Congratulations to the Nakoda Elementary School for inviting Elders to visit classrooms and share Stoney history in an interactive way that includes question-and-answer time.
While oral history has largely disappeared from many cultures, its more recent decline among Indigenous people is also associated with all the modern aspects of life (e.g., TV and internet) which reduce family and community time.
Unfortunately, so pervasive and intrusive are some aspects of modern life that many education systems have removed history from their curriculum. A worrisome evolution as the old saying is still true that if we do not take the time to learn from history, it will be repeated. We can all think of man-made events we do not want to see repeated.
So, good for the Nakoda school and may their example be taken up more widely in one way or another.
Dennis Apedaile
