In the context of the Kaska Guardians, knowledge sharing holds profound cultural significance and value. For the Kaska Guardians, undertaking knowledge sharing is not just about passing on important cultural information; it’s about preserving our identity, sustaining our environment, empowering our community, and asserting our cultural sovereignty in a rapidly changing world.
Objectives
Our objectives underscore the importance of the Kaska Guardians to undertake the transfer of traditional knowledge.
PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE
Knowledge sharing within the Kaska community ensures that traditional practices, stories and language are preserved and passed down through generations. This helps maintain cultural identity and strengthens community bonds.
SUSTAINABILTY AND STEWARDSHIP:
The Kaska Guardians play a pivotal role in environmental stewardship. Sharing knowledge about traditional land stewardship practices, wildlife habitats, and sustainable resource use ensures the preservation of our ancestral lands for future generations.
Community Empowerment:
By sharing knowledge, the Kaska Guardians empower community members to actively participate in decision-making processes regarding land use, conservation efforts, and cultural revitalization. This fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility among community members.
Resilience and Adaptation:
In the face of environmental changes and modern challenges, traditional knowledge often provides valuable insights and solutions. Knowledge sharing equips the community with adaptive strategies rooted in millennia of experience and wisdom.
Inter-generational Learning:
Knowledge sharing bridges the gap between elders and youth, facilitating inter-generational dialogue and learning. It ensures that younger generations learn from the wisdom of their elders while also contributing their perspectives to evolving traditions.
Cultural Sovereignty:
Knowledge sharing reinforces cultural sovereignty by affirming the Kaska people’s right to protect their intellectual and cultural heritage. It counters cultural appropriation and fosters respect for Indigenous knowledge systems.
Activities
Pitch Salve Making
Kaska Guardians held Pitch Salve Making Workshops led by Tanya Ball. Workshop participants were taught the type of trees that produce the pitch, where to locate the best trees and taught how to access the pitch. Participants were shown how to boil the pitch with coconut oil to create a salve to treat infections, cuts, burns and dry skin (eczema). They were then instructed as to how to preserve the salve in jars.
The Pitch Salve Making workshops took place:
- 20 mile Harvest Camp (2021)
- Blue River Cultural Camp (2022)
- Iron Creek Moose Hide Camp (2023)
Birch Water Collection
Kaska Guardians hosted visitors from Bristol Bay and on Day 1 of their visit in April 2024 the students of Denetia Elementary school were invited to join the DNYD Guardians in the traditional practice of collecting Birch Water. Guardian Robbie Porter demonstrated how to tap birch trees and collect the water and explained the traditional practice of using this water for treating sickness and ailment due to the nutrients and vitamins in the birch water. Birch water is traditionally collected once a year in April when the tree buds are just starting to sprout.
Moose Hide Tanning
A moose hide tanning camp was hosted by DKI and the Daylu Dena Council in October, 2023 at Iron Creek Lodge. DNYD Guardians, Tanya Ball and Lisa Horsey coordinated and assisted at the camps.
Permanent hide tanning frames were built for future hide camps. Kaska Elders Bernice Ball, Fred McMillan and Robbie Porter, demonstrated and provided instruction on the process of removing the hair, fleshing the hides and making bone tools for hide scraping. Various community members from Lower Post and Watson Lake assisted with the hides. Denetia School brought their students to the camp for a day to learn on the land. A guide will be developed to document the instructions and teachings that the elders shared and will be provided to community members.
Five hides were donated which will be used for community projects such as sewing and beading. As well, the hides will be used for an IPCA project where hides will be beaded or painted with the IPCA declaration and presented to each of the 5 Kaska communities.
Trapping and Snare Setting
DNYD Guardians invited community members to learn how to set Marten traps in November 2023. The traps were set on the 20-mile road.
School children from Johnson Elementary School in Watson Lake Yukon were invited to come out with DNYD Guardians to learn how to collect water samples, but also how to set rabbit snares.
Outcomes
Knowledge Sharing Activities
Successful knowledge sharing activities among the Kaska, particularly involving Elders and Guardians, are integral to stewardship and community resilience. These activities often involve storytelling, intergenerational workshops, community gatherings, documentation and digitization of knowledge.
- Recording Kaska Language on placenames, plants/animals.
- Traditional Medicine collection and teachings
- Traditional cultural teachings (wildlife, hunting, Kaska cultural ways)
Resources
Land Need Guardians 1:41
