Photo: Members of Kahkewistahâw Chief and Council gather with publisher Ted Whitecalf and elders featured in the latest history books / Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
By Ryan Kiedrowski
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The World-Spectator
The latest volumes sharing the history and lived experiences of elders on Kahkewistahâw First Nation were launched during a special gathering on June 20. One of many celebrations during Kahkewistahâw’s annual pow wow weekend, community members gathered at the Elder’s Centre for the launch and to obtain copies of their own.
“A lot of times, people judge us because they don’t know what happened a long time ago,” said Wendy Alexson during the launch. “So I hope after reading the stories, you’ll know what they went through.”
Alexson was featured in Okêhtê Ayima Chief Kahkewistahâw’s Elders Volume Four, and she described what it was like to see her truth in print for the first time.
“I have my story in one, and I got to read it yesterday,” she said. “The feelings that came out, the story that I wrote, it hit me. It hit me hard. But you know, that’s healing—we tell our story, they hear our stories, so it’s a healing for us.”
Alexson is often found at the Elder’s Centre, opening the doors and welcoming people inside for fellowship. Her hope is that more people can learn about what the elders have written in the books.
“We have so many books that have come out, and I hope we can all get to read them,” she said. “Then we’ll know what that person went through.”
Previously, two volumes of wisdom from the elders was published, Nitohtamwak and Pasikohk, along with Courageous Warriors of Kahkewistahâw First Nation, which shared the experience of veterans from the community. As Chief Evan Taypotat explained, adding more voices to the library was something Council believed was important.
“Now your story is forever, and that’s what we wanted,” he said. “Many of our elders have just lived strong lives and had horrible things happen to them. And today, you see the fruits of your labor. We really wanted to make sure that we honoured you all as you are in your golden years, we want you to rest assured that your story is going to be told forever.”
Preserving history
Trusted with gaining those valuable stories and creating the books is the team at Sweetgrass Studios of Saskatoon. Through all five history books, Ted Whitecalf had the great honour of hearing the wisdom of the elders and transcribing those interviews for the publications.
“It all goes back to Chief Louis Taypotat when he was chief here,” Whitecalf explained. “He had asked me to collect stories for their elders here on Kahkewistahâw. Traditionally, people used to go and ask an elder, ‘tell me about this, I want to know this’, but those kind of things are gone way past. Technology has taken over our kids with the games, and the iPhone, and television.”
The books brought back to Kahkewistahâw allow the voices of the elders to continue for generations to come.
“The main reason is to have the continuation of knowledge, the languages, the spoken word by the elders, traditions that we have lived with in the past,” Whitecalf said. “The traditional life, the good life that the Creator put on this earth.”
The audience is not limited to those living in Kahkewistahâw, but has connected those further from home with their roots.
“They have a lot of elders that reside in Vancouver, Calgary—not on reserve,” Whitecalf said. “They said they don’t want to leave their elders out, they are so important to them here as well. They belong here. They live here. They’re from here. Let’s go and talk to them. They got something to offer, and certainly that they do—there’s some really wonderful stories.”
The personal accounts have also been referenced at the university level over the past couple of years.
“People use that in schools, and not only here—there’s other places that people are using these books,” Whitecalf said.
Preserving the stories of the elders is a calling of great importance for Whitecalf, who says it’s especially timely to hear the stories before the people are gone.
“People are going to be reading it in the future, it’s an education for them,” he said of the history books. “It’s a good teaching tool to remind them, the grandkids, the great grandkids, are going to be reading, ‘oh, I didn’t know my kokum or mushum had to go through this.’ If our elders take their knowledge to the grave, those are our libraries. These are our people, our professors. That’s why they’re doing this—to capture those stories now. Everybody’s useful whereas other societies, they put their elders to pasture. Our elders are used in so many different ways.”
Dedication to accuracy was very important to the final product as Chief Taypotat told those gathered at the book launch.
“Ted did the translating of the recordings and said, ‘I didn’t change a word from what the elders said,’ so when your family is reading your story, they’ll hear you, because it’s going to sound like you,” he said. “That was important to not edit it, to change it. It was important just to translate it the way that you told the story.”
Even the placement of the new Elder’s Centre reflects that importance—between the school and band office—so all ages can be close to the important resource of the elders.
