Oral Histories and Knowledge Transmission in Alberta: The Power and Limits of the Spoken Word
History, as we often encounter it, is a written discipline. Documents and records provide us with a tangible sense of the past, something we can hold in our hands and point to as evidence. Yet the story of Alberta — particularly its pre-contact history — comes to us not through books or scrolls but through oral histories: a vast and intricate web of stories, teachings, and traditions passed down from generation to generation. For Alberta’s Indigenous peoples, the spoken word was — and remains — far more than a simple means of communication; it was a repository of history, law, identity, and wisdom. These stories are a bridge connecting the ancient past to the present, a collective memory that, when shared, breathes life into traditions that might otherwise have been lost. At the same time, however, the reliance on oral histories has posed challenges for modern historians, particularly in reconstructing pre-contact history, leaving room for debate about its strengths and limitations as a source of knowledge.
For millennia, Indigenous nations across Alberta — from the Blackfoot Confederacy in the southern plains to the Dene in the northern boreal forests — relied on oral traditions to preserve their history and cultural teachings. These stories were more than simple retellings of events; they were carefully constructed narratives that carried moral, spiritual, and practical lessons. As historian Winona Wheeler explains in her essay, “Oral History and Indigenous Peoples,” oral histories served as a “living library” through which generations could access knowledge about their origins, relationships with the land, and responsibilities to their communities. “Oral history,” Wheeler writes, “is not passive. It requires the listener to engage, remember, and carry forward the story for those yet to come.”
In Alberta’s plains, oral traditions were often tied to the seasonal rhythms of life. During the winter months, when hunting slowed and families gathered in sheltered camps, elders would tell stories that recounted the origins of their people, the movements of the bison herds, and the events that shaped their societies. For the Blackfoot Confederacy, such stories spoke of Napi, the trickster and creator figure, whose actions shaped the land and its people. These tales were not mere myths; they were ways of understanding the world, passed down to instill values, reinforce cultural identity, and preserve a connection to the land. Similarly, among the Dene and Cree of northern Alberta, oral traditions told of ancient migrations, survival strategies, and relationships with animals like caribou and moose. These stories became a practical guide for living in some of the most challenging environments on Earth.
The strength of oral history lies in its fluidity and adaptability. Unlike written texts, which are fixed and immutable, oral stories are alive. They evolve as they are told, shaped by the storyteller and the audience. This flexibility allowed Indigenous peoples to adjust their histories to new realities, ensuring that the lessons within them remained relevant. Yet it is also this adaptability that has caused tension between oral traditions and the demands of modern historiography. Historians trained to seek out fixed, verifiable sources have sometimes viewed oral histories with skepticism, questioning their reliability and accuracy.
Jack Brink, in “Imagining Head-Smashed-In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains,” addresses this tension directly, noting that “the Western historical tradition, rooted in the written word, has long struggled to reconcile itself with the oral histories of Indigenous peoples.” Critics argue that oral histories, because they rely on memory, are vulnerable to distortion over time. A story told and retold across generations may change subtly, with details altered or forgotten. Events might be mythologized, shifting from historical accounts into symbolic tales. This malleability, some contend, makes oral histories less precise than written records.
Indeed, these challenges are undeniable. Oral traditions often lack the chronological precision that historians value, making it difficult to place events within a specific timeline. Stories may focus more on the moral or spiritual meaning of an event than on its factual details, prioritizing cultural truth over historical accuracy. For example, stories about the origins of sacred sites, such as Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, often emphasize the spiritual significance of the place rather than its geological formation or archaeological history. As historian Keith Thor Carlson writes in “The Power of Oral Tradition in Reclaiming Indigenous Histories,” this reflects a fundamental difference in worldview: “Western history values what can be proven; Indigenous history values what can be learned.”
Yet to dismiss oral histories as unreliable is to misunderstand their purpose and significance. They are not meant to serve as neutral, factual accounts but as living expressions of cultural identity, morality, and relationship to the land. Oral histories preserve knowledge that would otherwise be lost — details about seasonal movements, hunting practices, and environmental stewardship that do not exist in written records. For example, Blackfoot oral traditions contain detailed accounts of buffalo hunting strategies and the use of sites like Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump long before archaeologists unearthed evidence of their use. This demonstrates that oral histories can serve as powerful complements to archaeological and scientific research, filling in the gaps left by other sources.
Furthermore, oral traditions emphasize the role of the storyteller as a custodian of knowledge. Elders are revered as keepers of history, entrusted with passing on stories in ways that preserve their integrity. This process is deliberate and sacred, with listeners trained to remember and retell the stories faithfully. As scholar Julie Cruikshank explains in “The Social Life of Stories,” “Oral histories are not casual conversations; they are performances, carefully structured to ensure that meaning and memory endure.”
In Alberta, oral histories remain vital to understanding the province’s Indigenous past. They provide insights into how the land was used and understood, offering perspectives that are often missing from colonial accounts. For instance, Dene and Cree oral histories describe the boreal forest as a place of abundance, where animals and plants provided all that was needed to survive. These stories challenge Western depictions of the forest as a hostile or unproductive environment, demonstrating a knowledge of the land that was deeply rooted in observation and experience.
The significance of oral history extends into the present. For Indigenous communities in Alberta, these traditions are not relics of the past but living sources of identity and resilience. They connect modern generations to their ancestors, reinforcing cultural continuity in the face of colonial disruption. As elder and historian Maria Campbell notes in “Halfbreed,” “The stories we carry are more than our history; they are our strength, our way of knowing who we are.”
For modern historians, the challenge lies in balancing the limitations of oral history with its profound value. While it may lack the rigidity of written records, oral tradition offers something that paper cannot: a connection to the voices and experiences of the past as they were lived and remembered. It demands that we rethink what counts as history, acknowledging that memory, meaning, and storytelling are as essential to understanding the past as documents or artifacts.
In the end, the oral histories of Alberta’s Indigenous peoples are more than just stories. They are acts of survival, resistance, and remembrance. They remind us that history is not merely a matter of facts and dates but of meaning and connection. These stories, passed from elder to child over generations, are the heartbeat of Alberta’s Indigenous nations — a rhythm that continues to echo across the land they have called home for thousands of years.
References:
- Brink, Jack. Imagining Head-Smashed-In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains. Athabasca University Press, 2008.
- Wheeler, Winona. “Oral History and Indigenous Peoples.” Indigenous Research Methodologies, University of Manitoba Press, 2010.
- Carlson, Keith Thor. The Power of Oral Tradition in Reclaiming Indigenous Histories. University of British Columbia Press, 2015.
- Cruikshank, Julie. The Social Life of Stories: Narrative and Knowledge in the Yukon Territory. University of Nebraska Press, 1998.
- Turner, Nancy J. The Earth’s Blanket: Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living. Douglas & McIntyre, 2005.
- Campbell, Maria. Halfbreed. McClelland & Stewart, 1973.
- Reeves, Brian. “The Role of Oral Traditions in Prehistoric Archaeology.” Canadian Journal of Archaeology, vol. 14, 1990, pp. 45–60.