by GREG NIKKEL, of the Weyburn Review
A two-day cross-cultural workshop hosted by Ocean Man Band at Stoughton School on Thursday and Friday is just the first step in helping to bridge differences between the reserve and the Town of Stoughton, said one of the organizers, Clinton Bobb of the Yorkton Tribal Council.
The workshop was a first for Ocean Man, and a first for the tribal council they are a member of, said Bobb, so the organizers had to rely on expertise from northern communities where such activities are held more regularly. The workshop included all of the students of Stoughton School and Ocean Man School on Thursday, and Kipling School joined on Friday.
The activities included interactive games in locations around the school, storytelling by elders and talking circles held in a group of teepees set up in Stoughton School's yard. An opening prayer by an elder and opening song opened both days, and a traditional round dance and closing prayer finished off the first day.
On Friday, the workshop featured keynote speaker Errol Kinistino for all of the Grade 7 to 12 students. Kinistino plays the character of "Leon" in the CBC-TV drama, North of 60. A youth panel was also held, where concerns and issues were brought up and discussed.
The theme for the first day was Overcoming Racism, and on the second day it was Walking Together in the Spirit of Healing, both of which arose from the discussions that originated the workshop.
In a meeting the tribal council held at Ocean Man, a number of problems were identified within the community, including that "the relationship between the town of Stoughton and Ocean Man wasn't as good as it could be," said Bobb.
A one-day workshop was originally planned for the spring, but it "snowballed" into a two-day activity which was moved to the fall, he added.
"We don't expect the town kids and Ocean Man kids to be the best of friends, but at least they'll have an understanding of the other culture. We don't want to just have a two-day event and go away. At the end of the two days, we want the kids to open up the lines of communication," said Bobb, adding Ocean Man would like to come to the school perhaps once a month to continue the steps first taken at this workshop.
"It's entirely up to the students whether they can identify what the problems are. We'll work with them to see how we can change things for the better," he said.
The view from some of the teachers taking part in the day's activities was that this workshop should have some positive results in their school.
"I think anytime kids get together and learn together, it's great. In the talking circles, I saw some of the people who got lost in the shuffle before speaking up. I'm hoping as a staff we'll get better with that as well," said high school teacher Shirley Coderre.
"We learn lots about each other and where we come from, where we have the same interests and differences," added Grade 4 teacher Jennifer LaClaire, who said the teachers will need to keep up with all that's happening, and that the workshop will have benefits amongst the children.
Bobb acknowledged that some people felt the workshop was forcing native spiritualism onto some people, but insisted no one was forced to do or say anything.
"I think some people were concerned about that, saying 'what are they trying to push on our kids?' We're not forcing anything on anybody. This is the way we do things," he said.
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