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Walking With Indigenous Communities

Walking With Indigenous Communities

Elder Library

The Elder Library is home to a number of oral teachings from various multi-nation Elders from across Alberta. Below you will find our Grandmother Circles webinar series recordings along with Two-spirited and Gender Issues, Reconciliation, Cultural Practices and COVID related webinars.

Grandmothers’ Circles:

The Grandmothers’ Circles provide Indigenous women Elders from multiple nations the space to come together and share women’s teachings and traditions that have been passed down to them in an oral setting.

Grandmothers’ Circle : Voices Across Generations
Join us as we open the page to a new chapter of the Grandmothers’ Circles, one that continues to honour the wisdom of Indigenous Elders while making space for the voices of younger generations. These intergenerational Circles will explore wellness, culture, and community through shared teachings, stories, and reflections

10th Grandmothers’ Circle: Honouring Wisdom
Guided by the theme of “Honouring Wisdom”, this circle features 5 Indigenous women Elders who share their unique perspectives on fostering wellness. Honed through a lifetime of experiences, their insights offer invaluable guidance for encouraging holistic health, and demonstrate the importance of intergenerational teachings in fostering community wellness. This event is presented by Communities ChooseWell and Alberta Blue Cross.
Grandmothers’ Circle: Tobacco Teachings
At ARPA we often get questions related to Elders and the proper use of tobacco. To honour and celebrate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this session will feature five multi-nation Elders, including Diane Meguinis (Tsuut’ina), Doreen Healy (Blackfoot), and Linda Brass (Midewiwin) who will kindly share their expertise on the significance of offering tobacco, how to offer it properly, and why it is used in smudge. This session has been generously sponsored by Communities ChooseWell and Alberta Blue Cross.
Grandmothers’ Circle: Lessons from the Land
We are excited to feature a short video on the significance of the Grandmothers’ Circles from the perspectives of five multi-nation Elders from the Treaty 7 area. Held at the 2023 Communities ChooseWell Alberta Healthy Communities Symposium, the grandmothers came together to talk about Lessons from the Land. This was the first ever in-person Grandmothers’ Circle, and the eighth one since starting them in 2020!
Grandmothers’ Circle: Protocol 101
At ARPA, we often get questions related to Elders and the proper use of protocols. To honour and celebrate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, this session features four multi-nation Elders, including Brenda Roland (Métis), Diane Meguinis (Tsuut’ina), Doreen Healy (Blackfoot) and Karli Crowshoe (Blackfoot) who took the time to answer questions related to the proper use of protocols. This session has been generously sponsored by Communities ChooseWell and Alberta Blue Cross. 
Grandmothers’ Circle: Cultural Safety
Tying in June is Recreation & Parks Month (JRPM) with our efforts to raise awareness of the MMIWG2S movement, we held a two-part virtual event that featured our friend and partner, Sandra Sutter, who shared with us a screening of her film about women’s empowerment: A Woman’s Voice, and 4 multi-nation Elders from Treaty 7 who formed the Grandmothers’ Circle to discuss the role that the recreation and parks sector can play in ensuring cultural safety for all. Thank you to Communities ChooseWell for sponsoring this event!
Grandmothers’ Circle: Power of Connection
This group of four multi-nation Elders come together to discuss a woman’s perspective on the importance of connection and how it can create a sense of healing for either an individual or a community. Listen as they share their experiences of connection in the context of healthy eating and active living. We are excited to feature Elders: Doreen Healy (Blackfoot), Edmee Comstock (Métis), Vinnia Van Overdyk (Saulteaux/Cree), and Violet March (Denesuline) Thank you to Communities ChooseWell for sponsoring this event!
Grandmothers’ Circle: Residential Schools
Listen as four multi-nation Elders share their insights into the impacts of Residential schools and the ways that we can all start processing the trauma that has come with both learning about, and experiencing, this difficult part of Canada’s history. Find out ways you can not only educate yourself on the issue but also gain some insight into how to become an informed ally. A huge thank you to Communities ChooseWell for sponsoring this event!
Grandmothers’ Circle: Traditional Indigenous Food Systems
Featuring Elders: Karli Crowshoe (Blackfoot), Shirlee Crowshoe (Blackfoot), Doreen Healy (Blackfoot), Alice Kaquitts (Stoney Nakoda), Violet March (Denesuline), and Vinnia Van Overdyk (Saulteaux/Cree). This group of multi-nation Elders from the Treaty 7 area have come together to share women’s teachings as well as explore what it means to return to traditional foods and medicine system.
Grandmothers’ Circle: Wellness
This group of multi-nation Elders from the Treaty 7 has come together to share women’s teachings, learnings from the land, and explore diverse views on what a healthy community means to them. Featured Elders: Monica Chiefmoon (Blackfoot), Edmee Comstock (Métis), Doreen Healy (Blackfoot), Alice Kaquitts (Stoney Nakoda), Kerrie Moore (Cree/ Métis).
The Grandmothers’ Circle
ARPA’s Janet Naclia connects with Elders Doreen Healy (Blackfoot), Violet March (Dene Suline), Kerrie Moore (Cree/Métis), Jackie Bromley (Blackfoot), Florence Alexson (Salteaux), and Rose Crowshoe (Blackfoot) to share women’s perspectives on Indigenous culture and the traditions that have been passed down to them in our first ever Grandmothers’ Circle!

