Stoney Nakoda Nations elders, knowledge keepers share traditional ways to respect bears

Many hikers in southern Alberta head to the trails in the spring equipped with bear spray, singing or saying hey bear, whoa bear, to warn the animal they're around the corner. 

Elders and knowledge keepers from Stoney Nakoda Nations have their own approach, and lessons to share, when it comes to coexisting.

Over the weekend, a panel of speakers shared traditional knowledge passed down for generations and explained to a Canmore, Alta., audience just how important it is to respect bears in their habitat as human and animal conflicts continue to be an issue in the Bow Valley. 

The increasing conflicts are a worry for Elder Jackson Wesley. Bears, he says, are being squeezed out of their territory. 

Because of human encroachment on the landscape there's not enough room for the bears to forage and hunt, so they go into towns and eat garbage.

"I don't know what's gonna happen to my great, great grandkids," Wesley said.  "So let's work together and make it better."

Stoney people believe that they have a role as land stewards to protect the Bow Valley's mountains and landscapes. They also share a deep connection to bears, who they see as siblings or grandparents. 

Elder Henry Holloway said bears are the ears of Mother Earth and protectors of nature. Their territory is where they scavenge for food and raise their cubs. 

Bears become familiar with the land, Holloway said — and bears are always listening. 

"The bears know more about us than we know about them," Holloway said. "Whenever you talk about a bear, wherever you are, they'll hear you, they'll know you."  That's why, knowledge keeper Barry Wesley said, elders warned him never to say bad things about bears, or make fun of them.

Because, he said, when they come out of the den in the spring, they have spent the winter listening, ear to the ground, and will recognize you. 

Before a hike, Barry Wesley always pauses for ceremony. He said he offers tobacco to the mountain and all the creatures that live on the landscape and also warns bears he will be moving through.

Knowledge keeper Ollie Benjamin said there are places in the Bow Valley that Stoney people are taught to avoid.

In one case this winter, a denning bear woke up a month early. Benjamin believes that traditional knowledge could help people understand, and coexist, with bears better.