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From the early 1830s to 1998, children some as young as four years old, attended the government-funded and church-run residential schools.  They suffered abuses of the mind, body, emotions, and spirit that can be almost unimaginable.  It is estimated that there are 80,000 residential school Survivors alive today.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation and the Legacy of Hope Foundation provides healing assistance to the

Survivors. Today, healing initiatives are taking place in every region of the country, in cities and small towns, on reserves and in rural, remote and isolated communities.

Pattie LaCroix, The StoryWorks  Review’s Editor, spoke with the Foundation’s Acting Executive Director, Trina Bolam and researcher Sara Fryer.  They explored how story is leading towards the transformation of individuals, their families, communities and ultimately the narrative of Canadian history.

Question:  How has story been leveraged to support the process of healing and reconciliation?

Trina Bolam: We wanted to know how we could tell the story of residential schools.  The first thing we did was to listen to the stories of survivors. Sharing the stories in the early phase in the process of reconciliation can set someone on the path of healing as it is often the first time they have acknowledged the experience themselves.

What we are learning is that stories are the first steps on the path of reconciliation and that survivors are on many different places along this path. It is the recognition of the impact that residential schools had that fosters real understanding.  These stories have provided opportunities to have real intergenerational dialogue about this legacy and that is having a huge impact on communities.

Sara Fryer: Stories are integral to fostering understanding and leading to reconciliation. In understanding peoples’ experiences and what they went through at residential schools it teaches us many things about forgiveness. Hearing about what someone experienced and how they healed is key to leading towards a new relationship and to a new story between Canadians and aboriginal people.

When you think about the act of witnessing someone’s story and the simple act of acknowledging that experience this sometimes leads to a positive outcome for the survivors.  The telling of the story itself has the power to lead towards transformation.

Question:  What has been the biggest surprise or key learning in the use of story in this work?

Trina Bolam: People often don’t have a context for these stories but the degree to which these stories resonate for people who didn’t have that has been surprising. I didn’t expect that depth of resonance.

Sara- I think what I have learned is that it isn’t the same; a survivor may have told their story more than once but it is never the same experience for them and in that way it is not the same story.  It affects survivors differently each time they tell the story.

Trina Bolam:  There are things that might be laying there in wait each time a survivor tells their story.

Sara Fryer: Sometimes one element of sharing the story is overwhelming this serves to remind us that in every situation we have to ensure that there are health supports available, it needs to be safe for the survivor each time they tell their story. There is immediate care available, there is follow up and post-interview care in place.

Question:  If you had one wish for the role that story will continue to play in your work what would it be?

Trina Bolam:  I think the role for story is a wish would be to create a mechanism to be able to collect stories in an ongoing basis to create a center where stories are prominent.  There is an ongoing healing role in the telling and re-telling these stories. There are broader stories to be told; these include the stories of families, of communities of health care providers of all that have been impacted by the legacy of the residential schools in Canada. I would also wish for our work to include a broader scope  to provide opportunities for the telling of all of the stories that surround the survivors.

Sara: I think that it is so relevant for a health organization to be working with narrative and even more so for an aboriginal organization. To be using narrative it is so innovative and so relevant ; the ability of using people’s experience for better health outcomes is an emerging field.

My real hope is that people’s stories are places of fact and build better understanding.  Stories are not just about collecting information to me they are ways in which to foster greater understanding. I wish for us to recognize the fact that the subjective matters just as much as the objective.

Aboriginal people are on the cusp of that they have been using their stories as fact for centuries and only recently has qualitative information or experiences been used in research.  This is seen as a new trend in health research; for the mainstream Canada it is a return of an oral tradition after a lapse of 100 years.

Trina Bolam:  If you read an historical account mainstream about the first contact with traders or whalers and then if you listen to an aboriginal account it is an entirely different Story. Sometimes there is a huge gap in emphasis. History is all about the speaker all about the storyteller so in that fashion we are recasting history.

Sara Fryer- With these stories we are rewriting history and aboriginal voices are finally being heard.  It is not re-informing history; it is rewriting what we thought we knew.

This story to be continued…

We will follow the stories being revealed through the Legacy of Hope Foundation’s ground-breaking healing and reconciliation narrative initiatives.  Upcoming features include:

Story 10 years later: The story of the Legacy of Hope foundation how it enshrines the concept of oral history.  How narrative has taken root in healing and reconciliation and what has been learned.

