Top News - April -2002 Published April 15, 2002 Saulteaux 3 Stars goalie Keith Desjardin makes a save during a game against the Witchekan Lake team during the fourth round of play at the Battlefords Friendship Centre 38th Annual All Native Hockey Tournament held in North Battleford March 29 to 31. Saulteaux won the game 5-3 and went on to meet the Poundmaker Raiders in the semi-finals. Photo by Brad Crowfoot Saulteaux language festival a success Tribal council jumps into the organic food market SIFC campuses celebrate at community feasts This is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the April 2002 issue of Saskatchewan Sage. If you are not receiving your own copy of Sage, then you have missed out on a lot. Saulteaux language festival a success Marjorie Roden, Sage Writer, Kinistin First Nation When Albert Scott was taken away from his Saulteaux-speaking home as a child to attend residential school, he learned a new language-English-in less than a year. As an adult, he's used his own experience as inspiration, believing that if as a child he could learn English so quickly, why not tap into that same potential among children in his community to teach them Saulteaux? That's exactly what Scott has been doing since August, 2001, when he took teaching of the Saulteaux language education program at the Kinistin Education Centre, working with students from kindergarten up to Grade 10 to teach them their traditional language. Students in the program had a chance to demonstrate their Saulteaux language skills during a language festival held at the education centre March 22. Doug Redl, principal of the Kinistin Education Centre, said he knew the language festival would be a success based on the interest in the event shown by schools in surrounding communities. Joining the Kinistin students at the festival were students from Fishing Lake, Pleasantdale, and Yellow Quill. With their Saulteaux instructor Scott at the helm of the planning, the two-day event saw over 300 students from the surrounding schools come to visit the Kinistin education centre. With a tipi set up in one corner of the gymnasium for Nanabush storytelling, another corner for dancing and dancing regalia, yet another for a display of beadwork and a mossbag cradleboard, and a series of displays done by different First Nation businesses and post-secondary education institutes, there were a lot of activities for all students to take part in. "This was the first (language festival) in Saulteaux country, the first one," said Scott. "I feel pretty proud about that." One of the events held as part of the festival-Saulteaux bingo-caught the attention of some Cree-speaking festival goers-people involved in the Cree language festival held at Muskeg Lake who came to see what the Saulteaux festival had to offer. "They came over and said, 'We've never seen the Indian language bingo game,' and they said that next year, the Crees are going to steal our idea now. Next year they're going to have a bingo game and call out their numbers in Cree." The Saulteaux bingo game was a big hit at the festival, Scott said. "We kind of had to prepare our children to count from one to a hundred and be done it within two weeks. The trick was, we encouraged the non-Natives to sit beside an Indian, but the kids were yelling out the numbers as I called them out in Saulteaux, and they were really good about that, to help out those who didn't know them. We had a couple of false alarms from strangers, but we threatened to throw them out. They weren't supposed to yell 'bingo,' they were supposed to yell 'dutnagin', which means 'I've won' or 'I'm a winner.' So we told them that if they yelled 'bingo,' we're not accepting their card as a winner. That was a lot of fun." Of course, the real winners in the whole scheme of things are the children, who are learning -in a fun environment-that the Saulteaux language is a part of their culture they can keep alive. With the success of this year's Saulteaux Language Festival, Scott expects another similar event will be held next year. "Probably next year, we'll be bigger and better." Top Tribal council jumps into the organic food market Stephen LaRose, Sage Writer, Fort Qu'Appelle The File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council (FHQTC) hopes that an original staple of the diet of First Nations people will become the new "health food" in one of the world's most lucrative markets. They're hoping that organic bannock is the key to opening an overseas market for First Nations-produced organic crops, targeting consumers in Germany. Under direction of an FHQTC-owned company, First Nations Organic Food Products, they hope to begin consumer tests on the organic bannock as soon as next month. And this could be the beginning of a whole new phase for Saskatchewan's, and First Nations', agricultural sector. "We want to go beyond just bannock," said FHQTC representative president Ron Crowe. "We want to go down the road and test markets for organic beef jerky and pemmican, natural berry jams and spreads. "We're kind of dreaming right now, but for the moment we're currently focused on one single product," he added. "Right now we're interested in putting something on the market, seeing if it works, and if it does, then we will have a market to develop." The bannock, along with some marketing ideas, will be tested next month at the earliest, said Crowe. And if it becomes a hit with German consumers, it's possible that a whole new market will open for First Nations farmers, he added. If more organic bannock is sold, that means more organically grown wheat, sugar and flour will be needed for production. And that means a new market for those involved in First Nations farming, said Art Klassen, the agricultural economic development advisor for the FHQTC. Crowe and Klassen were among those representing the FHQTC at Bio Fach 2002, held in mid-February in Nuremberg, Germany. Premier Lorne Calvert also visited the trade show during the "Team Canada" annual trade tour by senior Canadian politicians. The event is one of the largest trade fairs for