DeepSummary
In this two-part podcast episode, authors and siblings Keith and Chenoa Igawa discuss their book 'The Whale Child', which introduces young readers to environmental challenges through the lens of Coast Salish characters and teachings. The story follows a young whale named Shiny and a human girl named Alix as Shiny takes Alix on a journey to witness the threats of pollution and climate change to the planet's interconnected ecosystems.
The authors emphasize the importance of facing reality and raising awareness about environmental issues, while also maintaining hope and empowering children to take action. They draw from indigenous wisdom and the belief that all of nature is alive and interconnected, and that humans have strayed from their innate connection with the natural world.
Keith and Chenoa share their personal experiences with nature from childhood and their indigenous heritage, which influenced the book's themes. They discuss the power of storytelling to revive cultural memories and pass on traditional ecological knowledge to future generations, encouraging a mindset of respect, gratitude, and responsibility towards the Earth.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The book 'The Whale Child' aims to raise environmental awareness in children through the lens of Coast Salish indigenous teachings and storytelling.
- The authors emphasize the importance of facing environmental realities honestly, while also maintaining hope and empowering children to take action.
- The story draws from indigenous wisdom that views all of nature as alive and interconnected, and encourages reviving humans' innate connection with the natural world.
- Storytelling is seen as a powerful tool to pass on traditional ecological knowledge and cultural memories to future generations.
- The authors' personal experiences, including their indigenous heritage and deep childhood connections with nature, heavily influenced the book's themes and values.
- While acknowledging the negative impacts of human activity on the environment, the book ultimately promotes a mindset of respect, gratitude, and responsibility towards the Earth.
- The authors strike a balance between presenting harsh environmental truths and instilling hope in young readers, believing that awareness is necessary for positive change.
- The book serves as a reminder for adults as well, to reconnect with their essence and innate bond with the natural world.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I remember feeling sad that it was somehow disappearing. And so even the first book that we wrote was kind of thinking about that, you know, this young child that was living with her great grandmother by going to school and not being recognized for the wisdom that she carried from her grandmother and trying to straddle the gap between the old world and the old way of understanding versus this new, modern world that is not anchored or grounded in very much spiritual context or the recognition that we are spiritual beings living a life in a human body and that we have the wisdom of our ancestors that has carried for thousands and thousands of years through the oral tradition, through the oral stories, through the teachings.“ by Chenoa Igawa
- “If we do not learn about everything we face in life, both good and bad, light and dark, then we are ignoring the truth. To look at the world honestly to see the difficulty that is there.“ by Quote from the book
- “The spirit of the ocean moves within every drop of water traveling the globe within the largest and smallest of currents. It lives within the bubbling, rolling waves, within the sea foam, on the still surface, and down into the deepest trenches carved in the ocean floor.“ by Quote from the book
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Episode Information
Breaking Green Ceilings
Sapna Mulki
11/1/22
In this first episode of a two-part series, we will be talking about The Whale Child, a book written and illustrated by Indigenous authors Keith and Chenoa Egawa. Keith and Chenoa are siblings and enrolled members of the Lummi Indian Nation, and of Japanese heritage.
Keith Egawa is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Creative Writing program and author of the novel Madchild Running. Keith’s extensive work experience in the fields of Child and Family Services and Indian Education Reform has provided him with both inspiration and insight into his subject matter.
Chenoa Egawa holds a BA in International Business and Spanish from the University of Washington. In addition to being a writer, Chenoa is an activist for Indigenous communities and the environment, a ceremonial leader, medicine woman, singer, storyteller, and artist dedicated to bringing healing to our Mother Earth and people of all origins.
The Whale Child is an inspiring book that introduces young readers to the environmental challenges facing the planet through the eyes of Coast Salish characters and authors. It is a story about two children: a young whale and a little girl. Her task is to follow the whale child as he shows her the threats of pollution and global warming to water and thus to all interconnected life and creatures on Earth.
The book is a reminder of our severed and hurt relationships with nature. We were born with connections to nature. But as we grow older, we get socialized away from nature, which takes us away from our essence, who we really are.
According to the authors, there is nothing wrong with awareness. We do not need to be afraid. We need to recognize what is going on, and realize that we still have the power to change the situation. Turning our backs and being afraid to look at the truth will not help us to overcome anything. Facing the reality of what is going on, whether it is within or around us, is part of the healing that we all came here to do. And now, perhaps, if we can come together and recognize our common humanity, we can see that together we can make these changes. It is on us to find a way to respect nature wherever we are.
Episode Highlights
- I remember the stories that our great-grandmother would tell us. There was sadness in me because I thought about how those days are gone and these stories are, somehow, disappearing in this new world.
- We wrote The Whale Child honoring the memory and realizing that these things are not gone, that we can remember them at any time. And if we breathe that life back into them, they are waiting for us.
- All of nature is alive, and the spirits of the stories are not just legends and myths. They are living, breathing, alive hearts of this world in which we live.
- Every child has a special gift for society as a whole, for our community, and our family to be whole and fully expressed. Each person needs to contribute their unique genius or unique gift that they came to bring to the whole.
- There is this remembering and forgetting that we go through when we come to this Earth.
- We have responsibility. We have a voice. And we are taught to use it in a helpful way and a way of being of service
- Let’s be hopeful for our children. Let’s talk to them about what is happening so we can come up with some changes and solutions that can ensure a good life for them, their children, and their grandchildren.
- There are no borders in nature. It is all connected. We are all part of the global ecosystem.
Contact information and other Resources:
Keith Egawa is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Creative Writing program and the author of the novel Madchild Running (Red Crane Books Inc. 1999). Egawa’s extensive work experience in the fields of Children and Family Services and Indian Education Reform has provided him with both inspiration and insight into his subject matter. Egawa has been awarded several artists’ grants, including the ARTs Up grant through the Seattle Arts Commission, which was used to conduct a series of writing workshops for Native youth in the Seattle area.
Chenoa Egawa is the Coast Salish of the Lummi and S’Kallam Nations of Washington State. She is a ceremonial leader, singer, speaker, environmental activist, and artist dedicated to bringing healing to our Mother Earth, and people of all cultures, backgrounds, and origins through recognition of our shared experiences as human beings. Chenoa has long been active in local and international work for Indigenous peoples, children, and the environment. For over 20 years, she has worked in Washington State schools, creating programs that integrate Native American culture and history, often teaching through songs and storytelling, empowering Native youth, and bringing greater appreciation for cultural diversity to all children in the public school system. Over the past 25 years, she has traveled throughout North, Central, and South America facilitating communication among indigenous peoples with the intent of protecting and preserving cultural heritage, languages, and homelands.
Breaking Green Ceilings:
Website: https://www.breakinggreenceilings.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breaking_green_ceilings/
Follow Keith and Chenoa Egawa:
E-mail: chenoa egawa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chenoa.egawa/
Chenoa Egawa website: http://www.swanclan.com/