Story collecting:  Learn about the methodology in place that has been developed with different survivor groups in collecting these transformational stories.

The impact of story on design:   What can we learn about how stories inform project design?  This case study will explore the direct impact of stories on informing the Foundation’s exhibits.

In October 2010 members of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting marked the tenth anniversary with the first ever Appreciative Inquiry Storython.  The Appreciative Inquiry Consulting community is dedicated to spreading the philosophy and practice of AI around the world. Its members, AI practitioners, are committed to living the principles of AI at work and in their personal lives.

Three generations of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) practitioners gathered around the virtual hearth to share stories of their work and impact using Appreciative Inquiry. Over 30 AI practitioners told stories; we experienced story telling as both affirmation and innovation. Not only did we learn about Appreciative Inquiry; we also learned about the power of storytelling.

Stories Tell Us Who We Are

Appreciative Inquiry is a narrative process based on social constructionist theory. During an AI process people interview each other seeking stories about high point experiences, best practices and strengths, hopes and dreams at work. In so doing, they recall who they are at their best and affirm one another’s stories and dreams. People give voice to what they value, personally and collectively. In the act of sharing stories they co-create their identities and give meaning to new possibilities.

AI’s impact across sectors was evident in the stories told. From Sarah Steck’s “Vital Connections: Appreciative Conversations and Connections between the Dying and their Families, Colleagues and Caregivers” to Deborah Maher and Reed Waller’s “Cultural Transformation in the Department of Justice” to Judy Roger’s “Images and Voices of Hope in the Media” Appreciative Inquiry was used to foster generative dialogue, deep respect and transformation.

Stories Teach Us How to Participate in Community

Dan Saint and Joep De Jong shared a humorous, yet poignant story of “Leading and Managing Appreciatively: A Day to Day Perspective from Business Leaders.” Rita Kowalski’s story “It’s Good to Be Simple: A Smile and a Hello” and Michele Strutzenberger’s “Stories Engage Strenghts, Catalyze Change” both pointed to Appreciative Inquiry as a way of being. Jane Magruder Watkins’ “On the Edge of the New OD” told the story of how AI practitioners have prompted a change in the field of Organization Development, from diagnostic to dialogic, from problem solving to Appreciative Inquiry based.

As we listened to colleagues tell stories of their work the Appreciative Inquiry Consulting community came to life as a group of people who have chosen to live and work in the energetically positive and in so doing use Appreciative Inquiry to create a better world for all.

Stories Mark Change, Transformation and Evolution.

The field of Appreciative Inquiry has come of age. Since its inception in the mid 1980’s at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management it has been introduced around the world and used for large-scale transformation in governments, corporations, schools and the military. David Cooperrider presented ideas about the next generation of AI and at the same time raised the bar for the future in his story “The Newest IPOD: Innovation-Inspired Positive Change.

Other stories clearly illustrated the evolution of Appreciative Inquiry itself, from a philosophy and practice for large-scale change to a process for human and leadership development. Jackie Kelm’s story, “Appreciative Living with Multiple Sclerosis” and Cathy Royal’s story, “Discovering the Divine in Young Women and Girls” touched hearts and minds and showed us the value of AI in fostering human well-being and identity development.

Stories Inspire

The Storython was a living example of the power of story. Ten years of Appreciative Inquiry stories illuminated what we have done, pointed out many lessons learned along the way and gave rise to bold dreams for the future. The power of story enabled the Appreciative Inquiry Consulting community to hear itself and imagine its self growing and serving for years to come.

¹ Whitney, D., Trosten-Bloom, A., Rader, K., Appreciative Leadership: Focus on What Works to Drive Winning Performance and Build a Thriving Organization, McGraw-Hill, 2010, p. 131.

Group-based story-telling is an innovation to this fact-base approach recently introduced into the Alliance working tables and consultation processes. It is based loosely on the concept and format for BBC Radio 4’s The Reunion.  The Reunion is a weekly series that brings together the movers and shakers who were involved in a key moment of modern history. It offers a new way of engaging broader and more diverse audiences in generating ideas for real actions to address the challenges our city region and its residents face.

Story and Our Common Purpose

Since its founding in 2003, the Alliance has convened thousands of leaders to identify, develop and launch strategies to address some of the Toronto region’s most complex social, economic and environmental issues. This process and its resulting initiatives have been recognized by many, including the Canadian Urban Institute, as having a “positive effect on all aspects of the region’s public realm… not only in practical terms but in nurturing and articulating a sense of common purpose for the region’s diverse population”. Narrative has been central to both the process and the ensuing outcomes.

