NORTH BATTLEFORD — At one time, the Western Development Museum (WDM) in North Battleford focused mainly on colonial history, with little representation of Indigenous culture and teachings.
That began to change when Diane Pooyak, who was working at Kanaweyimik Child & Family Services, and Shirley Maze, who was working at the WDM, started a conversation because both noticed the lack of Indigenous representation and resources.
In 2019, they started talking about doing an exhibit where they would incorporate Indigenous teachings so everyone could learn instead of people making assumptions about the history.
“Our history matters. Our people mattered. Let’s give the First Nations a voice. Let’s give the people who experienced it the voice to tell people what happened and how they dealt with it and how they are dealing with it now,” Maze said.
The village opened with six tipis, each containing a different teaching. Visitors could move from tipi to tipi, learning about traditions, language, culture and history.
- The first tipi taught the structure of the tipi itself: the meaning of the 15 poles, the covering, the entrance flaps and the bones used to hold the entrance together.
- The second tipi was about moss bags, which were used to hold and carry infants. A rug on the ground and a swing holding a doll in a moss bag helped show visitors how they worked and what they represented.
- The third tipi focused on traditional foods and medicines. Visitors learned how berries were crushed using a rock, and looked at samples of medicines such as sweetgrass, sage, cedar, roots, and mint tea, with explanations of their uses.
- The fourth tipi featured hand games and hand drums. Tables displayed the sticks, bones, and other tools used for traditional games, along with demonstrations of how they were played. Another section showed how hand drums were made and what they represented in Indigenous culture.
- The fifth tipi centred on the Cree language and local history. Irene Bugler led this teaching until her passing, offering visitors simple, everyday Cree words and phrases.
- The sixth tipi dealt with intergenerational trauma and the impacts of residential schools. Pooyak and Maze said this was the most difficult topic to present, but also one of the most important. “It brought to light about how things were, and for the visitors that came, it was an eye opener,” Maze said. “To recognize that and to relate to it — that was an important message to bring across, and emotional too.”
Discovering the Tipi Village
From the beginning, visitors were engaged. Some would spend hours in the village, listening and asking questions. Many left comments saying they had learned something new, which the organizers saw as the first step toward change and understanding.
Once the village was erected, they decided to have their first powwow on site. Plans for the first powwow was set for 2020, but the pandemic forced a delay. In 2021, they were able to hold it, though attendance was capped at 200 people.
The following year, between 500 and 600 people attended, mostly from the community. Schools were not formally invited, but a few classes came on their own.
They have now opened up the powwows to schools and anyone who would like to come. This year, they had about 1,900 people.
Fifteen Teachings
There are 15 teachings and each pole represents the 15 teachings. You start with the first three poles, which represent the family — father, mother and child. It also represents the three main teachings – respect, humility and obedience in the Indigenous culture. They are tied with a rope and as other poles go up, they are tied with that same rope.
The other poles represent happiness, love, faith, kinship, cleanliness, gratefulness, sharing, strength, good child-rearing, hope, and ultimate protection.
That cord, that rope, represents the connection to Mother Earth. The cover of the tipi represents a cover of a woman, a dress of a woman. When the tipi is up and the control flaps are open, it is the shape of a woman ready to embrace the family, and the connection to each other in the community.
The pegs to hold the tipi in place to the ground represent the connection to Mother Earth. The pegs that go across the doorway represent families together.
The tipi village now includes four tipis instead of six. Rather than keeping the teachings inside, demonstrations are often held outside in the village space during the summer months. This year, demonstrations have covered topics such as tanning hides, smoking fish and meat, preparing traditional foods, and the moss bag.
Though smaller in number, the tipis continue to serve as a central feature of the museum’s effort to include Indigenous perspectives. Both Pooyak and Maze hope that the program will continue to grow and expand.
As Maze put it, “Getting people to listen is what starts the change.” The tipi village has already shown that visitors are willing to come, listen, and learn. The hope now is to build on that success, bring in new teachings and see what the next year brings.
