Elders share wisdom with visitors
Ingamo Hall Friendship Centre helps people recount their knowledge and skills to others
Mark Rieder
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 16, 2015
INUVIK
Ingamo Hall has always been a place where Inuvialuit and First Nations people can gather to keep their cultures alive.
Minnie Allen and Delores Harley play cribbage at Ingamo Hall Friendship Centre during a "meet with the elders" session, June 6. The Friendship Centre is making it a regular event where visitors or the public can learn about the history and culture of the region, and share in the wisdom of elders. - Mark Rieder/NNSL photo
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Under the co-ordination of Delores Harley and assistant Theona Joe, elders in the region are being encouraged to share their wisdom with visitors.
"We know the elders like to meet tourists and find out where they are from and tourists like to know about what life is like here," said Harley.
Harley also pointed out that the hope is that they can co-ordinate the program with the hospital so they can be a part of the Elder's Wellness Community Initiative.
Under the leadership of executive director Brenda Jerome, Ingamo Hall Friendship Centre is working to build up the traditional culture in a manner that preserves aboriginal rituals while fitting in with modern necessities.
"We are trying to help them to be successful in both aboriginal and traditional ways, and also in ways that maintain their families financially," said Jerome.
Although it is organized by the friendship centre, it is really about being aware and respectful of the elders' desires. Harley and Joe will spend the first few weeks of the program speaking with the elders and finding out what they want to see happen.
"That's what this whole month is about, finding out what our elders want," said Joe.
At the first session, 76-year-old Minnie Allen, who is now deaf and slightly mute, was playing cribbage and munching on some of the snacks put out for anyone who happened to drop by.
Using a type of hand language and writing on a piece of paper, Allen briefly expressed about when she first went to school in Saskatoon. It was in 1947 and it was the first time she had seen so many people in one place.
Despite her age and that she has vision in only one eye, Allen is still an avid cribbage player and remains as active as her energy levels allow.
She also expressed how she remembers her first love and that she still misses him to this day.
The new program takes place at the hall every Monday from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Organizers also plan to have special events at other facilities around town if the elders decide it is what they want to do.
