Reclaiming Blackfoot culture
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 18 July 2019 07:02
- Written by editor
View this e-mail in your browser.
Last week the headlines came rolling in: Alberta had a new UNESCO World Heritage site at Áísínai'pi, also known as Writing-on-Stone.
Many of the stories seemed to stem directly from a Government of Alberta press release, but our Alberta reporter Sharon J. Riley wanted to know more.
The area was designated as a World Heritage site not for its hoodoos or cottonwoods or coulees, but for its cultural importance to the Blackfoot people.
So she tracked down a Blackfoot elder, Martin Heavy Head, and asked him to tell her about it. It turns out he worked on getting international recognition of the area for more than 20 years. He sees its recognition as an important step toward repatriation of Blackfoot culture.
“When we talk about repatriation, we’re not just repatriating our stuff from the museums,” Heavy Head says.
“We’re repatriating our language, our history, our land, our sacred sites.”
He also told Sharon some of the stories he grew up hearing about Writing-on-Stone — a place his grandfathers could only tell him about through story as they had never been able to visit themselves.
Check out Sharon’s piece (with portraits by photographer Chris Bolin) about the long road to the world stage, and Heavy Head’s reflections on what the latest designation means in the broader context of reclaiming Blackfoot culture and land.
And keep scrolling for much more!
Emma Gilchrist Editor-in-chief
The government agency at the centre of B.C.’s old-growth logging showdown
By Judith Lavoie
BC Timber Sales has become a lightning rod for controversy, with many expressing dismay over the NDP’s ‘business as usual’ approach to logging. Read more.
Two grizzly cubs run over and killed in B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest
By Molly Segal
These deaths highlight ongoing tensions between humans and bears in the Bella Coola Valley where human efforts are helping to bring back salmon. Read more.
Apple loves our new podcast Bear 148 and you probably will, too. Give it a listen!
Fires and flooding: how B.C.’s forest policies collide with climate changes
By Tegan Hansen
Forestry practices in British Columbia have been criticized for a long time with some believing timber sales are prioritized over all else, but right now may be a chance to change that. Read more.
What we're listening to
President Donald Trump's administration has not only downplayed the science of climate change, it has sought to silence scientists working for the federal government. In this podcast from Reveal News, Elizabeth Shogren details the pressures one researcher faced as she worked on a project for the National Park Service.
What we're reading
Knowledge is power, sharing is caring, and forwarding The Narwhal's newsletter sign-up link feels a little bit like magic ✨ Pass it around?
Donate
Copyright © 2019 The Narwhal, All rights reserved.You are on this list because you signed up to receive The Narwhal (formerly DeSmog Canada) newsletter.
Our mailing address is:
The Narwhal
Suite 634
185 - 911 Yates St.
Victoria, BC V8V 4Y9
Canada
Add us to your address book
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or r34.
This email was sent to s6
why did I get this? r34 r35
The Narwhal · Suite 634 · 185 - 911 Yates St. · Victoria, BC V8V 4Y9 · Canada
r1