Educators respect and value the history of First Nations, Inuit and Metis in Canada and the impact of the past on the present and the future. Educators contribute toward truth, reconciliation and healing. Educators foster a deeper understanding of ways of knowing and being, histories, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Metis.
Life Writing Two
Without making mistakes, there won’t be lessons learned. The only way we grow is by learning from the past. As humans, it is in our nature to live in groups and form bonds with one another. As technology advances, we can travel, communicate and interact with other cultures around the world in a way we’ve never been able to do before. Learning about another culture or even delving deeper into your background requires an open mind and the possibility that your ideas of that culture may not be entirely correct. As I continue to learn about my own culture(s), I hope to bring that into my classroom and make it a safe space for everyone who walks through my door. I am Tahltan on my mother’s side, part of the Crow or Tsesk’iya clan, and my brother and sister. In this life writing, I will be going over the moiety clan system within the Tahltan Nation, which includes matrilineal descent, and the language of our people and our territory that I have learned from my grandmother and great-grandmother before her passing.
The Tahltan clan system is divided into two main groups, the Crow (Tsesk’iya) and the Wolf (Ch’ioyone) clans. From these two clans there are further subcategories which help form the practices we follow today, legends about the Crow and Raven guided Tahltan people about the best way of living, by the principles of determination, generosity and resourcefulness among others. An example of one of our legends can be found on our Tahltan central government webpage called “Raven Creation Story” as told by Rosie Dennis. In First Nations culture, we follow a matrilineal descent which is the tradition of following your mother’s, mother’s line, for example, my brother, sister and I follow our mother’s Crow clan instead of our father’s Wolf clan. This tradition of the matrilineal system has been in place for as long as anyone can remember and remains in place despite colonialists’ attempts to eradicate our culture. Clans provide social structure, when there is a death in the community certain customs must be followed. For example, if the person who passed away was a member of the crow clan, then the pallbearers must be from the wolf clan and during the feast youth get a plate for the elders and they are fed first. Clans help form a basis for our culture, First Nations people did not have last names like the Europeans and instead you were not to marry a member of the same clan as you. “In Tahltan culture, our mother’s kin is considered to be our close relatives and all those who are older than us cannot be referred to as “ours”; this includes our older siblings and cousins on our mother’s side whom we refer to as our siblings as well … We cannot possess them as opposed to our father’s kin, whom we can possess as ‘my father’s sister’, or ‘my father’s brother’. Our mother’s kin is referred to with ‘titles’ that cannot be possessed such as edē (mother’s sister), or edes̱ e (mother’s brother).” (Tahltan Central Government, 2019).
Our language is part of our history and was almost lost. Very few people speak the language fluently (my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Edzerza, was one). There are now programs implemented to bring it back and make it accessible. “The Tahltan language is Na-Dene (or Athapaskan) and is typically grouped with Tagish and Kaska as distinct dialects within a single language family. Tahltan, like all Na-Dene languages, is based on oral tradition. Historically it was taught almost exclusively through oral communication such as dialogue, story, song, and dance. Only recently, a formal Tahltan system of writing has been developed.” (Tahltan Central Government, 2019). Language is fundamental to the existence of culture; it is our way of sharing beliefs, traditions, and values. In language, words often describe an expression or feeling that cannot be translated into another language. Culture is learned and passed down from generation to generation, and for Tahltan peoples, our history is shared orally. Elders are highly revered as our storytellers and keepers of knowledge; from them, we learn of our past, and they also tell stories that provide entertainment and warning. “Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story” (Chorona, 2019).
Tahltan territory is located in the northern part of British Columbia, Canada, and includes the Telegraph, Dease Lake, and Iskut communities, with members living worldwide. Along the north/western border, our Nation runs parallel to the Alaskan/Canadian border and includes part of the Yukon Territory. The south/eastern border consists of the upper Nass tributaries and the western half of the Stikine Plateau, including the sacred headwaters of the Stikine, Nass, and Skeena rivers. We believe the relationship between people and the land is marked by a deep respect for the land as the provider and a firmly held belief that the people are keepers of the land. Our territory is rich in natural resources, fish, moose, deer, rabbit, minerals, and obsidian. Obsidian proved to be a helpful tool because it was so sharp it could be turned into a knife for hunting or cleaning fish.
Tahltans used to trade obsidian and fish and furs along the Stikine River. Since I can remember, my family and I have gone to Tahltan for fish camp in the summer. It was always very hot and dusty; my great-grandmother had a cabin overlooking the river between Dease Lake and Telegraph Creek. Even though we have freezers and other means of storing fish in today’s times, we would still gut, clean, cut the fish into strips, pluck the bones from the strips of fish, salt and hang them to dry in smokehouses; the result, called anacoga, tastes fantastic. These traditions have been part of our culture and continue to be passed from teacher to student, returning to various hunting and fishing grounds depending on what season it was and collecting traditional medicines. These practices embody all nine principles of the FPPL, especially “Learning involves generational roles and responsibilities” (Chorona, 2019). Tahltan heritage is starting to thrive as more and more members are learning what was once almost lost.
References:
Brow, P., Cross, S. (2003). Mehodihi: Well-Known Traditions of Tahltan People, “Our Great Ancestors Lived That Way.Retrieved from http://moa.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Sourcebooks-Mehodihi-TAHLTAN-PEOPLE.pdf
Chorona, J. (2019, August 8). First Peoples Principles of Learning. First Peoples Principles of Learning. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://firstpeoplesprinciplesoflearning.wordpress.com/.
Tahltan Central Government. (2019, June 6). Retrieved from https://tahltan.org/