organic produce in the world. This year it drew 1,900 exhibitors from 56 nations. The massive organic trade show is indicative of the interest European consumers have in organic foods and crops, said Klassen. "Unless you're there, you can't really appreciate how really, really big this event is." German consumers are among the most prosperous in the world, and have demonstrated a willingness to spend extra money to buy organic foods, he added. The German market for organic food is growing by 10 per cent a year, and annual sales of organic food are estimated last year at about $3.4 billion. While organic grocery foods account for only about two per cent of current spending by German consumers, that number is forecast to increase to about 10 per cent by the year 2005. "There's a growing interest in organic produce in Europe," said Crowe. "A lot of that had to do with the mad cow disease scare in Britain." The resulting scare has turned off many European consumers from produce grown through the traditional means -with the use of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. And, Crowe added, European consumers aren't interested in genetically modified foods, which are rapidly becoming the standard in North American agriculture. "They have a lot of health cautions towards genetically modified foods," Crowe said. "Germans take a lot of pride in the integrity of their workmanship. You can see that in their manufactured goods . . . and now they are expecting the same kind of pride and care to go to other consumer goods they buy, such as groceries," he added. "They're willing to pay more for their cars, their goods and services for higher quality, and they will do the same for the food." As well, Germans in particular and Europeans in general have a long-running interest in health care. Eating healthier foods is part of that process of looking after one's body, said Crowe. "There's also a tremendous interest in First Nations culture in Europe. One of the most recognizable staples of First Nations culture is bannock, and it was our idea to come up with this product." And what's in it for First Nations' people? Simple, said Crowe -economic self-sufficiency in a way that doesn't harm the earth. "The first aspect is the protection of our lands-he respect for mother earth and taking a look at whether current farming practices are sustainable and healthy for the earth." As well, the new food staple could keep First Nations farmers busy with a product that's in demand, he added. Converting land from standard to organic agriculture can't be done overnight, said Klassen. Land must be free of pesticides and herbicides for a period of up to five years before it can be considered capable of producing organic crops. The FHQTC's campaign won't be the first time a Saskatchewan First Nations organization has entered the European organic food market. The Lac La Ronge First Nation, through the Northern Lights Corporation, has sold wild rice to organic wholesale food companies for the past five years. Top SIFC campuses celebrate at community feasts Amy Stevenson, Sage Writer, Regina Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC) campuses in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and La Ronge joined together in celebration on March 25, with each location hosting a pipe ceremony and feast. This is the second year the SIFC has hosted a spring feast at each of its campuses across the province. "We have a lot to be grateful for," said Jo-Ann Episkenew, academic dean and associate professor of English in Regina. "Whatever good fortune we have came about from prayer and all of our relatives who have gone on before. They help us to continue to do good things." Episkenew believes that the involvement of students, faculty, friends and family from the community is important to SIFC at this time. The college is experiencing an interesting stage as an institution -SIFC has been gaining worldwide recognition as an Indigenous educational institute fostering Indigenous values and beliefs. According to Episkenew, the college is grounded in First Nations traditions and sense of community. "People are always happy when they pray together and eat together." The Elders were responsible for the second province-wide occasion as they recognized and encouraged the power of annual collective prayer. Wes Stevenson, vice president of administration for SIFC in Regina, said the Elders are a crucial part of the feast. "Elders are there to guide the ceremony, but they have also been individually approached for prayers and blessing by many." To Stevenson, the feast represents "pride in our culture and institution, remembering our past, celebrating our present, thanking those who contribute to the lives of the students, thanking and encouraging our students, etc. It's a moment when all four campuses stop and give thanks to the Creator for all of these things. "It holds old and new traditions, and it reminds us, the First Nations people, that we need to learn to 'walk in two worlds' as we make our journey through life," Stevenson said. "Our world/their world, the academic/non-academic world, female world/male world". Many diverse guests came to join in the celebrations held across the province. One of those attending the Regina feast was Irene Vernon, guest lecturer and American author of Killing Us Quietly: Native Americans and HIV/AIDS. Vernon's talk focused on the growing concern about HIV and AIDS within tribal communities, especially among women. With 36.1 million people worldwide infected with the HIV virus, Vernon stressed, "We haven't done enough, we need to do more. It's very scary." Vernon has helped to raise awareness about the problem of HIV and AIDS within tribal communities, which are among the rapidly growing populations facing this epidemic. Women within those communities are especially at risk. "We need to start talking about it. Our survival is at stake," Vernon said. Episkenew said this annual gathering is crucial for remembrance. "There are lots of people who have passed on who have built this place. We can't forget." Top