Why Mosquitoes Bite People

(time 3:44)

Big Ideas:

Educators are encouraged to focus on three dominant themes throughout their planning and study of Why Mosquitoes Bite People. The themes integral to the story are 1) honour; 2) life skills; and 3) Sinixt cultural laws and protocols. The following are suggestions and added information that will assist educators in meeting their learning objectives for their students.

Backgrounder:

Teachers are encouraged to read the summaries and reflections found in the book Not Extinct: Keeping the Sinixt Way that reference and relate to this story. Several important topics and concepts are mentioned, such as:

• The blood of life;

• Sinixt hunting rights;

• Hunting protocols, generosity, and sharing;

• Caution re: roadkill;

• Sinixt existence: how Sinixt came to be;

• Extinction;

• Stewards for the land; conservers for the animals;

• Grey matter/imprinted memory;

• Darwinism; white supremacy;

• Relevant artwork.

Language:
An introduction to some of the following words and phrases may be needed for younger students prior to listening to the story: greedy, game, sweathouse, medicine power, daubed red paint, stuttered, mournful song, tie the canoe fast, current, in his haste.

The Story - Comprehension:

1. What information does the story give you about the character Mosquito?

• Youngest, smallest boy in the family; lazy; greedy; never cooked his food; has no sumix; honoured and loved his older brothers; ordered around by older brothers; always given a share of the hunt; emotional; stuttered; cunning (blood on spear points); knew some life skills – made a canoe; careless – tripped when running; lived on a waterway near other villages; easily distracted when offered uncooked blood.

• Fun fact for hockey kids: in a trivia program it was stated that many of the goalies in the NHL were the youngest brother in the family. Why might that be?

• Math exercise: survey the number of siblings for each student, or their placement in the family; create a graph to illustrate the results – how many are the youngest in their family; share pros and cons.

2. Why did the older brothers send Mosquito to the sweathouse every night and how did that save his life? – sumix

3. Mosquito made a canoe. What does this tell you about Mosquito?

• He had learned some life skills even though he was lazy; must have been a good observer; knew the landscape.

4. Mosquito was invited into three villages as he floated down the river. What reasons do you think he had for refusing the first two but accepting an invitation to stop at the third village? Consider the following suggestions:

   • He was still really sad, in mourning, and wanted to be alone.

   • He now knows there are enemies who want to hurt or kill him. Perhaps he was fearful and being cautious.

   • Mosquito was greedy for blood. At the third village he refused to enter until he was offered his favourite food. The temptation to stop for blood was too strong.

   • Mosquito was honouring his brothers by refusing food offerings, and would only consume blood for the rest of his life. It was part of a remembering/honouring /mourning process.

5. What happened to Mosquito when he heard his canoe was loose and floating down the river?

6. How did Mosquito avenge the death of his brothers in the end?

Storytelling – a function of community living:

Stories were told and shared for a variety of reasons. Beside the entertainment factor, a story could save someone’s life, serve to ease a situation making it more tolerable, pass along details of a heroic or mighty deed, or relate the birth and origin of the mosquito.

• Ask the students to suggest reasons for this story to be told to children.

• Could this story help you cope with the torment inflicted by mosquitoes?

• Do you end up feeling any empathy for the mosquito?

• Perhaps students could share their own stories about mosquitoes. In what kinds of activities were they involved? i.e. camping, hiking, fishing, picnicking, holidaying at a cottage, etc. What is the common factor in each instance? – water source close by

• In the story, Mosquito is a guest of the villagers who offered him blood. Was he a good guest? Were the villagers good hosts? Have students talk about what is appropriate when inviting guests into their homes – welcome them in, offer a seat, offer something to drink, listen to what they have to say, be polite, introduce yourself, introduce others in the room, etc. Think of examples of questions to ask a guest to initiate conversation.

The Mosquito:

Although many students have had experiences dealing with mosquitoes, they likely understand very little about them beyond the incessant itching and the use of insect repellent. This is an excellent research topic. Suggestions:

• Is the mosquito an animal or an insect? – both, an insect which is part of the animal kingdom

• What is the definition of a parasite? Is the mosquito considered a parasite? – mosquitoes ‘carry’ parasites

• Only the female gets blood from humans. Does a female mosquito sting, bite, or probe?

