Bringing back traditions, one year at a time

Traditional teacher Dennis Black has seen many changes since the Pays Plat cultural teachings week began five years ago.
“When I first came here, when my Elder brought me here, I more or less had to stand there and watch them put up the sweat lodge,” Black said, noting the community members did not know how to set up a sweat lodge back then. “When we got here Monday, the guys said do you want the lodge set up? No supervision, nothing.”
Black remembers finding the community’s traditional drum about three years ago in a storage space in the community hall. Now youth are learning and practicing songs on the drum throughout the cultural teachings week.
“They had a traditional drum all along — we had to ask our Elders if they had that drum,” Black said. “Listen to the boys sing now. That’s how much they picked up.”
Black said community members now know their Indian name and their clans.
“When we first started here, they were not able to do that, so we’ve made some progress,” Black said, “even in the language.“
Black hopes community members will continue to educate the youth in their cultural traditions when he is not in the community.
“It’s a little bit different all over the place,” Black said about the cultural teachings. “There is a different value system in each community, that is why we rely on our Elders.
We’re hoping that they can bring back some of the things that were taught to them by their parents, so they can give that to the youngest people and the youngest people can give that to their children.”
Black wants to give the youth a foundation to build on for the future.
“That is their way of life,” Black said. “That is the pride they have to carry as Anishinabe people.”
Black said the youth are “very eager” to learn more about their own culture, noting they will even ask questions when standing in the rain.
“Our youth are very eager, it’s just that we have to find people that carry that certain knowledge,” Black said. “There is a lot of spirituality in each community — I know that.”
Black said many Anishinabe people have learned how to adapt to the western ways and have become very competitive in that environment.
“It will make them that much stronger if they learn their culture, their language, their customs, their traditions,” Black said.
Black has been learning about the traditional ways his whole life. This year’s Pays Play cultural teachings week was held from July 23-26.