Friday, August 14th, 2015
Volume 79 • No. 13
PM40011904
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First Nations youth learn survival and cultural practices Kelly Running Observer Staff
Staff photo by Kelly Running
At the medicine station, dried leaves of varying medicines hang above, while grinding stones and baskets are found on the ground.
Staff photo by Kelly Running
Youth learned how to make ancient signs including this one which tells people the water is not drinkable.
downtown Carlyle
Years ago First Nations lived fully dependent on the land. Sometimes a harsh land on the prairies, they learned to survive and found reprieve from the elements in places like the Moose Mountains. As a way to regain this knowledge a nine week program was held this summer for youth. They spent their time in the wilderness learning about the land in the form of survival as well as learning about cultural practices and legends told around the fire in the evening. Upon arriving at the camp on Thursday, Aug. 6, the youth came to greet The Observer before showing and explaining a portion of what they learned. They took The Observer on a walk through a pathway with ancient signs and markers to help identify each section of trail called, “Land of the Little People.” “We made some really great finds,” Medwolf explained. “I’m lucky, I was raised by my grandparents, and I pass on the little bit I know to others. I know this much,” he held up his fingers an inch apart, “from this much,” he said holding his hands apart a few feet. The little bit Medwolf knows includes 130 medicines as well as legends and ancient signage once used. Though these legends often differ amongst First Nations people many of them focus on the same teachings. Medwolf teaches through way of doing, so the youth learned over the course of nine weeks by searching and identifying medicines, putting up teepees, creating ancient signage, and building work areas, as well as learning about legends. This is where the name of their educational pathway the youth built developed, “Land of the Little People.” Land of the Little People educational pathway created “All tribes have little people,” Medwolf explained. “Not just First Nations, but other cultures, the Irish have famous ones. The little people are a tribe from the upworlds who were stranded here. When the light skinned people came the little people went into hiding and now they can only be seen by kids and holy people.” “They gave us knowledge though, like how to take aspirin out of the willow, which rocks won’t blow up in a fire, and the powerful vitamins in dog bones which were used in our casts to fuse broken bones. There are many stories of little people who taught us everything. Today they’re still hiding, but if you make a playground, they’ll come play, or a village, they’ll come visit.” “Locally they have a place here called Heart Hill which is famous for little people.” The pathway built includes a small village partway down the path which was used to teach the participants about setting up a village, because even done on a small scale it requires the same practices as on the larger. With only a few small four foot teepees set up in this Little People Village, there are plans to set up more to make it thirteen. “Thirteen, to our people, isn’t a bad number,” Medwolf explained. “Thirteen is sacred to us. A perfect hawk’s tail has thirteen feathers.” The trail began with three rocks stacked, which is an ancient sign indicating that a trail begins. The first stop the youth spoke about included a survival technique of accumulating pure drinking water using a hole, rocks, and in this instance a plastic sheet. Condensation would accrue and pool in the middle.
See Survival on page 2
T A E R G G N I P SHOP