Group calls for year to honor elders

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It may not be 1993 or even 1994, but a group of volunteers in British Columbia are hoping to see a declaration of the international year of the elder in the not-too-distant future.

"Indigenous elders speak from the heart," said Karie Garnier, who is co-ordinating the campaign through a volunteer organization called Our Elders Speak Wisdom Society.

"There is a need for the rest of the world to hear the messages, the words of the indigenous elders...We have enough technology to destroy the world many times over but we don't have the wisdom."

Plans for what is hoped to become an international celebration are still in the early stages and will be developed over the next few months.

The pace is deliberate and meant to foster grassroots support before official declarations are made, Garnier said. Too often such declarations are made by governments and never reach down to the communities they are supposed to celebrate.

Instead, the Our Elders Speak Wisdom Society wants to work on community planning first so that activities and awareness campaigns will be in place when a declaration is made.

Much of the initial groundwork will take place in October when volunteers and elders meet in Vancouver for a two-day planning session.

The idea for a year of the elder grew out of photo exhibition Garnier put together for Vancouver's Expo '86. The exhibit featured life-size black-and-white portraits of B.C. Native elders along with their comments on how they see the world.

At the prompting of community leaders, Garnier formed the OES Society in 1989 and published a book based on the photo exhibit.

"That book has helped to promote the goals of our society, which is to promote awareness of indigenous elders in particular and of the elderly everywhere."

Momentum has been building behind the international year campaign since then.

"Somehow a few hundred people just came together. It just worked."