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First Nations communities from the Battlefords area learning about each other

May 17, 2016 | 6:13 PM

Treaty 6 Education Council is hosting a community history showcase at the Battlefords Agricultural Society Tuesday and Wednesday, where students have prepared presentations on their community’s history and culture.

Sweetgrass School principal Noella Mitsuing-Moccasin said students at Sweetgrass have been focusing on preparing the last two weeks, and students have been motivated and eager to do the presentations.

“Every community is different, so this is a way we come together to show each community’s identity and their cultures and values and share it all together,” she said.

Community members set up a circle of teepees, which includes one for each community and a ceremonial teepee. People rotated through the teepees to learn about each community.

This is the second annual event of its kind, which expanded to two days this year, and Patrick Bugler of the Treaty 6 Education Council said the community showcase makes him proud to be an indigenous man.

“Going away from this last year I just felt proud, proud to be a First Nations man and proud that I was able to be part of this, knowing that we’re just scratching the surface. We have so much more work to do,” he said

Bugler said the education system is designed to ignore a lot of their history, and they felt it was time to reawaken some of their teachings. He said they’ve been encouraging teachers to change the lens they see through to better connect with the students they’re serving.

He said a lack of knowledge about First Nations history and culture is pervasive, not just in non-First Nations people, but in those who were raised in a western society, so educational events like this help bring awareness and eliminate that ignorance.

The presentations continue tomorrow, May 18, but will make up a shorter part of the day. The main event will be a powwow, which Mitsuing-Moccasin said is not competitive but a way for the dancers to show their identities.  

 

Sarah.rae@jpbg.ca

@sarahjeanrae