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The Value of Oral History in First
Nations Education By
Tyrone Tootoosis Reprinted
with permission from Each month Tyrone Tootoosis will share works transcribed from oral history. The spirit of his ancestors will live through the stories he shares with us.
Our people must begin discussions on these and other matters. However, we must not assume that we alone can succeed in this endeavour. We will need the help of the Creator. We must ask in our prayers that our children be given the proper guidance and direction. We must all work in unity. A person does not have to be a parent to be concerned about Cree identity. That person can also have these children in mind and in prayer so that the children will be blessed with this acquired new knowledge and in this way not lose their identity as Cree people. In the future, we want them to love the Creator, to fully understand their place in the Great Design, because in doing so they will learn to show and have respect, and will live accordingly, as they will be afraid of offending the Creator. We must strengthen the use of our Cree language in our schools for our children. We must also do this at home, as the children need to be encouraged. This is
what I think and I don't know what you people think about
these issues but you know what I'm talking about. I did
not come here to lecture you. I came here to remind you
of what you've already heard from you're elders,
grandfathers, and great-grandfathers. These are issues,
some of them anyway, that they discussed. I've just come
to remind you, as likewise, you will also remind me of
other things: these others that were speaking, they
remind me of other things and I try to remember these
stories so that I can share them with our students in our
sessions - how to think, how to draw strength from this
language and culture. Further, this language, this power,
The
Value of Oral History in First Nations Education: Part II By
Tyrone Tootoosis Reprinted
with permission from Each
month Tyrone Tootoosis will share works transcribed from
oral history. This treaty that we
have, negotiated by those of the time, who were guided
and blessed in their decisions, so that this arrangement
that we have today could be in place. It was meant to be
this way: the white man to occupy his land, for us to
share this land, to live amongst each other and to
jointly occupy our respective places. As well, to get
along as much as we can with him, as he will also help
us. True enough he has helped us in many ways. We At the time of the treaty signing, the Metis had a very close relationship with the Cree people and as a result were fluent speakers and understood it very well as most of them had learned it from day one. Even though they did not speak English well, if at all, they knew Cree perfectly, and to us they said, at treaty time, "and this is what they say to you...and this is what they say to you...and this is what they say to you." How we as Cree people understood and used our language at that time will be what will help us the most, as it serves as the foundation of our relationship and understanding of the treaty, so that the treaty won't be broken. If a Cree person does not speak English, he may read it, but then there are lawyers who can defend murderers. They will do anything, say anything to defend the client. How and who this person is, what happened, etc., in their language of legalese in which they're very fluent. It would seem that these lawyers are attempting to interpret and explain the treaties in a different way. I went to an Indian Association of Alberta meeting not too long ago, in Edmonton, for three days. They also have laywers and I brought some documents with me. The information as put forth by the lawyers was way off mark; this is exactly what I meant earlier. Our understanding of
the treaty in our Cree languge - that has to be our
position. As a Senate of the FSIN, this was our position
in Ottawa at a recent meeting and we will have to stand
by it. This is where and why our language is so
important. If our children can speak and understand our
language, this treaty arrangement will continue into the
future. However, if they do not know the Cree language,
they, the children, are not going to have any more power
because they will lose the meaning and understanding that
comes with the language, until eventually they will begin
to accept and compromise, until, ultimately, the treaty
is weak and defenseless. They will then no longer be able
to fight or maintain these treaty rights. This is what
I'm afraid will happen. This is why I continue to promote
the learning and teaching of the Cree language and
culture to our children. Their parents too must
understand the language. Some parents, it would seem, are
fighting against this movement. Whether they know this or
not, it is important that they understand the
significance of their actions, or lack of. They need to
understand this clearly.
