Photo credit: Heroes of the Modo 8k
Dave Robinson is currently in his second year in NITEP. Along with completing full-time studies in the Indigenous Teacher Education Program at UBC, Dave coaches boxing, mentors youth through carving and enjoys participating in various athletic competions. He has been featured on Global News as a First Nations Renaissance Man.
Through the Take a Hike program, Dave has been carving a totem pole with the youth.
Dave shares:
“My name is Dave Robinson from the Timiskaming First Nation in North Western Quebec. I am in year two of UBC’s Indigenous Teacher Education Program. I’ve learned to carve, as a child learns to walk, the experience is grueling, gratifying, and mysterious. Each piece, as each first step, has its own memory of inspiration, frustration and joy. A baby’s crawl becomes a step, which later becomes a stride. Like a baby sometimes, I can only cry or laugh to communicate my emotion. But as time goes by, my experience grows and translates into a uniqueness of shape, concept and theme.
Dave and Claire
The inspiration and design are a gift, I often feel as a witness of beauty and a tool of a greater force at work. I always thank the Great Spirit and ask for strength and vision to do my part. There is an overwhelming sense of duty to perform. To always surpass previous standards; viewing them as benchmarks to be achieved and further developed. My goal is to expose wood’s most inner beauty of spirit in connection to mine. I see and shape what remains at this time and place of each tree’s life. It is through my individual experiences and memory of emotion that I work.
When a tree comes to me it is far removed from its roots and birth of environment. I believe the lesson is our purpose; shape and color change as we grow, but as we change in time, space and form are emotions that exist and remain. Carving at “Take A Hike,” I teach the youth that we must respect our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual parts of being in balance of each-other. It is through this process that greatness is achieved and peace of mind and body is found.
“Many Beings” completed
May 15, 2015
The piece we have created together is called “Many Beings”. This project was completed on May 15, 2015 and was started on April 4, 2014. During the process of creating “Many Beings” I have taught the youth some Algonquin songs and shared the Myths and Folklore of Timiskaming First Nation. It is a great honor for me to sing and carve together in harmony with these youth.
Some of the youth also come to the North Burnaby Boxing Club; I teach them techniques of boxing and share my philosophy of working and moving forward in balance of a circle. It is my goal to graduate from NITEP and become a teacher. I believe this will empower me to help youth find their passion and active their full personality in life. I am grateful to be a student at NITEP, through this program I have found my greatest passion in life which is to teach and help youth.”
Megwich,
Dave Robinson
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Origin of “Many Beings”
Dave and Mckenzie
Dave and Aaron