But what motivates these leaders to volunteer their time to participate in these processes?  The answer may be found in a statement offered by legendary fundraiser, the late Harold ‘Si’ Seymour:  “Every individual needs to feel that he is a worthwhile member of a worthwhile group”.  One could argue that, similarly, civic leaders need to feel like a worthwhile part of a worthwhile story. Perhaps what draws these bank CEOs, heads of non-for-profit organizations and academic institutions, leading artists and others to the Alliance is the opportunity to positively effect the development of a story routed in urban life.

Seeing Ourselves in the Story

The purpose of an October 2010 Roundtable meeting on Neighbourhoods and Affordable Housing was to identify a range of bold ideas for action that could contribute to building strong and cohesive communities and neighbourhoods, physically and metaphorically.  There were over 80 participants from the private, public and community sectors, from the grassroots to the grasstops, from social housing tenants to builders, and representing the rich ethno-cultural diversity that is Toronto.

The Reunion portion of meeting formed a unique setting for this diverse group of stakeholders to hear a story of transformation told from multiple perspectives.  In a sense, it was very much about learning the lessons of history, but with a contemporary and future-orientated twist. With this goal and the group’s diversity in mind, developing a story that everyone could see themselves in and see themselves progressing together presented a huge challenge. But it was not an insurmountable one.

Stories that Create the Future

The Roundtable meeting was held at 246 Sackville in Regent Park, the first of the new buildings to open in one of the biggest public-private neighbourhood revitalization projects in Toronto.  The venue stimulated the idea for The Reunion as an opportunity to reunite the ‘movers and shakers’ who participated in the early development of this project. The Reunion’s story-tellers included: the social housing provider, the private developer, the tenant rep, the community animator and the private sector service provider.  Moderated by a journalist, the group enjoyed the rare forum to collectively reflect on their roles and experiences at the beginnings of that venture, provide learning for the next revitalization projects, and offer food for thought for the ensuing action-ideas discussion.  As the meeting organizers, our biggest challenge would be to ensure that every one of the 80 participants in the room saw themselves reflected in that both the historical and future-orientation of the story.  It worked.

The Reunion discussion was in effect multiple perspectives forming a common fact-base before the eyes of an attentive audience, any one of whom would be able to challenge the recollection.  Complemented by a background document comprising the latest statistics in the space, The Reunion created a fact-based narrative in which most everyone in the room could find themselves.  That the 80 participants could hear their own concerns and ambitions articulated as part of The Reunion discussion helped to build a sense of ownership and trust, allowing the dream-conversations to truly fly.

We are often asked what were the outcomes? In short, they were a set of new ideas, collectively generated that, while still to be worked up and vetted again in similar fashion, have the potential to lead to change. And in addition, a reminder that the responsibility of a vibrant and prosperous Toronto region is one that can and should be shared by all sectors of society working collectively.

If the true measure of a society is in how we treat our children… a key question poses itself for North America.  What are the indicators we must learn to read? Are there report cards? Who created them? Who reads them?

Our children have neither the power nor opportunity to create tools to measure our performance. How are we doing? How can we assess what we offer our children in terms of their safety, security, guidance, and support?  Increasing numbers of young people arrive on our streets. We have created social programming and services. We have developed industries of care and attention, and credentialed professionals to deliver. Yet scores of young people still turn to our streets. Children and young people have become the living indicators of the society we offer.

The DOORWAY began as an opportunity to imagine an alternative option for young people who have experienced the gaps in society’s one-size fits all services.  The Doorway’s approach offers innovation and social change in the ways society thinks about children and young people who have had to achieve their survival in the culture of the street.  This approach commits to learning from them how we can help their efforts to build their lives forward.

Cultural Learning and Listening

The frame of the DOORWAY approach is the belief that the street and the non-street are distinct cultures and that movement from one to the other is a cross cultural process. Cultural learning and change are achieved by listening and learning the cues to the operative language, beliefs, values and social agreements encountered.

The cultural information necessary to adapt to fit a new context is learned from people who share conversation and space. There is no textbook and no self help study course. People deliver culture. Children who go to the streets for survival learn to adapt to fit the culture of the street. In the same process, they learn and adapt to fit non-street culture.

