Explore the Importance of Tradition

Ariane Xay Kuyaas (Yaghujaanaas clan, Haida) demonstrates weaving techniques that were passed down to her. ( Photo; Canadian Museum of History)

What traditions do your family or community take part in? Who taught you these traditions? And why are they important to you? Traditions are vital to many cultures. Among some Indigenous communities, traditions are passed from one generation to the next through community and family members. For example, learning how to weave may be passed down from a great-grandparent, to a grandparent, to a parent, to a child. Each part of the process is important. For example, sourcing and gathering materials to weave conveys specific knowledge about the land, plants and animals. Weavers share stories while they work, and these can include lessons or other cultural information. Even the movement of a person’s hands — or the patterns, images and colours woven into the finished object (e.g., a basket, hat…

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