Marlene Brant Castellano, Trent University professor emeritus and former co-chair of research for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, gave the keynote address Feb. 6 at the opening ceremony of the annual Elders Gathering. She spoke to the theme, Bridging the Gap Between Elders and Youth. This is an excerpt.

Knowing our histories is not a luxury. It is essential to our well-being, not so that we can do things the way our grandparents or their grandparents did, but so that we can choose how to apply the knowledge of our heritage to our lives today . . . .
      Why do First Nations people continue to attach so much hope to what formal education will do, when schooling in mainstream institutions has failed so often to deliver what it promises? I think that it may be because in spite of all the disruptions of their culture First Nations people still have a deep-rooted understanding that knowledge is a gift from the Creator to help us live and live well; that learning is a necessity if we are to fulfill our responsibilities as human beings; that passing on knowledge refined over a lifetime is one of the most sacred things we can do and it must be done with care . . . .
      Who are the teachers who can inspire our young people to see the world, and knowledge and their own selves as wonderful, holistic mysteries to be discovered through lifelong study?
      Some of the elders who taught us are still with us and we are grateful that they come to meet with us rather than staying at home warming themselves by the fire.
      There are apprentices who are devoting the major portion of the time and energy to training as healers and teachers. Jake Thomas, Ernie Benedict, Art Solomon, Fred Wheatley who have been leading lights in the work here at Trent, who were always on call to help where they were needed, always had a day job to support their families. I believe that aboriginal communities and organizations who depend on elders for leadership need to recognize that studying and teaching culture is a full-time vocation for some gifted persons. If we want to have a next generation of elders and teachers here when we need them, we should be providing scholarships and stipends as well as tobacco as a sign of respect.
      We are making connections with aboriginal people around the world, people who have lived close to the land and whose knowledge complements and expands our own. Mary Simon, Canadian ambassador to the Arctic Council and chancellor of Trent University, has been a leader in making connections with northern aboriginal peoples.
      There are gifted teachers in all cultures who touch the spirits of their students and open doors on the world. I cannot imagine that I would have survived through all my years in mainstream educational institutions without the extraordinary teachers who nurtured and encouraged me.
      Until now, aboriginal spiritual teachers have for the most part maintained a cautious distance from the Christian church. I have heard some elders say they see no inherent conflict between aboriginal spirituality and Christian faith but there is so much healing from the past to be done that it would be confusing to try to mix the two. I think that our cultural understanding is no longer so fragile that we have to avoid dialogue with other beliefs. I tell my nephews and nieces who are finding their way back to traditional Iroquois teachings: "Follow the path that deepens your faith in who you are and the care of the Creator but don't cut yourself off from your Anglican grandmother. She has a lot to teach you also."
      There are people of my generation who have studied to learn but not nearly enough to be called elders. Still we have some practice in trying out how the knowledge we have received works in practice in today's world and that is tremendously important in the process of passing knowledge from generation to generation.
      Jake Thomas spoke at length to the royal commission, talking about Iroquoian culture and the great law of peace. One of the things he said was: "That peace is supposed to work. It's the power of the words of the Creator who gave them, the power of unity and a good mind." Young people need to be able to see the wisdom of our cultures working powerfully to make life good. If they can't see cultural knowledge working in everyday life, how can they trust it?
      I heard Art Solomon say one time that the sacred fire of the Anishinabe almost went out and that people like himself were sifting through the ashes to find the live embers and fan them into flame again. Sacred fires of First Nations knowledge have been rekindled in many places across Canada and people of different nations are being drawn to these fires as the ancient prophecies said they would.
      For the past 25 years -- a whole generation -- we have been in recovery, reclaiming our histories and relearning our spiritual traditions. We have made some gains in bringing aboriginal culture and language into elementary schools and a few high schools. But professional training and political forums and the places where we earn our living are still mostly untouched by cultural and spiritual renewal. They are dominated by the rules and behavior of secular, non-aboriginal mainstream culture that says in not so subtle language: "Aboriginal culture has nothing of value to contribute."
      I believe that is the challenge of this generation of adults -- bringing the fire of cultural renewal out of the longhouse and the lodge and into the arenas where political and economic decisions are made. When that happens the problem of bridging the gap between elders and youth will be solved. Young people will seek out their elders, they will come knocking urgently on the door of the longhouse, saying, "I need the power of a good mind, a spiritual mind."