[ad_1]
Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike are welcome to take part in the tanning of an elk hide, as part of a workshop dedicated to sharing knowledge with participants through hands-on participation.
Kelly Gordon, who is Inuvialuit, and Blackfoot Elder Larry Mistaken Chief have been leading tanning workshops together for the last five years.
The pair’s workshops had humble beginnings, before blossoming into something that has impacted people across Alberta, said Gordon.
“We started on the rez, just small workshops, just a couple students,” she said. “And then now, we are going into corporate places, corporate businesses, schools, not-for-profits, working with vulnerable children, youth, elders.
“It’s been like a dream come true.”
Gordon said tanning the hide brings people together in a special way.
“The hide brings us together, to work together,” she said. “We would have non-Indigenous people and Indigenous people working together, and completing hides together, working as a team.”
It’s also been an opportunity to welcome non-Indigenous people to learn more about Indigenous culture and traditions.
“We want to be able to share the teachings with all people of all different backgrounds,” she said.
Mistaken Chief, 75, says he has many fond memories of learning to tan hides from his grandmother.
“Her work kept us fed and really good,” he said. “She would tan a hide, and when she finished the hide, she’d make moccasins, vests, you know, all the clothes, all different kinds of things.”
He’s happy to teach others how to tan the traditional way.
“It’s a good feeling to carry on that, what’s been done, who knows how far back,” he said.
Students often start the workshop thinking the process is a lot more difficult than it really is, Mistaken Chief said.
“They thought it’d be a real task to do hiding, but it isn’t,” he said.
He said he’s found a tanning technique that makes the process easier and more convenient, all without needing to use chemicals or machines.
“The hard part that other tanners talk about is scraping the hair off the hide,” he said. “For me, I soak it, leave it in the water, and I check it every day, and when I can pull the hair off, then I take it out and I pull all the hair off. I don’t have to scrape the hair off, and then I re-stretch it and let it dry.”
The pair’s next hide tanning demonstration will be held in Cochrane on Tuesday, as part of an event to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Carmen Erison, the Cochrane Public Library’s program and engagement manager, welcomes the opportunity to collaborate for the event.
“I do feel a responsibility to be able to share those opportunities, to provide as many opportunities for anybody who wants to learn,” she said. “And being a library, we are so fortunate that we can provide those opportunities.”
“We can compensate our Indigenous elders, our knowledge keepers, our makers. We can compensate them in the way [that] they deserve.”
10-year anniversary of TRC report
This year marks a decade since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report in December 2015.
That report, which includes the 94 Calls to Action, has spurred action toward truth and reconciliation across the country — for the Cochrane Public Library, that’s come in the form of nearly $40,000 in funding through the province’s ethnocultural grant.
“The reason we applied for this grant was, we are so closely situated next to Stoney Nakoda First Nation,” said Erison. “And while we are still close, closely situated to each other, that knowledge is not necessarily still there within the community.”
“It warms my heart because it tells me that there are people that still want to learn,” said Erison. “There are people that are still working toward truth and reconciliation. They want to learn about this culture. It’s so important that we learn.”
Gordon says there’s “a lot of healing” happening when she hosts these workshops.
“I find that I feel very good when I’m doing the hides, connecting with the community, having non-Indigenous and Indigenous come out,’ she said. “Being able to share the teachings on the land. It’s basically just being Indigenous.”
A national 24-hour Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available at 1-866-925-4419 for emotional and crisis referral services for survivors and those affected.
Mental health counselling and crisis support are also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat.
[ad_2]
Source link
