Celebrating and honouring Indigenous peoples
By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day, and Siksika First Nation will be honouring its community in recognition.
The purpose of the celebration is to bring the community together, while sharing Siksika Nation’s traditions, culture and stories, said Shannon Bear Chief, office manager of Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park.
“It’s sharing who we are,” said Bear Chief.
Honouring the community’s elders is an important part of the celebration.
“Personally, it’s about seeing our elders as a significant part of who we are and celebrating them — especially the ones who are still living, because they are still able to share their stories.
“It’s a good day to be Indigenous, because we are still sharing those stories and living those traditions.”
The celebration is also a time to recognize the successes that happened over the past year, she said.
Blackfoot Crossing had plans to host a virtual powwow, with dancers performing onsite, but the plans were adjusted after a case of COVID-19 was confirmed at Siksika Nation, said Bear Chief. A new celebration honouring the return of Chief Crowfoot’s regalia will be held this year as well, she said.
“When we learnt of the case, we wanted to take extra precautions, and just go virtual now,” she said. “It will still happen, but it will be a pre-recorded show.”
The celebrations will include a tepee raising at Blackfoot Crossing, which will be filmed. There will also be a boiling pit demonstration that will go along with a talk by one of the organization’s cultural curators, said Bear Chief.
Experiencing Indigenous stories and culture can provide new perspectives, said Strathmore town councillor Denise Peterson, who worked “on the periphery of Siksika’’ as a school principal.
“It’s a huge gift to have some understanding of a people who have really cared for and nurtured where we live for 15,000 years,” said Peterson. “Siksika are not a people of a single story. Their whole existence is wrapped up in thousands of stories from thousands of years of living here. Every one of their stories is filled with wisdom for the ages.”
To learn more about the history and contemporary lives of Indigenous peoples, there is a free online course from the University of Alberta (https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada).
The Government of Canada also has a reading list of featured Indigenous books and poetry for children, young adults and adults that can be found by searching the hashtag #IndigenousReads. The CBC has also released a list of 108 recommended Indigenous writers.