Kinder Kollege celebrates National Indigenous Day

By Joan Janzen

The children at Kinder Kollege were excited to learn about National Indigenous Day on Tuesday, June 21. Jodi Geddes, Director of Kinder Kollege, located in Westberry School, invited Stacey Wolfe to make a presentation to the children.

Stacey is a Métis woman living in Kindersley, who was honoured to represent First Nations on National Indigenous Day by speaking at Kinder Kollege. “I found myself going home and collecting all my things, printing off colouring sheets, crafts, excited to put up a display and teach the kids,” she said. Before the presentation started, the staff read to the children from a book entitled “The Giving Tree” by Leah Dorion.

Stacey started off by showing the kids the most known tool to mankind, a braided hide, explaining its many purposes. It held many things together, and was also used to make baskets.

“I explained how over time, we learned about cotton. We learned to weave and this made many items of clothing more decorative,” Stacey said. She showed the kids a Métis sash made from colourful cotton.

She showed the kids a hide made medicine pouch, and passed around her first born’s moccasins. “I explained about the buffalo and deer, the Great Plains grizzly and how, as a plains Cree nation, we used everything we found in these animals ... mud, blood and bones. That got the kids excited!” Stacey explained.

The interactive presentation had the kids holding feathers from hawks and prairie falcons. They held small clam shells, which were used as a knife to cut things, and to decorate clothing and make jewelry.

One of the high lights of the presentation was the delicious Bannock bread Stacey made and brought for the children to taste, served with butter and jam. “The children loved the Bannock bread!” Jodi said.

Stacey brought two dream catchers, which were small enough for the children to hold. And she also explained about the significance of the medicine wheel.

“It was a wonderful end to the talk as I introduced the children to the round dance where we had each child bang on the drum,” she concluded. The children made a heart beat sound on the drum, in honour of Heart Awareness Week.

She also taught the children a Cree word, ‘Hiy’ meaning thank you. The presentation ended with Stacey handing out colouring pages and feathers for the children’s head bands. She also presented a little wooden orange t-shirt with the logo ‘every child matters’ to the children, Jodi and the staff at Kinder Kollege.

Stacey Wolfe hosted an interactive presentation with the children at Kinder Kollege to commemorate National Indigenous Day on June 21.