Old ways and new ways: Indigenous storytellers share traditional teachings in Sask.

When she was a child, storytelling taught Harmony Johnson-Harder how to behave, how to sit still, and how to listen. 

She comes from a long line of storytellers and now shares the art she learned from her grandmother and father with her own children and others.

“I've always just been so fascinated listening to my lineage and where I come from,” she said. “I want to be able to carry her stories forward and share them with not only my children, but hopefully my children will share them with their grandchildren.”

Johnson-Harder is among the Saskatchewan storytellers sharing and celebrating their art during Indigenous Storytelling Month, an important time for many to ensure that traditional stories continue to thrive.

Jessica Generoux, project coordinator for Library Services for Saskatchewan Aboriginal Peoples, said she’s honored to be working alongside the many dedicated people who ensure the event's success every year.

“There's librarians, there's librarian assistants, there's knowledge keepers, storytellers,” she said. “Just seeing it from the behind the scenes of how much activity is going on in preparation for the month of February. Hundreds of people, and the passion each and every one of them have for Indigenous Storytelling Month, and I just feel completely honored and humbled.”

Indigenous Storytelling Month started with a group of librarians dedicated to preserving their traditional stories. 

“When we look back on the past 23 years with this storytelling project, that was the seed that was planted and now we’re seeing it blossom across Saskatchewan,” Generoux said.

As the event has grown over the years, many stories have been shared, and each time it's been a healing moment for listeners and for the storytellers, she said. 

“I'm seeing that there's a tremendous amount of healing energy that is coming from our young emerging storytellers that are also needed in our community,” she said. “We're seeing the need emerging and it's just intergenerational healing is what I call it.”

Johnson-Harder said she remembers her grandmother as “a phenomenal storyteller. 

“She taught me so much about who I am, and about our culture. She told me all of those old stories, the stories of Cheechabishtiga and Wîsahkêcâhk and the Wihtikow and the little people, and her own stories of growing up and her life stories.”

Chahkabesh (sometimes called Cheechabishtiga) is a culture hero in traditional Cree and Anishinaabe stories. People often portray him as a powerful but tricky boy or a "little person."

Wîsahkêcâhk is often seen as a bit of a trickster, a hero, or a special helper to the Creator. He's curious, always hungry, and prone to messing things up. Lots of tales say that his actions are actually what made the world the way it is now.