Grandfather teachings: The foundation of the Indigenous way of life
In celebration of National Indigenous History Month, Elder Hazel Dixon has been recounting the seven Grandfather Teachings through on-line messages with the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM). These seven principles form the foundations of an Indigenous way of life: wisdom, love, respect, courage, honesty, humility and truth. “We were looking for online opportunities to celebrate National Indigenous History Month that takes place in June every year. Because of COVID right now, everything’s on-line so we looked at doing educational programming on-line,” said Theresa Walter, First Nations Program Specialist with RSM.
Elder Dixon had been providing Indigenous storytelling and traditional teachings for many years to elementary and high school students and realized that an on-line program would enable her to reach many more people. She took her existing 30-minute presentations and created five-minute versions that she shares every Thursday from now until July 9.
You can access her teachings on the RSM website at royalsaskmuseum.ca. If you missed one of the teachings, you can view archived versions on the RSM Youtube channel.
Elder Dixon said the teachings are about helping people simplify their lives. People live complicated lives, but the teachings help people to slow down and recognize the important things. They also reflect the strands of sweetgrass that are sacred in Indigenous culture.
“Sweetgrass is braided from 21 strands,” she explained. “The first seven is from before our ancestors— our parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so on. The next seven are the seven teachings. The last seven are for our children, their children, great grandchildren and all those yet to be born.” The seven teachings involve animal representations. Wisdom, for example, is represented by the beaver, which cuts trees, builds dams and has a positive impact on their community. “Beaver never gives up until the job is done; they are very hard workers,” says Dixon.
Courage is represented by the bear, which is known to confront threats. “The bear also teaches us to have courage to do the right thing even if it proves to be difficult; and the sabe (known as the Sasquatch) represents honesty since that animal is believed to be closer to the spirit world than humans. The buffalo teaches respect and reminds people to achieve a balance in their lives.”
Other animal representations include the turtle, which teaches truth since the turtle was here when all life was created and carries teachings related to the beginning of life on its back. The wolf represents humility since although it is strong and powerful, it finds its greatest strength as part of a pack. The eagle represents love since it is strong enough to carry all of these teachings on its back and flies high enough to see all of creation.
These teachings are broadcast from the RSM and Elder Dixon tries to incorporate various aspects of the museum during her presentations. When she is discussing the
buffalo, for instance, she will use the buffalo rugs on display to help people visualize the animal.
Elder Dixon said she likes to end the teachings with a discussion on truth. When she is teaching in schools, she enjoys what the students say during the presentation.
“When I discuss truth I give them an example about finding $20 when I was downtown,” she explains. “I was getting off the bus and I was watching my footing when I saw something shiny at the curb. I saw that it was $20 and that it was covered in dirt since it had rained the night before. I looked around to see if it belonged to anyone. If I had seen someone who was looking like they were missing something, I would have asked that person what they were looking for. If they were missing $20, then I would tell them I found it. Now what if they had been $300? That could be their rent money and make a very big difference in their lives. It’s those little things that sticks with the kids.”
Elder Dixon adds that these stories are suitable for people of all ages and that they help build bridges between Indigenous and non-indigenous people. The stories help make people become aware of Indigenous culture and everything Indigenous people have to offer. She hopes that they will become more interactive in the future where students can ask on-line questions and make comments.
Walter says that the RSM is planning other activities to celebrate the month, as well as National Indigenous People’s Day (NIPD) on June 21. Harold Lavallee, a Knowledge Keeper from Piapot First Nation, will provide a special video on NIPD. That will be followed by a virtual artist’s tour of the First Nations Gallery. He will also smudge the museum the day before to celebrate the Summer Solstice. The smudging ceremony will cleanse the public galleries and work spaces of negative energy and allow the positive energy to flow through. The smudge also honours the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice.
The Indigenous programming is courtesy of the Traditional Knowledge Keepers program, which is supported by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and Saskculture. This program helps connect Elders and Knowledge Keepers who bring their teachings and knowledge to the students or general public through programs and workshops including storytelling, blanket exercises, film screenings and demonstrations of traditional art such as beading and porcupine quillwork.