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Aboriginality: Telling Tales
EXPLORING FIRST NATIONS STORYTELLING TRADITIONS
» Thursday 5 March 2009 | 5 pm
» The Bohemian Café, 524 Bernard Avenue
An informal afternoon hour showcasing people and ideas featured in Okanagan ARTS. Join us as Delphine Derickson, Roxanne Lindley and Gayle Liman discuss and demonstrate the deep influence
of storytelling in Okanagan first nations culture.
» $2 at the door. Refreshments are available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE
The Story of the First Nations Story
It is one of the oldest artistic traditions in existence in the Valley - the storytelling of the Okanagan aboriginal peoples. Handed down from grandparent to parent to child, these tales are often steeped in valuable information that guided the Okanagan people on various aspects of life - from the practical to the spiritual.
Over the years, these stories have been translated and in some cases, written down, so that other cultures can benefit from the richness of this culture. Among the first to do so was Harry Robinson, a member of the Lower Similkameen Band who told his tales to ethnographer Wendy Wickwire before he passed away in 1990. The stories would become the award-winning book Write it On Your Heart.
It has been challenging to keep the nuances of this storytelling tradition alive when many aboriginal people suffered the loss of their language. But a vibrant cluster of Okanagan people are working hard today to make sure both the language, and the stories, not only stay alive, but stay vibrant and relevant for today's tech-savvy world.
On Thursday, March 5th at 5 pm the ongoing weekly Okanagan Institute Express series at the Bohemian Café presents Aboriginality: Telling Tales. Featured in the program is Penticton Indian Band elder Delphine Derickson who has been documenting and working to preserve her nation's language for the last 30 years. She's one of only a handful of Syilx (Okanagan) people fluent in the nsyilxcen language. She currently teaches at Sensisyusten House of Learning on the Westbank First Nation land.
Joining elder Derickson are Roxanne Lindley and Gayle Liman. One generation removed from Derickson, Lindley has devoted her life to sharing the stories of her people, and now she's working on bringing those stories to today's young people. Recently, she held an in-service for teachers in the Central Okanagan school district on how to use an educational bundle she created along with Liman who is curator of the Westbank First Nations. The material is focused on N'ha-a-itk (the Okanagan lake serpent commonly known as Ogopogo) and provides oral stories and Aboriginal visual arts that are vital to understanding the local aboriginal culture.
This event promises to be moving, insightful, and a rare glimpse into a culture and a people who have held firm to this land for centuries.
 Delphine Derickson is a teacher, Elder and Traditionalist from the Westbank First Nation. A gifted professional storyteller, Delphine has been documenting and working to preserve her nation's language for the last 30 years. In 1993, she co-edited the book We Get Our Living Like Milk From the Land along with Jeannette Armstrong. She currently teaches the Nsyilxcen legends and language within the Okanagan Territory and provides cultural program activities through the Foster Children Care program through En'owkin Centre in Penticton. She recently graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in Language Revitalization.
 Roxanne Lindley is a member of the Westbank First Nation and has served her people in many leadership roles including Cultural Coordinator, Manager of Archaeology and Culture, Intergovernmental Affairs, Archaeology Monitor and Liaison on the W. Bennett Bridge project and liaison for collaborative cultural projects between cultural venues in the City of Kelowna and WFN. An artist and a writer, she is an active spokesperson for her people, including as a representative at the United Nations Forum on Indigenous Issues. She currently lives in Cherryville.
 Gayle Liman is an Independent curator, researcher, writer and artist who has worked in varying disciplines with a specific passion for First Nations issues. She has served on several boards including OMRAC, KADAC, the Kelowna Public Arts Committee and represented the Kelowna Museums at the United Nations Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2006. She has curated several international and local exhibitions at various venues including the Kelowna Art Gallery where "In the Spirit of N'ha-a-itkw" aka., Ogopogo, won the British Columbia Museums Association's Award of Merit.
Aboriginality: Telling Tales takes place at the Bohemian Café. This marks the 80th event the Okanagan Institute has held since the Express series got underway in July 2007. Since that time, the series has played host to many Okanagan luminaries, including former deputy secretary general of Amnesty International Derek Evans, artists Lee Claremont and Gary Pearson, BC Book Award nominee Don Gayton, CBC Literary prize winner poet Harold Rhenisch, distinguished editor and author Jim Taylor, poet and professor John Lent, animator and filmmaker Jim Cliffe, community activist Don Elzer, dancer David LaHay, architect Jim Meiklejohn, culinary artist and writer Heidi Noble, broadcaster Marion Barschel and others from a wide range of creative fields.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE
Where Enquiring Minds Gather. Okanagan Institute at the Bohemian Café A hearty feast of lectures, presentations, workshops and showcases celebrating our culture and community. Produced by the Okanagan Institute in association with Wheat King Publishing magazines: Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Home. Express is sponsored in part by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Publishing, UBCO-FCCS, and in support of Project Literacy Kelowna.
The Okanagan Institute is a group of creative professionals that have gathered around the goal of providing events, publications and services of interest to enquiring minds in the Okanagan. We partner with individuals, organizations, institutions and businesses to achieve optimal creative and social impact.
Our mission is to ignite cultural transformation, catalyze collaborative action, build networks and foster sustainable creative enterprises. We invite the participation by all members of the creative community.
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