SASKATOON — Jessica Generoux says traditional storytelling usually takes place in-person and in small gatherings, making it an exciting and intimate experience to anyone hearing the knowledge and tales passed on by Elders.
The Library Services for Saskatchewan Aboriginal Peoples have been helping schools, libraries and other cultural organizations with the annual Aboriginal Storytelling Month, which kicked off last week.
Generoux, the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Storytelling Project co-ordinator, said it has been difficult for them the past two years since the pandemic began but they managed to adapt to share stories with school-age children and others the culture of Indigenous people.
Some storytelling events have carried on using online platforms like Zoom video conference, Facebook and YouTube.
“We do find some difficulties, because storytelling traditionally takes place with smaller large gatherings of people in person. And the in-person closeness makes storytelling more intimate. People come together, they gather around the fire; there’s no six-feet apart or social distancing, no masks …” Generoux told SASKTODAY.ca.
She added that one of the advantages of using online platforms during the pandemic is they reach a wider audience instead of having a small group from each school.
“We’ve been operating under this pandemic in the past two years and with the virtual programs we’ve been able to connect to a lot more people than we usually do; reaching from up to 15,000 to 30,000. For example, we can reach 600 people having Facebook Live storytelling,” said Generoux.
“Compare that with the storyteller, talking in a gym in one of the schools — like in Canora or Humboldt — that can only fit at least 60 people. So, there’s that, the positive of it, but there’s also the negative and that we’re missing out on the intimacy and connection that storytelling brings when we have people altogether. That in-person aspect sometimes doesn’t have the feeling of the human aspect. You can’t feel that in the virtual world.”
Still, Generoux said, they pushed through in putting up the virtual storytelling events to let the kids know these Indigenous tales of heroism and poetry, cooking classes, musical performances and other cultural teachings that were banned decades ago during the height of the residential school system.
“There’s a lot of challenges that we faced as a society and we've been through it together, but we just keep going. We’ve kept supporting each other and we keep those connections alive every day by reaching out and finding meaning in what we do and what we share,” she added.
The storytelling project started 19 years ago through a committee that is composed of Indigenous librarians from different libraries across the province.
“The program is almost two decades now and we’re working to increase the public’s awareness of what we do and its importance. We’re going to continue to do what it is needed in building partnerships within our society,” said Generoux.
More than 60 storytellers from all over Saskatchewan are part of the program including artist Darwin Atcheynum and First Nations University of Canada Associate Professor Solomon Ratt, who teaches Cree classes.
Generoux added they are trying to help other provinces organize similar events with committee member Lindsay Baker from the Wapiti Regional Library in Prince Albert sharing the information and have been discussing an Aboriginal storytelling project in Ontario, trying to promote it on a nationwide level.
“There are other provinces with similar programs that also work toward promoting to preserve the custom of Indigenous storytelling," said Generoux.
