The role of Elders & Knowledge Keepers
Rachel Chong
Given the importance of oral communication within Indigenous Communities, you may wish to speak with an Elder or Knowledge Keeper as a source in addition to print sources. Elders and Knowledge Keepers are highly regarded sources of information within their communities.
Elders or Knowledge Keepers/Traditional Knowledge Keepers are often synonymous. Some prefer the term Traditional Knowledge Keeper as Elder can be confused with religious groups (such as Mennonite Elders) or even elderly people. While Elders and Knowledge Keepers are typically older in years, age is not the defining feature of who is an Elder or Traditional Knowledge Keeper (Wicihitowin Conference Committee, 2017).
Elders in Residence
Today, many post-secondary institutions have an Elder in Residence employed by the university. These Elders and Traditional teachers can typically be met through your campus Indigenous Student Center. Some universities may have multiple Elders that are available at varied times throughout the week either in person or virtually while others may have one Elder or occasional visiting Elders. At some institutions this service will be open to anyone at the university at others the service will be restricted to Indigenous students and faculty.
If your university does not have an Elder in Residence program local friendship centers and public libraries may also offer a similar service. There are also virtual Elder services, which will be discussed later in this chapter.
