This semester was my first teaching JRN 300 Introduction to Print Journalism at the School of Journalism at the University of Regina.
Every year, the students here do a project that crosses over a couple classes–mine and Trish Elliott’s research class and Mark Taylor’s photography and design labs. The teachers pick a town and everyone finds stories and does some background research and then we all head out to spend a day there.
This year, the town we picked was Montmartre and we added the nearby reserve Carry the Kettle First Nation. INCA student Desarae Eashappie came into our class and told stories about the relationship between the town and the reserve–many CTK kids go to school in Montmartre and, as it happens, Desarae’s partner Jonas Thomson has a tattoo business on CTK that is drawing Montmartrians and other to the reserve. That was inspiration for one of the stories you can read.
Everyone had a great day. We met interesting people who were excited to talk about their lives and opportunities in Montmartre and CTK, and we learned new things about small towns and reserves. Students had to take pictures for their stories, write feature articles and do a Wikipedia entry for the town.
And today, their stories were posted. You can find them at http://jschool.ca/in-depth/big-stories-in-small-towns/1453-montmartre-sask.
Enjoy!