The DOORWAY approach recognizes the transfer of cultural information as key to learning necessary change in transitioning from one culture to another. Community people host an integration environment where the exchange of cultural information and cues is communicated in shared conversations and storytelling.  It is a human process, a ‘village’ which teaches and supports young people.

Diligent Listener

The DOORWAY has developed with diligent intentionality as listener viewing our research and evaluation as documented listening. Listening is the strategy to read the living report cards presented in individual lives and experience.

As a community of practice, we believe that we all need to tell stories. Storytelling occurs in silence. It is possible only in the context of listening. It requires full attention in the moment.  Cues to learning are in the other person. Stories are mediated often through a single person’s point of view.  The dialogical process of cross cultural storytelling practiced at The DOORWAY is lived out by the articulation of our stories, really listening, and creating dialogue between stories. As we listen we understand.

Young people are offered a critical path business planning approach to create their planned steps to get off the street. They design personal change one step at a time in any of 13 life categories.(e.g. housing, employment, education, health, personal, problem solving, …) Individual plans are written toward self-determined goals, without interference from the listener.  A cross cultural conversation then offers listening and learning to both perspectives as individual young people discuss their thinking and planned steps with a community cultural interpreter. A community of people who listen and learn from young people complete the circle of communication and mutual learning.

In each written plan to achieve personal goals, young people document the stories of their learning.  They also contribute a personal monthly reflective piece of writing about their experience of making change in adapting to the chosen culture.  Both of these pieces, recorded internally in this learning environment, are the content for qualitative research theme analysis. Storytelling directly provides the content for the continued learning of the organization as a community of practice.

Opposition to Storytelling

In large part, the prevailing acceptance of the scientific model for assessing collected knowledge and observations still imposes significant opposition to the value of storytelling. Traditional emphasis on rationality, factual accuracy and verifiability, science and evidence-based knowledge, has challenged stories as reservoirs of meaning and knowledge. Evaluation tools are created in a world which still believes that imposing the methodology and the criteria for statements of outcomes and success of people is a product, produced in linear sequenced formats.

Evaluation of success for individual young people through The DOORWAY approach still faces the challenge of scientific framing and the imposition of ‘experts’ as evaluators.  The process of cultural change and change in thinking are not easily documented quantitatively.  The questions: Who needs to know? And why? need to be asked.  We advocate for young people to define their own success in building their own places in mainstream culture.

Storytelling has long been a feature of human societies. Building on this tradition in a society which is only now beginning to see beyond the scientific and rational is exciting and leading edge.

The DOORWAY approach with young people requires that we accept the concept of listening as a critical first measure of learning how to be helpful to people who are asking.  As Frederick Perls so simply suggests in his Paradoxical Theory of Change: (paraphrased) “… fully acknowledging starting points is critical to maximize personal growth from where one is today, to where one wants to be instead.”

Storytelling is an Invitation to Contemplation

Learning for adults is less about taking in new information than it is about connecting with people who help put that information in context and suggest new ways of understanding it. We each learn and adjust our approaches not just by getting facts but also by getting relevant information in situ with all the nonverbal cues that candid stories afford. Together we see patterns emerge and discover new ideas worth trying.

For credentialed perspectives built on academic theories, storytelling seems insufficient as a methodology. The rational western approach to manage and control as best practice is hard to challenge when it is held so closely to the scientific medical model which believes people need to be fixed. The critical understanding that never is named in this approach is the role of context in every individual’s life. An early sociologist, C.Wright Mills said: “Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.” Storytelling is the fleshing out of both!

The DOORWAY continues to learn that a key role in community responses to assist others is to discover questions, not to answer them, and to raise issues not to resolve them. Listening and storytelling are an invitation to contemplation.

Traditional approaches to problem solving typically focus on eradicating or minimizing the problem.  This standard problem-solving perspective is about elimination or making the problem go away.  This approach tends to be discreet examining one specific problem set at a time.

Recently, the story thinking approach has begun to gain traction in tackling complex problems. Story thinking is about relationships – the interconnectedness of things.  Story thinking brings into being; it focuses on creating not eliminating. It derives context and meaning from the narrative of stakeholders and citizens directly impacted by the problem being explored.  In that way, it enables us to see the data in relation to us and our connection to the problem. Once this relationship is illuminated it becomes an asset to be leveraged to create innovative solutions. Narratives are then sought out as part of the design process in mapping out innovative solutions.