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Traditional Paths Society – Frances Rogers

Traditional Paths Society is a grassroots, non-profit organization that encourages the traditional and creative expression of First Peoples culture in the community. They have pipe ceremonies and solstice ceremonies, and they offer a number of activities, including traditional dance, men’s drumming group, a women’s group, and other activities on a monthly and seasonal basis. It […]

Traditional Paths Society is a grassroots, non-profit organization that encourages the traditional and creative expression of First Peoples culture in the community.
They have pipe ceremonies and solstice ceremonies, and they offer a number of activities, including traditional dance, men’s drumming group, a women’s group, and other activities on a monthly and seasonal basis. It is a wholly volunteer organization and intentionally works without a mandate so that the Society is not tied to outside funding, keeping the organization at a grassroots level and driven from within.

Fran Rogers talks about how important language is and how she took a Cree language course in a western educational institution. She describes how she did not learn how to speak Cree in that western-taught course because “those key elements of experience, living with people who speak Cree – engaging – touch, taste, feel – was missing.” The Traditional Paths Society then hired an instructor to teach a 12-week introductory conversational course that is grounded in the Cree sound system, which was more impactful and meaningful for the learners.