New centre will act as knowledge bank for Indigenous people
EDMONTON As chiefs from across Alberta prepared to snip a bright red ribbon with large novelty scissors, hung behind them on the wall was a framed black-and-white picture from 1970.
In it, Chief Norman Yellowbird is handing Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau the Red Paper, a set of counter-proposals to a government plan to eliminate Indian status in Canada.
The Red Paper set the course for First Nations people to take control of their historical and cultural resources and protect their languages, said Piikani Nation Chief Stanley Grier on Friday.
Grier was one of dozens of people gathered in Edmonton Friday to celebrate the official opening of the Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom Centre — a new place band-operated schools can turn for reliable information about their ancestors. Supporters say the centre was decades in the making.
“It is with an organization like this that we will continue and fight hard to keep our culture alive, our language,” said Robbie Moosewah, a Saddle Lake band councillor and knowledge centre board member.
The organization, which began operating last year, is now operating a virtual library of Indigenous resources from Treaty 6, 7 and 8. Treaty 7 includes southern Alberta, Treaty 6 stretches across central Alberta and Saskatchewan, and Treaty 8 includes northern Alberta, northern B.C. and parts of northwestern Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.
The collection will grow to include interviews with elders — likely in audio or video format, in keeping with oral traditions. It will include archival information, tools for teaching about traditional ceremonies and skills and resources to help teachers instruct in five Indigenous languages spoken in the region, which are Cree, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Sioux and Dene.
The centre’s CEO, Clayton Kootenay, said seven staff members help curate the library to ensure the information is accurate and culturally appropriate. About 15,000 students at 53 Alberta First Nations schools will have access to the resources.
As the centre builds its collection, it is attempting to counteract a long-standing disparity between the amount of money federally funded reserve schools get for each student compared to provincially funded schools.
Sheena Potts, a teacher and past board member of the organization, said some books written by non-Indigenous authors contain inaccurate interpretations of their culture.
The virtual library will give students and teachers access to first-hand perspectives from Indigenous people, she said.
The centre received about $500,000 in federal funding this year and a one-time injection of $200,000 from the provincial government.