Non-Native audience missing

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The idea behind Cross Cultural Days in Pincher Creek is to build partnerships and understanding between the Aboriginal culture and non-Aboriginal culture. This year's event, featuring a two day workshop conference, competition powwow and sporting tournaments, offered something for everyone. Unfortunately, not everyone showed up. Half of the target audience - the non-Aboriginal half - was poorly represented for the annual event

Cross Cultural Days, held from Jan. 21 to 25, offered a series of workshops with information on a variety of topics ranging from Blackfoot and Peigan culture and the importance of Native stories to the importance of cross cultural awareness in the classroom and Elders and seniors working together.

"The whole concept of this is to bridge the gap and to have the understanding of both worlds," said Leonard Bastien, a Peigan member who attended the workshops. "Where is the [non-Native] community of Pincher Creek."

He said the workshop conference, the competition powwow and the sports tournaments associated with Cross Cultural Days bring a lot of people into the community. Those visitors translate to money for the Pincher Creek economy, and although appreciating the financial contributions the community makes to the event, Bastien said the non-Aboriginal people need to participate with more than just their funding.

"If I was a businessman here and saw this conference bringing a few thousand people into my business and those few thousand were spending, then yes, I'd make a [financial] investment also, but I think we need some visible bodies."

Pincher Creek Mayor Ken Dickie said the lacking interest may be because the Aboriginal culture is just one of many in Pincher Creek's "pot pourri" of nationalities.

"In the white society we have many different cultures to deal with and we don't put enough priority on the Native people," he said.

Although saying the Cross Cultural concept is "great for the community," Dickie said it may be better received if it became a multi-cultural event, focusing on more than just Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The Pincher Creek area has Aboriginal, French, German, Hutterite and Mennonite cultures, just to name a few, he said.

,Despite suggesting a multi-cultural event, Dickie said a culture should be a personal thing.

"You can hold onto your culture at home or in your spare time," he said.

The rest of the time, the focus should be on working and making a living.

"It's hard to compete in the Canadian workforce when you are carrying a cultural banner," he said.

Dickie added, however, he would like to form a better working relationship with the Native communities in the area and the Native people within Pincher Creek. Just how that relationship will work isn't known yet.

"There is no game plan as to how we are going to get along with the Native community, and that's very unfortunate. It's something we need and something that needs to get done," he said, adding that past relations between the Native people and Pincher Creek needs improvement. "I'm talking of the Town Council and the Tribal Councils - between the two groups they don't do a whole bunch to help each other out," he said.

He hopes to increase the communication between the two groups in the future.

Despite the lack of non-Native participation, organizers were pleased with this year's event. Ways to draw more community participation is expected to be worked into the planning of next year's event.