By George Nicholas
The Ilaa kati (“few words, big meaning”) Traditional Knowledge event in Yellowknife was an outstanding gathering, and I am very glad to have participated. There were about 250 attendees, mostly from the north, with very strong Aboriginal community representation.
TK is hugely important in the Northwest Territories and indeed is going to become increasingly more so in the future as communities and governments face more decisions about natural resources.
The event began with a graduate student mentorship workshop in which 15 students had an opportunity to meet in small groups with the invited speakers. This event was organized by Sarah Carr-Locke (IPinCH Associate) and Tom Andrews (our liaison with our partner, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre). Participating students included Mariane Gaudreau, one of our Associate members, and Kelsey Wrightson, a member of Michael Asch’s IPinCH-funded project on treaty relations. The focus of the discussions was not unexpectedly on doing research with/for Indigenous communities. Many of the students were aware of IPinCH, having earlier visited our website, which they found to be of huge value.
Following the mentorship workshop, the rest of Friday was spent in Behchoko, a small Tlicho Dene community on the shore of Great Slave Lake, about 100 km north of Yellowknife. There, workshop participants, conference organizers, other guests and sponsors were hosted by Tlicho elders and leaders. All of the guests took turns visiting community members and elders in woodstove-heated tents to learn about Tlicho governance, heritage matters, health and well-being, and the Dene way of life. It was a richly rewarding experience and our hosts welcomed (and fed us) like long-lost relatives.
The remainder of the festival involved a TEDx Yellowknife event on Saturday and lectures and panels on Sunday.
Our brochure was included in the conference package, and there were several mentions of IPinCH during my presentations. This garnered much interest in what we are doing. A number of folks who were already tracking the project also came up to me to talk about IPinCH.
I also met with Ingrid Kritsch, our liaison with the Gwich'in Social and Cultural Institute. She asked if we could help them update their TK Policy, which is now 10 years old. I’m also coordinating with Tom Andrews and Sarah on developing a TK and IP Fact Sheet. And there are other things that were accomplished or initiated.
So, all in all, a very productive time in Yellowknife. The organizers were very appreciative of our representation there, and recognized the importance of what IPinCH is doing.
Photo: Sarah Carr-Locke, George Nicholas and Mariane Gaudreau, in Behchoko, NWT (photo: courtesy G. Nicholas).
The script for George's TEDx talk, Why Heritage is Not Just About Things, can be found on our blog.
