Children Treated to Outdoor Session of Indigenous Storytelling

Posted on Friday, September 17th, 2021

A rapt audience of children from the Early Learning Centre were treated to Indigenous storytelling Thursday as Ron Deganadus McLester, Vice President of Truth, Reconciliation and Indigenization, shared with them the genius of First Nations nature tales.

The event, held in the Ishkodewan Courtyard on a perfect fall day, was a child-centred prelude to the events that will mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at Algonquin College on September 30. The new federal statutory holiday is intended to recognize and commemorate the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools, and honour their survivors, families and communities.

The children were presented with tiny orange shirts when they arrived at the storytelling session. September 30 is also Orange Shirt Day, which similarly honours residential school survivors and is intended to promote ways to combat racism and bullying.

But those discussions will take place among youth and adults on another day. Here, in the long shadows of the Gathering Circle, there were only animal stories for the children. McLester related the stories of “How the Bear Lost His Tail” and “How the Chipmunk Lost His Stripes,” just two of countless stories that have been shared with Indigenous children for generations, and which were clearly just as entrancing to McLester’s pint-sized audience on this day.

Photo: Ron McLester acts out the story of how the bear lost his tail to the delight of his audience.


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