Two-spirit and Gender Discussions

Two-Spirited and Gender Issues – What This Means for a Healthy Community
Sit virtually with Darryl Jr and Linda Brass, Elders from the Midewiwin Lodge. Based in the Midewiwin teachings, Elders Linda and Darryl Brass Jr will discuss gender roles, two spirited identity, and how these concepts can be applied to living a healthy life. Elders Darryl Jr and Linda are ceremonial Elders and Midewiwin Lodge Holders. They both work extensively with urban-based Indigenous individuals in the Treaty 7 areas as well as with a wide range of service-based organizations.
Traditional Gender Roles and Identity
Elders Darryl and Linda Brass share their knowledge on gender roles and how traditionally they were held, while also placing emphasis on their two-spirited brothers and sisters.

Reconciliation

Intergenerational Trauma
What do we know about intergenerational trauma? In this session, Kerrie Moore – a psychotherapist, educator and Cree/Metis Elder – provides a cultural understanding on the nature of intergenerational trauma. Elder Kerrie also discusses the function of the brain, the effects of toxic stress and how it can lead to trauma, the role of epigenetics, and why culture identity is important for resilience.
A Personal Look into Residential Schools
Blackfoot Elders Kelly and Daphne Good Eagle from the Siksika Nation in Treaty 7 territory offer personal insights into their experiences in Residential Schools.
Importance of Indigenous Elders
Dr. Reg and Rose Crowshoe, honoured Blackfoot Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers, share their thoughts on the importance of Indigenous Elders and their role in reconciliation. The Crowshoe’s discuss how the recreation and parks sector can support the Elders, the impacts of colonization, and how viewers can work in collaboration as allies with Indigenous communities

Cultural Practices

Smudging
Blackfoot Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers, Dr. Reg and Rose Crowshoe share valuable insight about the significance of smudging.
Storytelling
Blackfoot Elder John Chiefmoon Sr shares a story from the past and draws from it a message that still might be relevant to today and the situation we are all facing during this pandemic.
The Power of Song
Spike Eaglespeaker Jr. shares what he was taught as a singer and as the holder of the Honour Song for ARPA. This video presents Blackfoot protocols around song and the teachings that have been passed down to Spike from his relations.
Teaching on Métis Traditional Skills
Drawing from her many notable connections to history, such as being from one of the most historic families of the Red River Settlement, Elder Edmee Comstock shares stories and teachings from her experiences as a Métis woman.
Traditional Feast Preparing Program
Elders Linda and Darryl share traditional Midewiwin teachings related to ceremonial food preparation, the community value of feasts, and the role we all play in community wellness.
The Seven Sacred Teachings
Blackfoot Elder Jackie Bromley shares her knowledge on the seven sacred teachings (Love, Wisdom, Respect, Truth, Humility, Honesty, and Courage) which all serve as the foundation to promote a healthy lifestyle.
A View From the North
Dene Suline Elders Violet March and Connie Santos share their knowledge and thoughts on the revitalization of their culture, what is moving forward with the Elders and how this all applies to our contemporary lives of today.

COVID Related

International Elder’s Circle
Blackfoot Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers, Dr. Reg and Rose Crowshoe facilitate a meaningful Elder’s circle. Meant as a safe space defined by Indigenous ways of knowing and knowledge translation, these virtual Circles brought international Knowledge Keepers together in Zoom with the sole purpose of increasing Elder capacity and their well being, and making sense of COVID and its impacts.
Thoughts on COVID-19
Dene Suline Elder Violet March shares her thoughts on the impacts that COVID-19 will have on the community and its resonating impacts on our mental health as well as on the environment.

The Alberta Recreation & Parks Association would like to acknowledge the First Nations, the Métis, the Inuit and all of the people across Alberta who share a history and a deep connection with this land. We dedicate ourselves to moving forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in the spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.