Recording Culture Following Protocols
Recording Culture Following Protocols
"The traditional knowledge of a community passes into the public domain, our spiritual guardians must control how it is used and who receives it."
Allan Pard, Piikani
There's sacred public knowledge that could be public, and shared with the public but when it comes down to sacred knowledge, or transferred knowledge, it means that in order to understand or share that information, the only way you can acquire that is that you have to live it.
We talk about Rome, about Greece, their culture and that's the reason we can still talk about it because it's been recorded. And I think we have just as much to say about our ways and only our people in this world. We have a lot to offer as people.
"Involvement is key to showing your respect for your culture."
Jerry Potts, Piikani
"The Blackfoot ways and the teachings that are still alive right now that have been learned, those still carry on the ceremonies we have, especially the ones that have been brought back. We don't know what's in the future. We need more people to be involved with this stuff. We need more Blackfoot people to be involved with this stuff because we don't know what they might bring back. Something could come to you at any time but unless you're doing it, you're going to completely miss the boat. There's thinking about it in a hypothetical sense. It's that saying, ‘saying it and doing it are two different things.' And I think our, there's, there's lots of teaching around.
People have to learn it, and I think there's got to be more respect given to it. Our own worst enemy is ourselves. We've got so many different groups that follow different ways, and a lot of times we end up, you end up being criticized or people don't respect what's going on. And that's where we've got to start getting more people involved with this stuff, from the communities and that too. It has to have a higher place, whatever it is at chief and council level or where ever have you, but there has to be more people that respect to keep it alive.
