Image
Image Caption
Summary
By Shari Narine
Windspeaker Contributor
EDMONTON
Tanya Ball is excited about the upcoming Writing Stick Conference, a response by the University of Alberta Press to the calls to action outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
“The goal is more to open up a conversation, really,” said Ball. “More of a starting point to foster conversations on publishing and editing of Indigenous stories and working with Indigenous writers on how to approach sensitive material.”
Ball is a Métis woman from St. Ambrose, Man., who has an internship with University of Alberta Press through a new program established by UAlberta to encourage Indigenous students to apply for library school.
Approaching editing and publishing from an Indigenous perspective means being aware of Indigenous protocol and sensitivity, she said.
“Publishing is a field where words can get skewed a lot. And depending on what the story is – it could be a cultural or a travel narrative or something like that - it’s just to be more culturally aware and appropriate of how these resources are approached and to use the appropriate cultural protocols.”
Ball is a recent graduate from masters of library information studies and employed with the Edmonton Public Library.
The conference, which takes place from June 8 to June 10, includes some well-known guest speakers. Marie Wilson, former commissioner with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is the opening keynote speaker. Other speakers include Armand Garnett Ruffo, who is in the publishing field; Richard Van Camp, who will offer traditional stories; and Patti Laboucane-Benson, who will talk about the intergenerational impacts of the residential school experience.
“Those four names alone, I think it’s going to be really rewarding,” said Ball.
But the conference goes beyond guest speakers and presentations.
“With things like this you need to be grounded in ceremony and it needs to start off on the right foot,” said Ball.
Organizers have been working with Danielle Powder, Indigenous advisor for Edmonton Public Library, and Wilson Bearhead, Elder-in-Residence for EPL, to incorporate ceremonial elements throughout the entire program.
There will be feasts with traditional foods, such as bannock, berries and stew, as well as prayers and smudging ceremonies.
Ball is expecting about 200 people to come out, including people from rural Indigenous communities, as funding was received to provide transportation. But she says it is important that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people attend.
She is hopeful that open conversations will lead to relationship building.
“The intention here is to work together and approach things in a more harmonious way,” she said.
Ideally, Ball would like to see best practises for interaction established, but she believes that, realistically, a three-day conference won’t provide enough time.
There will be follow-up, she says, although what form it will take has not yet been determined.
The conference is a partnership between the Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts, Alberta Magazine Publishers Association, Book Publishers Association of Alberta, City of Edmonton, Edmonton Public Library, Theytus Books (an Indigenous-owned and operated publisher of Indigenous voices), UAlberta North, the University of Alberta Press, and the Writers’ Guild of Alberta.
The conference takes place at Lister Hall at UAlberta.