Highwood High School recently celebrated the transfer of a tipi from the people of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. Two years ago, a tipi was raised as part of a cultural appreciation day, and the school and the Highwood High School Parent Council made a commitment to purchasing a tipi to use as part of the school’s learning environment. The school’s new tipi—which the parent council helped sponsor—was transferred in ceremony, with Highwood making an oral commitment to caring for the tipi and knowing its oral protocol. The tipi will be up until snow is on the ground, and will be put back up again in the spring. The event included a smudging ceremony, a prayer and pipe ceremony, and a brief ceremony with select guests inside the tipi. Highwood High students also participated in a Friendship Round Dance around the tipi. “I am sure [educators] will bring that back to the classroom and share and explain what took place in the tipi,” said Councillor for Eden Valley Keith Lefthand. “This is a special day for us to pray back on the land of the Stoney Nakoda territories.”
Indigenous Top Ten News
