In celebration of World Literacy Day, a topic that has been at the forefront of Maskwacis Cultural College’s efforts, the school hosted grassroots and international literacy advocate Priscilla George, Sept. 8.
George or, as she goes by, Ningwakwe, meaning Rainbow Woman, is a Deer Clan AnishnawbeKwe from the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation who has spent many years increasing literacy in First Nation communities as a means to foster cultural identity.
In her past, George, as a First Nation woman, did not have a positive cultural self-image.
She began her national experience with literacy issues when the Government of Ontario hired her to oversee 35 First Nation library programs across the province.
During her time working for the Ontario government, George wrote her first book in 2008 on the programs she worked with: Winning in Your Workplace for Aboriginal Workers.
After her book was published, George left the Ontario government. A few years later they asked her for a second book, A New Vision: Guiding Aboriginal Literacy, which was printed in 2010.
“They wanted me to look across Canada and see what people are doing. What are their successes, what are their challenges,” said George.
To help with the book, George attended a national committee meeting in Saskatchewan, which was focused on a multimedia project for First Nations literacy. There she got a job on the committee.
The committee has chosen a rainbow for its symbol. They told George to research the rainbow, learn what its colours represent and assign a different kind of literacy for each section.
Through her experiences with the government and the national committee, George learned that literacy is more than learning about reading and writing, it is also about developing a positive cultural identity.
“It’s about feeling good in your ethnicity . . . and if you don’t, that’s ethnostress. And I thought that’s what these people are suffering from,” said George.
Ethnostress, a term developed by Tribal Sovereignty Associates, is the disruption of the Aboriginal spirit.
George came to her realization after many literacy learners expressed suicidal thoughts. “Our people see us as having four parts; heart, spirit, mind and body.”
She believes First Nation students in an institutional educational environment are not given the focus they require for heart and spirit, leading to 50 per cent of their personal core ignored. “There’s something really bothering these people and that’s why they can’t focus on learning.”
Wetaskiwin MP Blaine Calkins also briefly attended the presentation to congratulate the college on its $23,000 grant for New Horizons for Seniors.
The college hosted sessions for elders in the community to help them update themselves in digital technology, including Facebook, cameras and cell phones. The program is also a way to help bridge the generational gap between youths and elders.
“It’s good to be young and energetic, but sometimes it’s good to look in the rearview mirror,” said Calkins.
The college’s librarian Manisha Khetarpal says information literacy, what she focuses on, is the connected to digital literacy. “It’s the backbone of all literacy. It’s the ability to find information and access points.”
“The last thing is, after you’ve evaluated it, being able to use it,” she added.
Over the summer, Khetarpal held a summer reading program, which extended past the college into other schools such as the Montana School (Meskanahk Ka Nipa Wit School).
Khetarpal is working to arm every student in the community with as much knowledge and words as possible to articulately express themselves. She believes literacy is the only way to overcome poverty.