A look at the past
Dalton Takazo visits artifacts from the times gone by
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Monday, April 21 2014
DELINE/FORT FRANKLIN
Dalton Takazo was given an opportunity to hold some of his ancestors' most precious objects during a trip to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre this school year.
Dalton Takazo, Grade 10 student at Ehtseo Ayha School in Deline, holds the book Sharing Our Stories, a collection of stories and photographs of Sahtu region artifacts. Takazo was a member of a group who participated in a workshop at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in November. The workshop led to the book of the same name. - photo courtesy of Trent Waterhouse |
Takazo, a Grade 10 student at Ehtseo Ayha School in Deline, travelled to Yellowknife with elder and relative Camilla Tutcho last November to learn about the artifacts held at the centre.
"They showed us many amazing things that were really old, from before I was born," Takazo said. "They showed us ... things that come from around the Sahtu, like slippers, guns, old time clothing and caribou hide scrapers."
Takazo and Tutcho were part of a group from the Sahtu region chosen to attend a two-day workshop at the centre, titled Sharing our Stories.
The group took photographs and recorded elders speaking about the items in North Slavey, which were then compiled into a book.
Takazo said he was amazed at how the elders' could identify objects and their purposes. Many remembered their parents and older relatives constructing and using the items.
"They showed us many different things and then all of our chaperones were mostly elders that knew about this stuff," he said. "Every time they brought out something, the first thing the elders would say was that they knew about this stuff and their parents made them."
Takazo said he noticed a variety of different types of mitts in the collection and the styles varied according to the region from which they came.
He also got to hold tiny wooden toys in shapes like everything from a snowmobile and sleds to toy guns.
"Back then, they used to make those toys for little kids so they would have something to do while their parents were busy," he said.
He also saw an item that was much older than anything he had seen before; a tusk from a woolly mammoth.
"It was at least twice the size of me," he said.
The group's trip was documented in a book, also titled Sharing our Stories, which contains photographs of the group and the objects, as well as comments from elders and students.
Takazo was given two copies of the book in hard copy and CD form. He said he plans to give one book to the school library so everyone can look at it.
Takazo said he is proud he was able to be a part of the project.
"This book is amazing, the work in this book is really good," he said.
