When I Was a Tiger

When I was a tiger, I would eat deer and sleep under the stars … In November I engaged 5th and 7th grade tribal school children in conservation themed, digital storytelling exercises: When I Was A Tiger, The Places I Go, and Close Encounters. Each day a group of children and I would trek to different places in nature — down muddy trails past villages to waters where the lotus flowers grow, into dense bamboo groves and other forest hide-aways — to document the places they found to be special in some way and/or where they had close encounters with animals. It was as much fun to hear the stories as it was to “get to” the story. By the end of the week the landscape was talking back, as this mango tree or that stone was no longer just a tree or rock but was infused with story.