Exploring the Scottish Highlands to Nova Scotia Journey
Discover the historical journey of Scottish Highlanders to Nova Scotia in Canada through the UNESCO Learning Pack. Explore the emotional challenges faced by the Cleared Highlanders, spot ghost objects that tell stories of the past, and delve into the connections between two distant lands. The included short film "Clearances" adds a poignant touch to this captivating exploration.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
UNESCO UNESCO Sites Unseen Sites Unseen Learning pack 1 Learning pack 1
Across the Across the Atlantic: Atlantic: A learning pack exploring the relationship between the Scottish Highlands and Nova Scotia in Canada
Part 1: Departure Part 1: Departure Nova Scotia is a place in Canada. Its name means New Scotland , and many people there are descended from people who moved there from the Scottish Highlands. Why did these people leave their home in Scotland, and how did they end up moving so far away to the other side of the Atlantic?
Film: Clearances Film: Clearances Watch the short film, Clearances, made for this project by director Hamish Macleod.
Ghost objects (1) Ghost objects (1) A quote from the film: You can see these ruins sporadically across the Highlands, and each one of these has a story to tell, each one of these is part of a community. They were part of a landscape that is not there now. There s ghosts of landscapes that are no longer there. Of communities that are no longer there.
Ghost objects (2) Ghost objects (2) Objects can tell stories: sometimes, they tell stories of things that are no longer there, like the ruins of Cleared settlements that we saw in the film. Take a walk around your local area, and see if you can spot signs of people, things or animals that have now gone. For example, there might be boarded up buildings, or a phone box without a phone in it. There might be shells or owl pellets, footprints in the mud, an abandoned plough, or ruins like we saw in the film. You might like to think about the things you can t see what do you imagine might once have been here that is now gone? Make a list of the ghost objects that you saw.
Ghost objects (3) Ghost objects (3)
Leaving home (1) Leaving home (1) How do you think these Cleared Highlanders felt, being forced to leave their home to go to a place they knew nothing about? Create a wordscape of emotions.
Leaving home (2) Leaving home (2) On the next three slides you will see part of the song Cur c laibh ri Asainte or Turing my back on Assynt, written in Gaelic by Alexander MacLeod Culkein, in 1907.
Leaving home (3) Leaving home (3) Cur c laibh, cur c laibh, Turning my back, turning my back, Cur c laibh ri Asainte, Turning my back on Assynt, Cur c l ri T r nan G idheal Turning my back on the land of the Gaels Far n robh mi g is amaideach. Where I was young and foolish. Ach d il gun till mi dhachaidh ann Young lads listen A ghillean ga, istibh, Till I tell you a story Gus an d an mi sgeula aithris dhuibh Because I had to leave the land Oir b fheudar dhomh bhith f gail Where my forefathers were reared. An t r a dh raich m athraichean. It was on a Wednesday S ann air Diciadain, Early in the morning Gu moch anns a mhadainn, Dh fhalbh mise le mo thriall, I left on my journey S mi dol thar chuan Chanada. Me heading overseas to Canada.
Leaving home (4) Leaving home (4) Air f gail a Ch l Chinn dhomh, Leaving Culkein, Bha mo ch irdean mall rium dealachadh, My relations were sad at the parting s bha smalan tighinn air m inntinn A sadness came over my mind s mi f gail nan caileagan. Leaving the girls. An Glaschu m r nam b than, In big Glasgow of the shops Bha sr idean fada farsaing ann, With long wide streets Gur mise tha gu t rsach I am so sad s na m ltean sluaigh a tachairt rinn. Whilst meeting thousands of people. Disathairne rinn sinn se ladh On a Saturday we set sail Bhon Bhroomielaw an Glaschu From the Broomielaw in Glasgow Measg threubhan de gach se rsa, With people of every kind On board the English Southwark . Air b rd an Southwark Shasannach.
Leaving home (5) Leaving home (5) Dol seachad c laibh irinn Going past the back of Ireland, Bha muir is gaoth ri cathadh oirnn, Sea and wind were raging s bha a h-uile bha air b rd, And all who were on board Gu tinn le cur na mara orr Were ill with sea sickness. Tha mi nochd gu t rsach Tonight I am sad and lonely Falbh air sr idean Chanada Walking the streets of Canada Is caolas farsaing fuar And a cold wide stretch of sea Eadar mi s mo luaidh an Asainte Between me and my love in Assynt.
Leaving home (6) Leaving home (6) Write a poem on the theme of home , from the perspective of a Cleared Highlander about to board a ship to take them to Canada. Use the following prompts to help you: What will you miss about your old home? What are your hopes, dreams and expectations for Canada? Will you build a new home there? How do you feel?
Sea journey Sea journey A quote from the film: Landlords would often arrange assisted passage, paying for their tenants crossing in order to rid the estate of them. In other instances, people would be made to board the ships. In extreme cases, entire townships could be Cleared in a single day, the people forced onto overcrowded vessels. Use collage to create an of image based on the quote above.
Displacement today Displacement today What are some of the pressures that force people to leave their homes today? Think about these pressures in your local area, in your wider region, and also worldwide. Which of these pressures are the same as those we heard about in the film, and which are different? What would need to change to allow people to have more choice over where they live?
