Refection of "The Gift of Story with Robert Cutting" workshop

 The Gift of Story with Robert Cutting

I was unsure what to expect when I chose to attend the "Speak! The Gift of Story" workshop with Robert Cutting. It turned out to be a deeply meaningful and eye-opening experience. Robert began the session by silently walking around the circle of students, playing a flute, followed by the deep, steady rhythm of a drum. He did not speak at first, leaving us in a moment of awe and curiosity. This immediately captured my attention and made me focus, not just on what he was doing, but on how it made me feel. It was clear from the beginning that this would not be a typical workshop.

Through story, music, and the power of oral tradition, Robert invited us into a space where Indigenous knowledge, history, and heart were shared in ways that felt both timeless and present. His ability to intertwine personal experience, cultural teachings, and educational insight created a powerful reminder that storytelling is not simply a way to share information, it is a way to live, to teach, and to connect.

One of the most impactful parts of the workshop was learning how storytelling from an Indigenous perspective is not just about recounting events, but about passing down values, relationships, and worldview that is deeply interconnected with the land, community, and spirit. Robert's stories were more than narratives, they were teachings. He reminded me that story is a gift, one that we receive with gratitude and pass on with care. He made me realize that everything we say is a story, and those who are listening carry that story forward, often reshaping it through their own interpretations and experiences. That awareness of how stories live on in others really stayed with me.

As an educator, I was inspired by the ways in which Indigenous storytelling can be respectfully and meaningfully brought into the classroom. Robert offered thoughtful ideas for integrating oral stories, music, and land-based learning into our teaching practice, to honour and include Indigenous voices and perspectives. It reinforced for me the importance of creating space for diverse ways of knowing, understanding, and learning.

What I found especially powerful was how Robert seamlessly blended history, and storytelling in a way that made each element more meaningful. His stories had multiple layers, personal, cultural, and educational, and through them, both students and teachers are invited to see learning as something alive, powerful, and relational.

This workshop reminded me that stories are not just tools, but they are teachers. They carry truths that can't always be captured in textbooks or assessed on a rubric, and when we share stories, especially those rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing, we are participating in an act of respect, healing, and community-building.

Personally, this experience also brought up reflections of my own ancestry. I began to think more deeply about my own family's story, especially about my grandmother from six generations back who was from the Mi'kmaq Nation. The only thing we know is that she left her community to marry a white man (my grandfather) and, as a result, was not welcomed back. Her story, though incomplete, carries with it pain, resilience, and the loss of connection to culture. I left the workshop feeling a strong desire to reconnect with that part of my heritage, and to listen more carefully to the stories, both spoken and unspoken, that have shaped my identity.

I would love the opportunity to hear Robert Cutting speak again. I felt changed after attending his workshop. He reminded me that stories are living things, and when we listen with an open heart, they change us.

Karen Bradbury, NUO