Building Tomorrow through Genuine Sharing

Building Tomorrow through Genuine Sharing

FOUR SEASONS OF DISCOVERY

Every season throughout the year comes in four quarters, and every quarter is a time of renewal and also reflection. It is a celebration. This is how you prepare yourself going into the next season. And this is how our people lived, always preparing.”

— Saa'kokoto

Welcoming a First Nations Elder and Knowledge Keeper to our campus is a cornerstone of our commitment to reconciliation. It is creating profound opportunities for our students and teachers to learn, grow, and connect. This special relationship is a beautiful example of how Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS) is actively working towards a more equitable and inclusive society.

Students in every grade, K-12, in a multitude of subjects and activities, had the opportunity to spend time with and learn from Saa'kokoto throughout the 2022-2023 school year. After a wonderful inaugural year, we look forward to continuing this beautiful partnership long into the future.

Circles play an essential role in First Nation culture: the four seasons, the healing, governance and justice circles, and even the layout of the villages themselves. Like a classroom, the rings of the Moyis (or teepee) were where communities would gather for council, entertainment, or to pass on their wisdom to the next generation.

It is a lesson that reflects a deep respect and understanding of the natural world, and it is fitting that the chinook spring winds now mark the changing of seasons as First Nations Elder-in-Residence, Saa'kokoto – teacher, historian, storyteller, and visual artist – looks back on the projects he has been involved with over his first year working with Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS), as well as the more profound lessons and meanings behind each one.

Lessons from the Land

In Blackfoot culture, the most vital lessons are the ones that cultivate respect for Na’a (Mother Earth) and her many gifts.

Shortly after he arrived on campus this Fall, Saa'kokoto helped students gather materials from nature to build wreaths for Indigenous Veteran’s Day, celebrated on November 8th. In addition to recognizing the military sacrifices made by First Nations people throughout Canada’s history, students also learned the importance of conservation and storytelling. These were lessons he had received himself as a young boy – especially from his grandmother, with whom they would share stories as they picked berries together.

“(It was) almost like going into a library – you’d pull a book off the shelf. (I would) think of her stories, and that’s how I’d remember them. What was really important, and what was a beautiful gift, was how we shared the story. Where did we go when we shared those stories? Most of the time, it was on the land, which is the best place to learn. To feel comfortable and sit on Mother Earth, Na’a, and feel that energy.”

Saa'kokoto connects several of his teachings back to the seasons and what can be learned from each one. Working alongside STS teachers, he helped students to carry that energy onto the stage through several musical performances presented in the Blackfoot language. “I consider Mother Earth, Na’a, to be an artist as well. Every new season she paints a new season for us.”

As a fellow artist, he gives high praise to the final results. “The performance, and how they moved were so graceful… (they had) all of the different kinds of materials and the colours, the sacred colours for our people, almost like a weaving…I was so proud…the use of colour, their voice, the rhythm, I thought that was truly amazing.”

The Outer Circle

In First Nations culture, like at STS, every member of the community – relatives, friends, and the village as a whole –has a part to play in raising tomorrow’s leaders.

“It would be very similar to the ripple made when a stone drops in water. You drop a stone, and in the middle are the children. The next ring would be the parents, whose responsibility is to be the providers and protectors…another ripple would be the aunts and uncles, and their responsibility was to discipline through stories and lessons. The next ripple is the teachers or the Knowledge Keepers. The last ring would be the community or the village. So everyone had a role. We’d take care of one another. My neighbour, his children are my children, his grandchildren are my grandchildren, and that’s how we provided for them."

Moving Camp

At the time of this interview, Saa'kokoto was preparing to speak at the 2023 Senior School Convocation, where he planned to acknowledge the graduates’ success, contributions to society, and where their journey may lead.

“I think of it as ‘moving camp.’ Ok, now I’m finished here…now we’re going to another camp. We may go harvest, and do something new. And they see, when they graduate, they’re going to be moving camp or elevating their learning at a whole different level.”

It is a journey that he hopes, just like the seasons, will eventually come full circle.

“Maybe sometime in the future, when you’re very knowledgeable and have that experience and expertise, that’s when you become a teacher. To learn and to share…and that is our way – to share that with others.”

                                                                                            Published in the 2023 edition of Optimum Magazine.