Outside Port Coquitlam's Wilson Centre, it's raining cats and dogs but there's a sunnier climate in the Garden Room thanks to a group of women calling themselves The Story Telling Elders.
Though not restricted to women, the elders group that works with School District 43 students is predominately female and their stories have the warmth of freshly baked cookies or cozy hand-knit mittens.
There's Carole Pierce, the unofficial spokesperson of the group, a retired native court worker who has twinkly blue eyes and a fluff of light brown curls. She talks about her days working with families, her knowledge of First Nations traditions and protocol, and her dreams about the future.
"I want to see a grandparent or an elder in every school," Pierce says, and her friends nod in agreement.
There's also Laura Talbot, a First Nations elder from the Tsimshian people and retired business owner who enjoys crochet (she calls herself a hooker); Pearl Phillips, from the Interior Salish people, who loves to carve, do beadwork and cook bannock; and Claudia Savage, who is mostly Irish, not First Nations at all, but jokingly says her last name entitles her to belong to the group.
EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE WELCOME
Pierce said people don't have to have First Nations heritage to join the group but should have experience or a skill to share and be interested in working with students.
"I'm not too fussy about it as long as they have knowledge that they are willing to share," she said.
Among the projects the group is working on is a drum-making workshop with Carman MacKay, who is a local First Nations cultural worker, and the members recently made deerskin medicine bags for SD43 grads. Last year, the group worked with students in SD43's Suwa'lkh Learning Centre and at Central elementary school.
With more members, they could expand their reach.
Savage said the younger children enjoy being read to and the other kids like hearing stories about the old days.
"The kids were very interested in who we are and where we came from," she said.
The group meets Fridays at 11 a.m. at Wilson Centre in Port Coquitlam, ending their meetings with lunch. For more information, call Carole Pierce at 604-376-6205 or Claudia Savage 604-525-8163, or email [email protected].
