A pop-up museum is coming to the heart of Treaty 6 territory to help further reconciliation. The Canadian Indigenous Exhibit is coming together right here in the Border City.
The exhibit will be showcasing various pieces of indigenous history and culture. Topics will include histories like the fur trade, trapping, traditional regalia and teachings. Historical events such as indigenous parts during World War 2, old and modern residential school systems and the sixties scoop will also be covered. Tinisha Young is one of the organizers, and she hopes the exhibit leaves an impact.
“We’re going to walk people through, answer questions, play some videos. It’s going to be two whole days sharing what we know with others, and hopefully taking in what others know as well,” says Young.
Her and other organizers are organizing the event thanks to participating in the Canadian Roots Exchange. The program helps build relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous youth. The program took Young and other youth from the area to Montreal to be trained in a variety of leadership skills.
These youth leaders are using this event to fulfill a call to action around reconciliation. The exhibit is being funded by the program and is free admission, but will accept non-perishable food donations for the Lakeland College Student Association Food Bank. Young sees the event as an important step in preserving indigenous heritage for the next generation.
“Our knowledge keepers are getting fewer and fewer, and we need to keep working harder every day to keep preserving our culture because it is a dying culture. I see a lot of movements, people trying to preserve what they can. There are Cree language apps for kids to play with, there are Cree language dictionaries coming out. Lots of people just don’t know their culture and we want people to know where they came from.”
The exhibit will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 30 and 31 at the Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham Lloydminster.