Candace Galla

This study examined the potential of using digital storytelling as a mechanism for materials development and Indigenous language learning. Study participants (N = 4) were interviewed after a series of three digital storytelling workshops offered in a First Nations community. The findings of the study support the use of digital storytelling for both materials development and documentation purposes. Digital stories have the potential to be employed to support Indigenous language learning in a number of domains. The highly portable nature of the stories may bring language learning out of the classroom and into other spaces, reducing barriers to language learning for individuals living outside of their home communities. Moreover, the process of creating digital stories also holds possibilities for teaching and learning Indigenous languages. For example, developing the text required that participants use complex literacy skills, such as translanguaging (García, 2009). Brayboy et al. (2011) have asserted that knowledge is created through relationships with ourselves, others, and the world around us. Digital storytelling is a reflection of this epistemology, as it is grounded in relationality; participants built relationships with each other, community knowledge keepers, and the community and territory over the course of the digital storytelling workshops.

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