Conference encourages young Aboriginal writers

Page 9

Aspiring young Aboriginal writers in Northern Saskatchewan will have a chance to listen to and learn from successful writers during a conference organized by Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC).

Writing the Territory Ahead: Young Aboriginal Writers' Conference will be held February 16 to 18 at the SIFC Northern Campus in Prince Albert.

Students aged 14 to 18 and their teachers are invited to attend the conference, with workshops aimed at both groups planned as part of the event.

Christine Watson is one of the conference organizers. She said the conference is being targeted at any student interested in writing, and wanting to learn more about Aboriginal literature.

"They don't have to ever have written a word," Watson said, adding that oral storytelling will be included in the conference along side the written word.

Teachers have been included in the conference, Watson said, "because they're going to go back to their schools, and we want them to be able to say, 'Okay, well we learned all this great stuff at the conference, now what are we going to do with it?'" And that's where the teachers come in. That's where the teachers have to say, 'Okay, well, here's some ideas that I got from the workshops and from the leaders, and lets try and do this, or let's write a book together.'"

By passing the information on to the teachers, Watson explained, the effects of the conference will continue to be passed on to students long after the kids attending have graduated and gone on with their lives.

Among the writers scheduled to take part in Writing the Territory Ahead are poet Gregory Scofield; Alice French, author of My Name is Masak and The Restless Nomad; screenwriter Jordan Wheeler; playwright and humourist Drew Hayden Taylor; poet and lecturer Randy Lundy; Shannon Avison, program coordinator for SIFC Indian Communications Arts; Nelson Bird, CTV broadcaster and host of Indigenous Circle; poet Marilyn Dumont; and storyteller Tyrone Tootoosis.

Watson said one of the reasons such a variety of writers were invited to take part was to provide the students with a better idea of the different kinds of writing, and the different writing opportunities available to them.

And for students looking for information and assistance about how to get published, representatives from the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild will also be at the conference.

The conference will begin Friday evening with registration and readings by some of the Aboriginal writers taking part.

Saturday's schedule includes two workshops during which workshop leaders will share their own experiences as writers, as well as information about opportunities available to young Aboriginal writers. Students will also work on their writing, and get feedback from others about their work. A third workshop will involve students in a group writing project.

Teachers' workshops will run at the same time as the students' workshops, providing teachers with information on how to incorporate creative writing or storytelling into their teaching curriculum.

Also planned for Saturday are an Elders panel on storytelling with local Dene and Cree Elders, and a feast and round dance.

The conference wraps up Sunday morning with presentation of stories created during the previous day's group writing workshop.

The college decided to organize the writer's conference for a number of reasons, explained Watson.

"We actually held a similar conference five years ago, and it went over so well that we decided it was about time to hold another one," Watson said.

The decision to hold that conference at the Prince Albert campus, Watson explained, was made to provide northern students with access to successful Aboriginal writers. While writers often travel to the larger centres to do readings, that isn't the case with smaller communities in the North.

"Plus, we like to promote our northern campus, to let the northern students know that, when they do graduate, that there is a northern campus. Because soetimes they don't realize.

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"They don't want to have to come all the way to Regina. And we want them to know that there is a northern campus, and if they've seen it - they're actually on campus at the time - whether they're in Grade 9 or Grade 12, then they may be more familiar with it and it may seem less frightening if they want to go on to post-secondary stuff."

The SIFC English department is also hosting the conference to mark the college's 25th anniversary.

"For the English department, it's a great way to celebrate because considering, if you think about 25 years ago, there was virtually no Aboriginal writing at all. And if you look at the Saskatchewan Book Awards this year, there were tons of Aboriginal writers at the book awards, being nominated. So it's a really exciting time. And if we look back on 25 years of Aboriginal writing and think, 'Wow, look at where we've come from', it's just a really good time to celebrate, "Watson said.

There is no registration fee for the conference, and food will be provided for conference goers from breakfast Saturday morning to Sunday lunch. Schools taking part are responsible for their own accommodation and travel expenses and arrangements.

Organizers would like all registrations in by Jan. 31.