The
Value of Oral History in First Nations Education: Part
III By Tyrone Tootoosis Reprinted
with permission from Each month Tyrone Tootoosis will share works transcribed from oral history. The spirit of his ancestors will live through the stories he shares with us. Let's say fifty years
from now, the way people view and understand life, much
can change. If we are not cautious, a person, because of
the change in thinking, may not have the faith or belief
in certain matters, may not have the faith or belief to
use and have certain things that could help him that had
helped his grandfathers for generations back. We must be
aware and we must be determined and dedicated to this
struggle. It has now been 100 years since the treaty was
signed. One hundred years from now I wonder how our
people will function. We have to pay heed to these
important considerations. We have to be selective as to
what we teach our children today. Tools of their
survival, their identities as Cree people, their values
and beliefs, and their spirituality must be our
collective objective. This is my perspective and the reason for my efforts to educate our children. Our children that are taught in non-Indian schools are offered nothing that addresses these issues. These reserve school children here today who are taught the Cree language and culture, and those others that go to the white schools and then decide to come home; there will be two groups much different from the other, that is if we continue to work on our kids in our school. Take us, for example, The first time I came home from residential school, and there had been two groups that had already been released from school, they called us "ears sticking out" because back then everybody had braids. They called us "crazy students." You see, already our elders saw a change in how people behaved as a result of changes, and here we are today in 1976. Alcoholics, alcoholism; you see much has changed. Things are very different now. And of all these important matters and considerations that are before us today, the first priority has to be the retention of our Cree language and culture so that our children will speak Cree, think like a Cree, and know their place and relationship with all in nature. We as treaty people are in a very strong position but it is not something that the white people will tell us. When I first started this work, and that was quite a while ago, many white people were afraid for themselves. Don't tell anybody I told you this is what I was told. Today, things have changed. We even hire lawyers today. Way back in the beginning our people did not have access to these sources. The lawyers would not help because they were afraid. There has been so much change in the past few years until we are here today, in 1976, and as to our belief, or spirituality, how we pray to the Creator, this is so that our children and grandchildren will have the same understanding; to have the utmost love and respect for the Creator, to always have the Creator in mind, to watch over and protect them, and as a result of these teachings they will lead positive and productive lifestyles instead of destroying these bodies that the Creator gave to us. As our relatives were saying earlier, we do the damage to ourselves. As related, we have stories as to the next life, where we go when we die, and what happens to those people who live their lives in a world of alcoholism. And again, not too long ago there was an elder from Muskwatcheesi who was talking about the same thing. It is oral history teachings like these that have to be made available to our children in all our schools. If we are really going to express and show our love to our children and grandchildren, we must continue to stay strong and determined, in unity, all. I thank you and Ekosi! Links: (click on X in top right corner of outside link to return to photo gallery) John B. Tootoosis, 1899 - 1989 |
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I
still see quite clearly today, as to the reason for
establishing and setting forth our position on this issue
- and why we did - last fall - for our children - to
clearly understand their Cree language, to learn to love
an education that integrates and accommodates their
identities, and secondly to combat and capture the
drop-out rate of our youth before any more are dismayed
and discouraged from continuing. They should be made so
that they are happy that they are there; in this way they
will learn in their most formative years to love
learning, knowing about things, knowledge that they
should keep and remember. If we can accomplish this, what
will happen is this: when they enter schools of higher
levels, they won't quit.
this
strength, this understanding that I mentioned before, and
this special arrangement we have come to call treaty,
made with the Queen - we cannot lose it. We must always
keep this in mind. The treaties form the basis of our
political system and of our relationship to the land. We
were promised the establishment of educational
institutions, tax exemption, medicare, all these were
paid for in perpetuity the day we signed the treaty. This
is something that our children should know. I mention and
emphasize this in my presentations to children. I tell
them these treaty rights that we have are all paid for,
arranged on our behalf. However, this is where our
language is so important, so beneficial.
know
many new things that can be attributed to white people
because they brought that knowledge here. We also know
that our knowledge, such as on vegetables which have
their origins here, are now part of his diet. This is why
our language is so precious. With respect to our
understanding of others easy.
And the world of alcoholism
that plagues our people, we must stand strong and in
unity or it's going to destroy us. We may say today that
life is hard to live, but it will be more difficult in
the future. Let's analyze that. An example, those people,
that generation from Thunderchild's band that initially
signed the treaty in 1876 and settled on their first
reserve (near present day Delmas), and their
grandchildren, who in 1908 sold the land and moved
elsewhere (near present day Turtleford). Already, there
was a vast difference in how this new generation thought
and lived. They sold the land. From this day on, let's
say 25 years into the future, these children, these
teenagers today, will be the teachers, and again their
education will be different from before. We have to be
aware of these things and encourage caution. We must not
forget what may happen if we do not teach our children
about our culture and language.