Westglen students taught ‘cultural awareness’
By Trevor Robb
EDMONTON — The ‘Thundering Spirit Cultural Society’ from the Enoch First Nation visited students at Westglen Elementary School on Wednesday to display their rhythmic dancing and drumming, and to teach students the culture and heritage of Canada’s First Nation’s people.
The presentation comes as a celebration of National Aboriginal Day, but dancing and drumming was not all the students at Westglen learnt. After the presentation, stations were set up where family members of Debbie Semeniuk, a lunch coordinator at Westglen Elementary, taught the students a variety of aboriginal-related arts and cultures.
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- The ‘Thundering Spirit Cultural Society’ from the Enoch First Nation visited students at Westglen Elementary school to display their rhythmic dancing and drumming, on Wednesday, June 22, 2011. Photograph by Trevor Robb.
“I have a lot of family here today so it’s going to be an awesome day,” said Semeniuk.“I hope the kids learn that the native culture is actually a very special thing and that the native people are a passive people.”
Stations educated children on:
• Artifacts
• Art
• Beading
• Ceremonies
• Storytelling
• Traditional Games
• How to make Dreamcatcher’s
• How to make Bannock
Cultural Awareness
The ‘Thundering Spirit’ group first displayed their dances in front of children at schools in Vermillion, where Kevin John, Semeniuk’s brother, has his children attending class. Now the group performs in front of many children and many schools in and around the Edmonton area.
“It started with an initiative for cultural awareness in the schools that my kids are going to and then it just grew from there,” said John.
John hopes the children at Westglen take more away from the presentation than just a cool morning off of school. Rather, he hopes the kids learn a much more humbling lesson.
“As we learn together and teach them about our culture, they become more comfortable with, not just our culture, but with their own and other cultures that they’re surrounded with in their school environment and in their daily lives,” said John. “Overall I think that cultivates an appreciation for humanity in general.”