Aboriginal culture to be showcased

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Students and teachers from across Alberta will convene at the Northlands Agricom on Oct. 12 to attend an educational opportunity that will focus on the richness and diversity of Aboriginal culture.

The Aboriginal Education Showcase: A Centennial Event will host up to 4,000 students and their teachers in an interactive educational festival, featuring music, dance, crafts and oral teachings by Aboriginal people.

"We want to give kids from all walks of life a chance to see some of the richness of the cultures of our First Nations and Metis people," said Mike Davenport, principal consultant on behalf of the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA).

Registration is open to all classrooms, grades four to six, in Alberta with a charge of $7 per student that partake. Students must be supervised and they are required to bring a lunch.

The students are expected to arrive in the morning to be greeted by Minister Pearl Calahasen. Throughout the day, local Aboriginal peoples will get the students involved in a powwow dance and craft-making, and youngsters will be treated to dance demonstrations, including a performance by champion hoop dancer Dallas Arcand. Inuit throat singing and Metis dance will also be on display.

The day will conclude around 2:30 p.m. with a Safe Journey Flag Song and an Elder's Closing Prayer.

To Davenport's surprise, there are more than 1,000 students currently registered for this event, and he thinks organizers will pack the house with 4,000 "pretty easy."

This event is funded by Aboriginal and Northern Affairs of Alberta and also by the Department of Education of the Alberta government. It is sponsored by the Alberta School Board Association and is organized by every major education group in the province, such as the College of Alberta School Superintendents, Alberta Home and School Councils' Association, Alberta Teachers' Association and Treaty Six Education.

This event also supports the new social studies curriculum for grades four to six. Davenport said there would be lesson plans, which will focus on social studies, given to teachers who attend. The material in these lesson plans will be compiled with input from local Aboriginal people who teach music, dance, and tell stories at the event.

"We will take the session material and customize it into a lesson, so when teachers leave the showcase they will have a lesson book with about 40 different lessons that they can use to help them in the social studies area for grades four to six," said Tracey Collins, education manager at the Department of Education. "We heard from teachers that they want to do this, but they don't know how.

"They say 'Well, I'm not Aboriginal so how can I teach the Aboriginal perspective?' So by putting together this resource book for them, they will have a series of lessons that they can use right away."

Teachers will also have community contact numbers for the person who did the presentation, so they can call and confirm or ask questions about the material.

According to Collins, the kindergarten to grade three curriculum has been revised and that will be incorporated in September 2005. There have been sections that include the Aboriginal perspective, so things like tradition, community and family aspects will be introduced.

"This new curriculum is mandatory, so every student will have to study this," said Collins, who said Edmonton public schools are working with Alberta Education to infuse the Aboriginal perspective into its core curriculum, which should be implemented in the next two years.

Both Collins and Davenport are hoping to host this as an annual event. Davenport said they are committed to putting this event on in Calgary next year.

"This is a right thing and a good thing to do. We would love to see it go on," said Davenport.

Collins said they are still waiting to hear back from other funding groups for additional funding. Approximately $17,000 is needed so T-shirts can be iven out to the participants.

"I think this is really important to have this type of event and it's also important to teach this to students because it's apart of our history," said Collins. "It gives us an opportunity to say it from our perspective."

Registration will remain open until all 4,000 spots are filled, but Collins suspects they will probably sell out by the end of September.

Registration information is available at www.asba.ab.ca.