NBE3 · Final Performance Task
How Do We Learn to
Live Together?
My learning journey through NBE3
By: Sheraz Khan
“Living together doesn’t mean becoming the same.”
Begin My Journey
Paths that meet without merging
What I Used to Think
At the beginning of this course, I thought learning to live together was simple. I believed it mainly meant being kind, treating everyone equally, and avoiding conflict. I assumed that if people respected one another, society would naturally become fair.
Three equal boxes. Same size, same weight.
What Challenged My Thinking?
However, the course challenged that belief. I began to understand that treating everyone the same does not always create equality, especially when some groups have experienced generations of colonialism, discrimination, and having their voices ignored.
Treating everyone the same does not always create equality.
Identity and Belonging
Alootook Ipellie’s poem “Walking Both Sides of an Invisible Border” changed how I understood identity. The invisible border dividing the speaker’s feet represents the pressure of living between Inuit and Western cultures. The speaker did not create this conflict, yet he must carry it throughout his life. This taught me that living together cannot require people to hide part of their identity to fit into society.
“Living together cannot require people to hide part of who they are.”
Two feet · one invisible border
“It is never easy
Walking with an invisible border
Separating my left and right foot.”
(Ipellie [page]).
Protection or Control?
Gayle Kabloona’s “Utiqtuq” taught me about self-determination. Dr. English claims that he is protecting Aliisa, but he ignores her knowledge, removes her rifle, and continues taking her away after she changes her mind. His idea of safety becomes control because Aliisa is not allowed to make decisions about her own life. This showed me that helping others includes listening to them instead of assuming that we know what is best.
The land
independence and knowledge
The rifle
control over her own safety
The relocation form
government authority
The helicopter
protection becoming control
“Helping others includes listening to them instead of assuming that we know what is best.”
Source
Kabloona, Gayle. “Utiqtuq.” [Publisher, year, pages].
Resistance and Survivance
“The Girl with the Feather” and Jeremy Dutcher’s “Honour Song” also showed me that Indigenous resistance can be peaceful, cultural, and powerful. The feather, the music, and the Indigenous language challenge colonial authority while showing that Indigenous traditions are alive and developing.
[Photographer]. “The Girl with the Feather.” [Year, source].
Dutcher, Jeremy. “Honour Song.” [Album, label, year].
06 · Where I Am Now
What I Believe Now
Now, I believe we learn to live together by listening before speaking, respecting Indigenous rights and self-determination, learning the truth about the past, and taking responsibility in the present. Living together does not mean becoming the same. It means creating a world where different cultures, identities, and worldviews can exist without one being treated as more important than the other.
01
Listen
before speaking
02
Respect
self-determination
03
Acknowledge
the truth of the past
04
Act
in the present
Paths meet in a shared space, then continue, still distinct.
07 · Final Message
“We learn to live together when we stop making decisions for others and begin making space to hear them.”
Listening is not the end of reconciliation. It is where our responsibility begins.
View Works CitedMLA · 9th Edition
Works Cited
The entries below are editable. Don’t make up publication details you can’t check. Only fill in what you actually know.
- 01
Ipellie, Alootook. “Walking Both Sides of an Invisible Border.” [Collection or anthology title], [publisher], [year], [pages].
- 02
Kabloona, Gayle. “Utiqtuq.” [Collection or anthology title], [publisher], [year], [pages].
- 03
[Photographer Last, First]. “The Girl with the Feather.” [Year]. [Source / museum / URL].
- 04
Dutcher, Jeremy. “Honour Song.” [Album Title], [Label], [Year].
- 05
[Additional image, music, or video citation placeholder].
NBE3 · Grade 11 · Final Performance Task · By: Sheraz Khan