• What are the stages of development of the mosquito and what does it need to thrive at each stage?

• Outline the areas, seasons, times of day, colours that attract and help the mosquito thrive.

• Mosquitoes are considered one of the more dangerous insects. Research diseases that can be transmitted by mosquitoes.

• List some of the preventative measures that can be taken to minimize the impact of the mosquito as well as ways to diminish the itching caused by the sting/bite/probe.

• Has this research helped you to understand ways to diminish the potential for mosquito bites, i.e. on a picnic, in the woods, at the cottage, while camping, on a hike, etc.?

Hunting:

Meat was an essential part of the traditional Sinixt diet just as hunting was an essential part of the traditional Sinixt way of life. In more traditional times there were no vitamins, supplements, or specialty food items to enrich or sustain a meatless diet. Eating meat was the way of the land and meat was considered a sacred thing.

• Honour:
  The concept of honour appears to be integral to many of the Sinixt stories being shared in this resource unit. This consistency serves to impress upon the students just how important it is to maintain one’s honour.

• But what is honour from the perspective of a child? It is advisable to spend some time helping students understand honour as a core value and what that really means and represents.

• What would it mean to be honoured as a hunter? – good provider, excellent hunting skills, positive role model, experienced strategist, understands and connects with nature; shows gratitude and reverence, (also see the list of life skills below).

• Refer to the heading ‘honour’ in the story called How Coyote Made the Black Moss Food.

• Stewardship:
  For the sake of the land, the people, the animals, food resources, and survival of future generations, stewardship was an absolute must. Stewardship is closely aligned with both hunting protocols and whuplak’n, the first cultural law for the Sinixt (the Law of the Land). In order for herds to thrive and hunting to remain a realistic possibility, people relied heavily on stewardship and conservation. That meant strict adherence to hunting protocols: when and where to hunt, what to hunt, how best to hunt, with no wastage.

• Life lessons:
  Hunting is not a self-reliant way of life you can simply jump into and know what to do. Hunting involves situations in which a novice can learn many life skills through observation of members of the community who have more refined skills and expertise. Here is a partial list of life skills involved in hunting:

• Exercising patience and self-discipline;

• Learning to be responsible;

• Following directions;

• Practising stewardship of food resources;

• Field-dressing skill development;

• Learning through observation; paying attention to detail;

• Learning the landscape;

• Strategizing, formulating a plan, consensus-building, conflict resolution;

• Appreciating/connecting with nature – habitat clues, tracking, animal behaviour patterns, importance of scent and sound, animal biology;

• Not giving up, practising persistence;

• Gaining confidence and self-esteem; developing self-reliance;

• Being aware of, and practising, safety concerns for self and others;

• Making memories and stories to share.

• Hunting protocols:
  As outlined in the story Repatriation of Remains under the heading Cultural Law, the two most important cultural laws, whuplak’n and smum iem, are explained as follows:

whuplak’n:
This law is the law of the land that states you must take care of the land, respect the land, and assume a responsibility to the land and to every being within it.

smum iem:
This is the law that states you must live a life of service. Take care of your own responsibilities first, and then contribute to the community by helping and taking care of others.

There would be no groaning or complaining when, according to hunting protocols, it was neither the time nor the place to hunt. Respect, gratitude, and generosity would be essential qualities for a hunter with honour. Hunters with honour would make every effort to ease the suffering of any game taken for food. Understanding one’s commitment to the community and one’s role within the community would also be very important.

• In rutting season no bucks were allowed to be hunted according to hunting protocols. It was never considered okay to take a doe for meat. What would be the reason for these protocols? – future generations of people relied on future generations of deer;

• In the story, Mosquito was given a share of the hunt. How does smum iem, the second cultural law, dictate one of the hunting protocols re: generosity?

• In what ways would hunting help connect with the ancestors?

Discussion Topics for More Mature Students

Reflections on Grey Matter Memory:

Educators may be noticing a consistency or thread of several themes throughout this resource unit. We have touched on or stressed the concepts of honour, Elder wisdom, leadership, community values, cultural laws, survival, gratitude, morals, and more (…not listed in any particular order). And now we run into the terms grey matter, imprinted memory, and grey matter memory.

