Top News - April - 2002 Published April 15, 2002 Dylan Lightning, 9, placed first in Junior Boys Traditional at the powwow held during the Maskwacis Winter Celebration at Hobbema. Photo by Terry Lusty Interpretive centre pays tribute to Elder Peigan youth planning a trip to Montreal Anti-racism video among the best This is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the April 2002 issue of Alberta Sweetgrass. If you are not receiving your own copy of Sweetgrass, then you have missed out on a lot. Interpretive centre pays tribute to Elder Shari Narine, Sweetgrass Writer, Fort McLeod When Peigan Elder Joe Crow Shoe was buried on Nov. 2, 1999, the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre shut its doors in honor of the man who was instrumental in shaping the centre. On Apr. 8, 2002, the centre opened a door in honor of Crow Shoe. Words of tribute, a Sundance, smudge ceremony, and a drumming procession all preceded the cutting of a ribbon by Crow Shoe's sons, Joe Jr. and Mervyn, which marked the opening of the Joe Crow Shoe, Sr. Lodge. It is only fitting that this particular room in the interpretive centre be selected to commemorate Crow Shoe, said master of ceremonies and Peigan chief, Peter Strikes With A Gun. The room has hosted a number of visiting dignitaries who were introduced to the Blackfoot culture. It was Crow Shoe's dream and vision to introduce the Blackfoot culture to non-Natives and keep it alive with the help of the members of the Blackfoot Confederacy. "Joe was a great teacher. He modeled the way we should live as First Nations people," said Strikes With A Gun. Jack Brink, curator of archaeology at the Provincial Museum of Alberta, worked hand in hand with Crow Shoe beginning 20 years ago to put together the centre, which opened to the public 15 years ago. "Joe saw opportunities where other people saw closed doors and difficulties," said Brink. "He was this man of dreams and visions and this is what this place has been about." Ian Clarke, southern operation manager for historical sites and facilities for the Alberta government, echoed Brink's words. "Joe saw in this place the vision of connection, connection between cultures, where cultures could come together." Reg Crow Shoe, another one of Joe's sons, carried out the smudge ceremony on a buffalo skull, a ceremony that had been undertaken previously on the skull by Joe. Reg recalled how his father and his mother, Josephine, were "one of the links that held our culture through a time of cultural void." Reg told how Joe had brought the Sundance ceremony back to the Peigan Nation. The centre's decision to dedicate a room to Crow Shoe fulfills a promise made to the Peigan Elder. Clarke said the dedication is an indication of the "improved relationship" forged between the Alberta government and the Blackfoot Confederacy. "There's something rather wonderful here." The Joe Crow Shoe Sr. Lodge room will contain a plaque honoring Crow Shoe as well as display the many awards both Joe and Josephine received, including the Order of Canada (1991), the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (1998), the Canadian Citation for Citizenship (1989), and the Alberta Achievement Award (1989). Top

Peigan youth planning a trip to Montreal Shari Narine, Sweetgrass Writer, Pincher Creek Quinton Crow Shoe is excited about a program that the Napi Youth Council is accessing for the second consecutive year. Funding through the YMCA of Greater Toronto is paying for 15 children from the Peigan Nation, located about an hour's drive west of Lethbridge, to make a one-week trip to Montreal in May. "We're the only Friendship Centre in the province taking advantage of the YMCA's youth exchange program," said Crow Shoe, who is both program co-ordinator at the Napi Friendship Centre in Pincher Creek and advisor to the youth council. The cost of flights is covered. Students and chaperones have to come up with their own spending money, which will include admission costs to events, such as the planned trip to the Olympic Stadium to take in a Montreal Expos/San Francisco Giants baseball game. Accommodation and the majority of meals are covered by the hosting families. The three-year-old Napi Youth Council, which meets one Wednesday every month, has been fundraising for this trip, said Crow Shoe, through movies and pizza nights and a haunted house on Halloween. The Napi Alternative School, which operates in the basement of the friendship centre, applied for the funding. Youth council members, who are required to be in school, attend the alternative school and two other high schools in Pincher Creek, Matthew Halton and St. Michael's Separate. In Montreal, the group from Alberta will meet up with First Nations inner-city youth and will be hosted by the Inter-Tribal Youth Centre of Montreal and the Aboriginal Youth Council of Montreal. Crow Shoe noted that the Napi Youth Council did some research of its own and requested specific destinations during its stay from May 9 to 16. Among the requests is a trip to the nearby Mohawk community of Kahnawake. Other stops will include boat tours of the St. Lawrence River, shopping in downtown Montreal, and tours of historical sites such as Notre Dame