth. There is warmth in the sun, the ice begins to melt, the sap begins to run, and the leaves begin to form.
spring
summer
fall
winter
Be able to use the sun to tell the six seasons (Gwich'in and Dogrib):
- early spring
- spring
- summer
- real summer
- fall
- winter
Know ways in which the Dene used the sun to survive: making dry meat, making fire, preparing hides
Know how the light that was available affected hunting, travelling and sewing. In the Spring, as the ice and snow began to melt, the men would hunt and travel at night while snow hardened and rest during the day. The women would sew during the longer daylight hours. This was the best sewing time.
Know ways in which carelessness can lead to the sun taking your life: sunstroke, sunburn, skin cancer, snow-blindness, forest fires, etc.

Go for field trips in the early spring to feel the warmth of the sun and to look for signs of re-birth (buds, sap, melting snow). (K-4)
Dry muskrat or beaver hides in the sun. (4-6)
Bleach hides in the sun. (5-6)
Approach elders to research sun signs for predicting weather: (5-6)
- sky colour
- sundogs
Look for muskrat push-ups in the spring. (K-3)

Students will:

Know that the activities of the Dene have been determined by the seasons as they come and go with the sun. (5-6)
Know that the Dene and some other people in other northern parts of the world share similar sun patterns. (4-6)

Hear stories from elders about how they travelled about from season to season and the kinds of activities they engaged in as the sun came and went. (K-6)
Write to students in other circumpolar communities around the world to learn their sun stories

Students will:

Thank the sun for each new day, and use it well. (K-6)
Challenge self to rise early each day. (4-6)
Become aware of the sun, and give words to the feelings it creates. (3-6)

Say prayers which include thanks to the sun. (K-6)
Have students write poems about how they feel as the seasons change and the feel of the sun changes. (4-6)

Special Information for the Teacher

Make lists of the kinds of activities that traditional Dene did during the different seasons as light and temperatures changed.
Make dioramas of the traditional camps in different seasons.
Do light experiments in class (see Science curriculum).
Students select a micro-environment (a part of a shore, side of the school, patch in the bush) and observe the effects of the sun during a period of time.

Suggested Teaching Activities and Resources

Make lists of the kinds of activities that traditional Dene did during the different seasons as light and temperatures changed.
Make dioramas of the traditional camps in different seasons.
Do light experiments in class (see Science curriculum).
Students select a micro-environment (a part of a shore, side of the school, patch in the bush) and observe the effects of the sun during a period of time.

Return to Spirituality