UNITY — February is Indigenous Storytelling Month and, with some help from the Wheatland Regional Library, Carol Rose GoldenEagle was able to stop by the Unity Public School on Feb. 28.
The students were treated to an interactive hour of songs, drumming, storytelling and dancing. GoldenEagle read from her first children’s book, “Mother Earth- my favourite artist”, which will soon be available in libraries across the country. GoldenEagle’s visit to Unity was in partnership with the Wheatland Regional Library for Indigenous Storytelling Month.
“Indigenous Storytelling Month is an important opportunity to share culture and traditions, through storytelling, with school-aged children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to engage in cultural traditions with Indigenous artists,” said the author.
“Children love to engage, listen to stories about Indigenous culture and be a part of sharing my culture. We are all part of the same community, wanting to build bridges of understanding and engagement with each other and celebrating our uniqueness,” added GoldenEagle.
Michelle Schumack, librarian at the Unity branch, said she was happy with how the afternoon went.
“Carol Rose GoldenEagle kept the kids engaged throughout the whole show, participating in the singing, playing of the drums and other instruments as well as the dancing. It was very heartwarming to see all the smiles and excitement.”
While Schumack tries to schedule special programs such as presentations that are offered through the Wheatland region, hers is one of 45 branches that needs to be accommodating.
“It is great when we can partner with the schools as well as the general public, sharing all the wonderful talents, stories, culture and conversations. I like to remind the children there is a public library they are welcomed to use and enjoy,” added the librarian. Schumack is in the process of organizing summer programming and urges everyone to watch for announcements on the library’s Facebook page and around town.
Although the author is sharing the work of her first children’s book, GoldenEagle has been writing for most of her life, with her first novel “Bearskin Diary” being written close to 25 years ago. GoldenEagle worked as a journalist and news anchor with CBC North for more than 30 years and her creative writing and artistic talents were more of a hobby at the time. She moved back to Saskatchewan from Yellowknife, N.W.T. in 2018, where she started to share her work and culture.
“I started doing public presentations in storytelling, singing and drumming, introducing school-aged children across Saskatchewan to my original stories and poetry, as well as my visual artwork,” said GoldenEagle.
The writer draws inspiration from the actions of everyday people, as well as nature.
“Both fascinate me and I see beauty in their struggles, strengths and triumphs,” said GoldenEagle.
As a mother of three, GoldenEagle instilled the importance of reading early on in the lives of her children, reading to them every night from the time they were infants.
“When my children started school, I found there was little to nothing available in terms of Indigenous children’s literature, so I wrote my own stories for them, creating worlds with Indigenous characters and storylines,” said the author.
GoldenEagle is constantly working on new titles for children. “Mother Earth- my favourite artist” is available through Medicine Wheel Publishing and her next book, “Singing to the Moon”, a book of Indigenous poetry for children, is in the process of being released within the year.
