The stories of First Nations elders in the Battlefords and area has been captured in a new book launched this week.
Battle River Treaty 6 Health Services Wellness Department has launched the book Wahkohtowin- Nehiyaw Relations.
According to their promotional material, Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre gathered kinship stories from various families in communities around the area, with the objective of preserving “nehiyaw relations” for future generations.
A total of 28 area elders were interviewed for the book, sharing their knowledge and experiences. Ralph Arcand and Ira Horse interviewed the elders and did the translations from the Cree language; the stories are accompanied by photographs from Ted Whitecalf.
The finished product was unveiled at a launch event Thursday at Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre, attended by several area First Nation elders and leaders.
Arcand said the project stemmed from a desire to “get the word across to our youth, our children, the younger generation, how it is important to put our words across to them about our old ways of teachings.”
Arcand noted the importance of passing along that knowledge to future generations.
“Some of our youth, even some of our adults, don’t know about our old ways of living,” said Arcand. He pointed to the impact of colonization, cultural genocide, residential schools and the 60s Scoop as having had particularly negative impacts in passing on that knowledge of Indigenous traditions and their way of life.
He said the intention is to take the Wahkohtowin- Nehiyaw Relationsbooks to all the schools in the area so that Indigenous students will be able to learn about their history.
Those interested can obtain copies of the book by contacting the Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre at 1202-101st Street.
