The Importance of Having Guest Speakers

Guest speakers add integrity to Indigenous content. By having a guest speaker the teacher encourages students to listen and acknowledge perspectives other than their own.

Our Indigenous speaker was Adrian Wolfleg, he spoke to the Grade 8 and Grade 7 class about his life experiences Indigenious storyteller. The students really connected to his experiences as a storyteller and were able to ask a professional storyteller a variety of questions in order to give them insight into his life and how they can better their own storytelling.

Potential questions to ask a guest speaker:

Be sure to give your guest speaker a specific topic to speak on as this will shape the questions asked.

Why do you feel we should tell Indigenous stories in schools?

What does it mean to you that young people want to tell Indigenous stories?

Can you share your most memorable storytelling experience?

How have you shared Indigenous stories as an actor?

How does being Indigenous, shape who you are as a storyteller?

In your opinion what is the best way to use/ integrate Indigenous content in our drama classroom?

Important considerations

When having an Elder in the classroom, protocol is a major focus of having visits occur in a respectful and positive way.

Make sure to:

-Start with a land acknowledgment

-Extend the invitation with tobacco as an offering.

In treaty 7, sacred tobacco is considered an appropriate offering but check with the specific knowledge keeper you want to invite to make sure that this offering is appropriate to them. If an Elder accepts the tobacco it means they are willing to speak.

-Provide the Elder payment for services received.

At times this will be provided by the administration or an outside service but honorariums are important to facilitate relationships.

-Give autonomy to the students, the Elder's goal is to transmit knowledge not to the teacher but directly to the students.

If you as the teacher want guidance ask for a private session.

Avenues to explore if you want to bring an Elder into your classroom:

  1. School district liaison staff.

  2. Local First Nations schools.

  3. Band offices

  4. Friendship centres

  5. MĂ©tis locals

  6. Use Public Libraries.

We used the Calgary public Libraries Elder Guidance Circle.

To do this follow the link and the following steps.

https://calgarylibrary.ca/connect/indigenous-services/elders-guidance-circle/

  1. Request a meeting.

  2. Make sure to have a planned around what you want to discuss.

  3. Pick a specific date and time.

The following Resources can be used to research more information on Elder visits.

Stepping Stones (2021). Elder Protocol. Alberta Walking Together. https://www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/ATA/For%20Members/ProfessionalDevelopment/Walking%20Together/PD-WT-16g%20-%20Elder%20Protocol.pdf


Council on Aboriginal Iniatives (2012). Elder Protocol and Guidelines. University of Alberta

https://www.ualberta.ca/public-health/media-library/elder-protocol.pdf


Government of Alberta. Welcoming Elders. Walking Together First Nations, Metis and Inuit perspectives on curriculum.

https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/aswt/elders/documents/welcoming_elders.pdf