Indigenous storyteller, stone carver hopes to inspire pride in heritage

“There are stories connected to them and there’s ways to earn the right to get them, which also earns the right to share them in the proper way,” he said.

That opportunity wasn’t available for some time, as indigenous Elders were understandably wary of sharing. Tootosis said a key period where change began was in the 1960s, where his people went through a time of renewal. his own father, once a minister before being fired by the church, decided it was time to relearn traditions. Tootoosis said many of them had not been written down and had instead been manipulated or changed, which made the Elders reluctant to share them.

“They were held very close and shared sparingly,” he said. “Today, our elders are more than willing to share what they know, particularly when it comes to what happened in their lives, how life has changed on the reserve, in society.”

Tootoosis has seen a number of changes in his time, which included a number of significant life altering events. Both of his parents were killed by drunk drivers when he was young and afterwards he was for a time what he calls “an unproductive member of society”, eventually spending time behind bars. Years later, having traveled and worked in a variety of trades, he shifted focus upon learning that he was a parent, where ended going back to high school and coming across a class where he learned to artfully alter stones.

“That was a catalyst to change my way of thinking about what I was doing with my life,” he said. “Alcohol just left when I started carving when I went back to high school.”

Soon after, Tootoosis reconnected with his roots, which set him on a path that has since resulted in a long career of carving stone and sharing stories and traditions that he had received permission for from his Elders.

“It hasn’t been easy, but I do what I do so others can thrive at what they want and need to do,” he said. “Now you hear of storytelling gatherings happening all over, when 20 years ago they were few and far between, and our oral historians are being recognized as a new literary entity.”

“Our artists are being recognized for the talents that they have.”

Some of the art Tootoosis has in his home south of Battleford. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)

The impact of art

Tootoosis has art throughout his home, from carvings made in his studio to to paintings by family members. He said working with stone is revitalizing and helps him to connect with who he is and where he comes from. He works with many kinds of stone, such as soapstone, alabaster, jade, obsidian and more, which come from South America, Africa, Europe and other parts of the world.

Tootoosis carves from a variety of rock, iTootoosis carves from a variety of rock, including this sample of obsidian. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)ncluding this sample obsidian. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)

In his 11 years spent working with the Allen Sapp Gallery in North Battleford (as well as time working as a University of Saskatchewan resident artist and selling many individual items), Tootoosis spent a significant amount of time getting Elders to come out to see paintings there and share what spoke to them about the pieces. He also goes into schools and talks to young people about traditions and ways of living.

Tootoosis takes particular focus with this task, as he believes sharing stories of indigenous culture and tradition not only educates youth, but even provides a spark for ingenuity, especially through the use of art, and help save the lives of young indigenous men and women. He said this is part of why he has worked so hard to allow others to pursue their passion within art.

“It brings forward our pride, it brings forward our history, and it will feed our future,” Totoosis said. “That’s what our stories are meant to do.”

Sharing with the world

In getting young people to engage with their passion in their ancestors traditions and customs, Tootoosis said it’s important to expose non-aboriginal people to positive stories, instead of the barrage of negative content they are used to seeing in the news. He added that this is especially true for reaching out to new Canadians, who often connect to several aspects of traditions.

This was especially apparent in a project he worked on at the U of S, carving 13 moons into 13 steps removed from a historic building. The endeavor resulted in fascinating, even familiar, anecdotes from foreign students and Canadian immigrants.

“They came forward and shared their stories of the lunar cycle and the 13 moons,everyone from places like the Philippines to African countries,” Tootoosis said. “Sure, we’re different colours and we come from different places, but our ancestors followed the same moon and stars,”

He said having these similar stories promotes kinship and opens people up. often results in sharing differences, especially when aboriginal students, inspired by their storytellers and expose non-aboriginal students to their culture.

“To bring out the positive in it, to me that’s one of the greater things about sharing our stories,” he said. “It’s an avenue to look past the negative stuff in the news and instead go to the museums, go to a pow wow.

Tootoosis said he’s encouraged seeing non-indigenous people go to a powwow. He said people will go from being concerned as to whether it’s ok they are there, moving to the beat of the drum in short order.

“Allowing non-aboriginal people to be exposed [to our ways] I think is paramount to sharing your humanity,” he said. “If we can’t help each other, what’s the point in being on earth?”

For people experiencing indigenous culture more intimately than before, he said it’s important to know that learning knowledge is more than just reading the right book, or jotting down notes. In fact,you’re ripping yourself off on learning if that’s you’re approach.

“We listen with our ears, but you hear with your hearts,” Tootoosis said. “Listening and hearing leads to a deeper understanding.”

A project Tootoosis is currently working on. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)

Long overdue acknowledgement

As Saskatchewan recognizes National Indigenous People’s Day, weeks after the shocking discovery of 215 children’s remains at a residential school site in Kamloops BC, Tootoosis said he’s glad to see that societally people are starting to acknowledge the link between the impact of residential schools and indigenous communities today. He said indigenous people came out of there hating themselves and that lead to many cases of self abuse, including substances like alcohol.

“Those were years that our people spent in those schools were years that they did not have to learn about themselves,” he said. “And what they learned in there was all negative.”

Tootoosis said their parents had that knowledge taken from them, denied them because of the involvement of the church, which affected their ability to pass that knowledge on to the next generation youth. After the response of recent weeks, he’s hopeful that healing can begin and indigenous people can continue to carve out positive stories moving forward.

“Now, we’re connecting back to our teachings and that’s something needs to be embraced and celebrated,” he said.

(Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)

For more local stories celebrating National Indigenous History Month and Peoples Day, click here.

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josh.ryan@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports

by Josh Ryan

Indigenous storyteller, stone carver hopes to inspire pride in heritage

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