• Reflect back on stories to which you have already listened and studied: In the Lemon Creek and In the Shadow of Extinction stories a strong connection to the land through grey matter was suggested. In Repatriation of Remains, recall the experiences Marilyn James had when she first stayed at the ancient village site in Vallican. She felt ‘at home’ and the ancestors were teasing her. In How Coyote Made the Black Moss Food the connections with the ancient ones were referenced.

• But what is this grey matter referred to in the book and how can it be explained? Is it the same as intuition, instinct, a sixth sense, being on automatic pilot, a gut feeling, a vibration, channeling, i.e. understanding without conscious reasoning? Or is it simply a cognitive process that involves thinking outside the box or beyond existing paradigms?

• How can you play a part in the scheme of things but not know what that part is or means? However we attempt to define it, grey matter knowledge and imprinted memory seem to be part of an unconscious process. Do we really need to do a scientific approach to understanding and validating everything?

• Is it something like DNA but on a more psychological level, i.e. our deepest understanding or knowing passed along to us from the past? Is there some imprinted memory in the brain that follows those lines of descent through lineage?

• Older students may be interested in researching grey matter in the brain and find it does exist and involves ‘memory’. Is there a connection between this scientific explanation and the experiences described in the book? How much of our brain do we actually use?

• Consider ‘migration’ and grey matter. How do animals know when, where, how, and with whom to migrate? Does a salmon know to return to its birthplace merely from memory or is there more to it than that? What about the Western Toad from Summit Lake (near Nakusp, B.C.) that returns to its birthplace to breed? Research the Western Toad, its struggles to survive, and the annual Toad Fest where volunteers are asked to help the young toadlets safely cross a local highway. Hundreds of thousands of toadlets attempt to cross the highway annually.

Embedded Colonial Attitudes:

Subjugation of Inferiors

This is a very delicate subject – be prepared to enter the realm of a teacher of dangerous memories. Also see the heading “Teachers of Dangerous Memories –Human Rights, Social Justice, and Tolerance” in the story Repatriation of Remains.

• What is the purpose of the mosquito? Does it even have a purpose? If there is no purpose could they be considered disposable? Is all life precious or are some lives more valuable than others?

• Students may be interested in researching the Papal Bulls, especially from the late 1400’s, which strongly influenced the ‘discovery’ of what we now refer to as the Americas and the act of ‘claiming’ the land. The Papal Bulls decreed that lands uninhabited by Christians were to be considered ‘empty’ or ‘terra nullius’ (empty land), i.e. no humans were living there. Aboriginal people were not considered ‘human’ by the first European invaders, hence the concept of terra nullius applied. Also research the Doctrine of Discovery.

• In a well-researched book by Ward Churchill entitled Struggle for the Land, documented evidence is presented that Hitler studied the subjugation of Aboriginal Peoples in the Americas in preparation for the subjugation and persecution of what he considered inferior races of people throughout Europe – i.e. people of colour, the Jews, the gypsies, the mentally or physically disabled. Also, it is documented that South African officials visited Canada to study the reservation system when planning for apartheid. This is the concept of the ‘master race’ and leads directly into white supremacy.

• Research an article called White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh. This is an excellent article that lists 50 examples or hidden benefits of privilege in everyday life for white people. Consider the concept that some responsibility is involved with having privilege. But what if you don’t appreciate the privileges you have or are unaware that you even have them? Several websites are available to support teaching tolerance.

Atonement – In the story there is atonement for those who killed Slaq’s brothers. Atonement may take a very long time, possibly many generations.

• Does this seem ‘fair’ considering that this atonement is based on acts committed in the past in which people of today did not take part?

• This is the argument often put forward in relation to First Nations, i.e. we didn’t hurt them, we didn’t take their land, we didn’t buy the bullets, we didn’t spread the diseases, we didn’t take part in the genocide. Why do we have to atone for what happened? Simply put: because we are benefitting from what was done; we are benefitting from genocide. That puts the onus on us to speak the truth, to acknowledge what really happened, to correct the historical record, to challenge people’s comfort zones, and to call out and confront racism, both blatant and systemic, whenever it rears its head. Teachers of dangerous memories commit to all of these.

Curricular Competency: (developed by the teacher creating the lesson plan in collaboration with the student(s) receiving the knowledge)

Communication:

Creative Thinking:

Critical Thinking:

Positive Personal & Cultural Identity:

Personal Awareness & Responsibility:

Social Responsibility: