Learning traditional survival skills

Times Reporter  

 

Over the spring break the Youth Club of Strathmore held day camps with different activities each day for the kids. On April 24 it was survival day, and Brenda Holder of Mahikan Trails, who held the town’s spring break CSI-style camps in 2013, came back with a condensed version for the kids. 

She brought with her a team of four students who have been training to become interpretive guides. 

“All of them have been through a very intensive training course to become interpretive guides. They have already come with a whole host of extremely good skills, so they’re already well season guides,” said Holder. 

Sherry Good Eagle was one of the four students. She helped Holder create the program for the day.   

“I believe it is very important as an aboriginal’s, especially from Treaty 7, to showcase our ways. There is a lot of cliché, a lot of assumptions and I would like to be able to show the beauty within us,” said Good Eagle. 

She and the other three had talked about their training and how a lot of the history regarding first nation aboriginals is wrong. She would like to be a part of correcting it, not just for non-natives, but for natives as well, especially the Blackfoot people, and especially for her children.  

“There’s a lot of youth out there that don’t know their identity, and any nationality in general, knowing your identity is one of your most powerful assets,” said Good Eagle. 

The kids taking part in the day at the Youth Club were all given warrior names and face paint. They were all also taught how to make bows, dreamcatchers and beaded chokers. They learned a little bit about native drumming, the chicken dance and even participated in a round dance at the end of the day.