Basilica. Ten of the Montreal youth will make the return trip to the Peigan Nation May 31 to June 6. They will experience trips to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, Waterton Lakes National Park, the Fort Museum in Fort Macleod, the Frank Slide in the Crowsnest Pass, and a trip to Calgary where they'll visit the Glenbow Museum and IMAX theatre. They'll be horseback riding, hiking and camping as well. Last year's trip saw members of the Napi Youth Council head to Langley, B.C. Bonds that were formed then have continued, said Crow Shoe, with many of the children still communicating with each other. Crow Shoe, who will be accompanying the students, feels the program is worth all the airport security hassles involved this year. "It provides an opportunity beyond the parameters of the reserve," he said. All but one student lives in Brocket. "They'll see different parts of Canada and broaden their horizons." Top Anti-racism video among the best Shari Narine, Sweetgrass Writer, Blood Nation An unpleasant experience on a school bus in British Columbia has turned into a winning video for four students at the Tatsikiisaapo'p Middle School on the Blood Nation, in southwestern Alberta. A 90-second video produced by the media club of that school has been chosen as one of 10 winners in a national competition hosted by MuchMusic. "When I was going to school in B.C., there was one Cree student getting on the bus who was picked on by a white guy. Nobody stood up for her. I thought, if I could turn that around, put it into something positive," said Tiffany Weasel Head, 12. A 30-second version of that video, entitled "The School Bus Ride," has already seen air time. It tells the story of children on a school bus making fun of a First Nations child. Finally, another student stands up and tells the others to stop. 'Together we are stronger' is the message. It's a message the judges liked, said Shelly Hamelin, supervising teacher for the media club. Every province and territory had at least one submission for the first time in the MuchMusic anti-racism video competition's 10-year history. With more than 340 submissions to MuchMusic, Hamelin noted it was quite an accomplishment for the students from the small, rural school, especially considering many video producers had been submitting for 10 years and still hadn't placed. "The fact that we accomplished this the first time around is short of amazing," said Hamelin. The school's media club began as an idea from Jeremy Russell, who spent the summer putting together the necessary equipment. Producing the video was the brainchild of Hamelin, who saw an advertisement for the competition on MuchMusic. "I just showed them what to do. How to use the tools. The rest was up to them," said Russell, who serves as club co-ordinator. Teaming up with Weasel Head were the other members of the club, Dustin Day Rider, 14, Matthew Minoose, 12, and Lannie Wolf Child, 12. While Weasel Head wrote the script (or the "story board" as she calls it), Minoose was in charge of editing-no small feat, as the video started as a three minute clip that needed to be cut in half. "I found it hard (to edit)," said Minoose. "It took me about four or five times." Wolf Child was in charge of the camera shots, which includes some unique footage through the bus doors. Day Rider worked with the music teacher, accomplished songwriter and singer Olivia Tailfeathers, for the score, which includes singing from Tailfeathers' group the Kainai Grassland Singers. Perhaps as exciting as winning the contest was the all-expense-paid trip the students and Russell and Hamelin won to Toronto. There they met with the other winners, including another First Nations group from Nunavut; went to the MuchMusic site; met with National Film Board producer Karen King; went up the CN Tower; and visited the Hockey Hall of Fame. They were also part of the interactive audience for the CBC production CounterSpin, which aired March 26. The topic of discussion was anti-racism and multiculturalism. While Hamelin shared some of her viewpoints, the students were too shy to talk, said Weasel Head. As contest winners, the students were presented with a Panasonic digital palmcorder for their school-a prize they were not able to bring back on the airplane with them. Russell explained that the camera's battery failed on the last day of their three-day stay in Toronto (March 19 to 21). Improved security at airports, including the Pearson International Airport, requires that all electronic equipment be demonstrated to work. With the battery dead and the power pack in a suitcase, the palmcorder was confiscated and shipped back separately. "We were getting a little worried," said Russell when the camera's inability to function became an issue. Having seen the other award-winning videos, the students, the only winners from Alberta, say their video is good competition. "I kept on thinking, 'How could we win?'" said Day Rider. "I'm proud of myself," said Weasel Head. The pride is reflected in Russell and Hamelin as well. "The trip to Toronto opened their eyes," said Russell. "They saw the possibilities and potential. There is something beyond the boundaries of this reserve." Top