Sweetgrass Studios has produced around 30 such history books around the province with each one weaving to form a collective bond.
“Everybody puts in little pieces together, piece of this puzzle,” Whitecalf said. “Here we have a whole story about Kahkewistahâw elders of the time. It’s more so for young people, too, we try to get the lineage in there to say, ‘I didn’t know I was related to that family.’ Everybody’s related, elders talk about related to somebody out in different parts of Saskatchewan, different parts of the country. So everybody’s connected in one way or the other.”
As for his thoughts on being the guy that gets to visit elders and document their stories, Whitecalf humbly replied, “I’m the luckiest guy on this planet. I get to do what I love doing.
“It’s just an incredible journey for me,” he said. “I’m so happy and honoured to be entrusted with the elders.”
Even communicating with the elders in Cree has proven to be a powerful experience.
“A lot of times I’ll be talking in Cree, the elders have cried, ‘let me hear you talk Cree, because I lost my language when I was growing up because of the school system,’ the thing that was taken away from us,” Whitecalf explained. “I relate to a lot of the elders. In talking to them, they remind me of lot of these things while I was growing up on Sweetgrass First Nation.”
He also noted that Kahkewistahâw has a positive model to follow in how their people are treated.
“Kahkewistahâw people are so amazing in what they’re trying to do,” Whitecalf said. “They’re leading in so many areas— education, the leadership that is fantastic here. It’s a supportive First Nation here. A lot of bands that are out there, they look up to Kahkewistahâw because of their leadership and how they’re doing things. They care for their people.”
Medicine of laughter
Much of that good medicine found on Kahkewistahâw comes from traditional teachings of having respect and love for all people. Visitors to the community are joyfully welcomed, often to the resounding sound of hearty laughter.
“It’s just good to see the first thing you walk into is that medicine of laughter,” said Councillor Cory Alexson, speaking with the World-Spectator moments before the book launch. “That’s one of the main things we talk about and share, that it’s healing. When you hear laughter, that’s a good spirit. Our old ones, our ones that have passed on are smiling down on us and laughing with us today and crying good tears today because they see another gathering of our people, of that kinship. We’re taking that time together just to celebrate one another that way.
“From my teachings, I speak to we’re not promised tomorrow, right?” Councillor Alexson continued. “We don’t know what tomorrow holds, so we do our part today, sâkihitowin—to love one another—that important piece, that spirit of love. Again, we’re all related, we’re all interconnected.”
Alexson took on the task of updating the history books in 2023 as Chief and Council recognized the need to record more elder voices.
“It was highlighted and obviously recognized how important that along with our culture, our language, it’s the stories from our old people,” he said. “Prioritizing and getting their support to move forward into getting out there along with Ted Whitecalf, our producer, our publisher, we were able to initiate these stories. It’s a process in itself, and obviously something you don’t want to rush right? It’s of true importance in regards to who we are as people.”
The ability to have access to the elder’s stories is also a reminder to slow down a frantic pace—to connect with people.
“Especially now with how fast the world itself is moving,” Councillor Alexson said. “We have to realize and take the time to put on the brakes. But in respect to our old people, as far back as we can go to truly find out who we are and, of course, wâhkôhtowin—the relationships to the land—to who we are as Kahkewistahâw people. That was one of the main things that kept coming up when we’re hearing from our old people, the importance of togetherness and the family kinship in itself, and finding out who we are, dating back to Chief Kahkewistahâw himself, how we’re all related, and how all our stories are connected. We’re all interconnected in one way or another, from Chief Kahkewistahâw.”
When asked about a future history book, a Volume Five in the series, Councillor Alexson said with a laugh, “we’re on it!”
“That does make my heart happy, because we have in our membership those pre-mushums and kokums that are going to be turning age 60 as we have it identified within our nation,” he said. “Carrying it forward and not losing an opportunity to collect every story moving forward that we can from our membership. That transition into that age, into that body of eldership and sharing, their story, their experience, because that only builds us stronger.”
Glancing into the Elder’s Centre from the outdoor deck where Councillor Alexson and I are chatting, he begins to smile.
“You look in there, they’re embracing and they’re holding these books close to them,” He said of the elders. “You can tell how important and how happy we are to be celebrated this way.”