Hello families & friends,
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the Harmony triad had a special visitor in the classroom. Randy Bottle, a First Nations Elder, spent the mornings teaching our students about the Blackfoot oral storytelling tradition. In addition, he spoke about the tribal tradition of creating pictures on stone, through pictographs and petrolglyphs, such as the famous ones at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in Alberta. He told them the story of "Napi and the Rock".
The Okotoks Erratic is the largest rock in the Foothills Erratic Train. The Blackfoot Legend of Napi
and the Rock tells how the erratic broke in two. Napi is the supernatural trickster of the Blackfoot.
Please ask your child about the legend, what they learned from the story and about the drawing they created in their visual journals.
He showed the Grade 1 and 2s a ceremonial rattle used in sacred ceremonies and lullaby's. Students, do you remember how it was made and what it was made from? The children then chanted a traditional ceremonial song with Randy.
The Elder also taught the Grade 1 and 2s some Blackfoot words for animals, things in nature and greetings. Learners, do you remember the word for MOUNTAIN in Blackfoot? What is a KI YA YO?
They concluded his visit by watching a video called "Thunder Story" spoken in the Blackfoot language, while our guest translated each page of the story into english during the telling of the story.
Enjoy your upcoming weekend!
Ms. Klein
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