Alvin Baptiste sits inside a traditional tipi on the grounds of Fort Battleford National Historic Site on Friday, June 20, 2025.  (Kenneth Cheung/ battlefordsNOW staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

‘We’re all connected in a web of life’: Tipi teachings offer life lessons at Fort Battleford

Jun 21, 2025 | 6:00 AM

On the prairies, a tipi isn’t just shelter — it’s a guide for how to live.

Inside a traditional tipi on the grounds of Fort Battleford National Historic Site on Friday, Alvin Baptiste of Red Pheasant Cree Nation sat surrounded by animal hides, cultural symbols and 13 tall poles reaching up to the sky. Each pole, he explained, holds a lesson.

“Tipi teachings are life values, teaching our children how to live life on Earth, how to be a good human being,” he said.

The structure of the tipi reflects those values. The first three poles — the tripod — represent the Creator, man and woman. Others represent child rearing, strength, respect, cleansing, love and more.

“These teachings… each pole represents a meaning, and there’s one there that’s obedience, elicit respect… to be humble, to be loving, also to be cleansed… this is through smudging… strength, where we get our strength through our ceremonies,” he said.

hungry residents

Free steak supper lures hundreds to downtown urban reserve

10m ago

FAQ

Sea-Doo Switch: Blending performance and cutting edge technology

3h ago

BUSTED

RCMP seize cocaine, meth and tobacco in Lloydminster drug bust

4h ago

Inside the tipi on the grounds of Fort Battleford National Historical Site on Friday, June 20, 2025. (Kenneth Cheung/ battlefordsNOW staff)

One of the tipi poles stands for sharing — a teaching Baptiste said was not only about hospitality, but also about history.

“This concept of sharing was…when they signed those treaties, this is what they wanted to do, they wanted to share this land, this land with the newcomers coming in,” he said.

“To understand about our treaties, and it was to share. We share.”

He said the spirit of welcoming others was reflected in daily life — where visitors were honoured.

“If you go and visit a relative or a friend or anybody on the reserve, and you knock on the door… they’ll welcome you in. And then after that, they’ll have you sit down and they thank you for coming. And also the woman will start preparing food for you… they appreciate you.”

Alvin Baptiste of Red Pheasant Cree Nation. (Kenneth Cheung/ battlefordsNOW staff)

As part of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, Fort Battleford invited Baptiste to speak to local students and members of the public, sharing what he’s learned from his elders inside the tipi.

“What I have learned throughout my life…to carry these teachings on to the next generation of youths to share this, to hand this down, to the next ones. We’re all coming to understand about the meaning of life,’” he said.

Baptiste also spoke about balance — emotional, spiritual, mental and physical — and how unhealed emotions can affect the body.

“Your emotions can turn on you, and it disrupts your way of thinking… it takes a toll on your physical body, where your body starts to break down, because you have not released what you’re keeping inside you.”

That connection between body, land and spirit is central to the teachings.

“All things on earth have a spirit. Everything there from the plant nation to the animal nation, and so even the elements all have spirit. We’re all connected in a web of life,” he said.

He spoke of animals like the eagle, the bear and the buffalo, which hold deep spiritual significance. The eagle, he said, is a messenger to the Creator.

“Eagles represent strength, and not only that, but also protection… it’s a blessing to see an eagle fly around your camp.”

Baptise shared teachings about the spiritual significance of animals. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW)

As the event wrapped up, Baptiste reflected on what it means to teach these lessons today — and the importance of being heard.

“To make our brothers and sisters that are non-Indigenous to understand who we are… we are human beings also. We are not barbaric and savages that they painted us out to be… we were never like that.”

“We were connected to Mother Earth. We have a relationship with mother earth, and we’ll continue to have that relationship,” he said.

“It’s very important to understand who we are as First Nations peoples. Our history was swept under a rug, that we never existed on this land. They wanted to annihilate us, kill us off, and through the survival of my ancestors, is why I’m here today.”

To learn more about National Indigenous History Month, click here.

—

Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com