Additional Information
There is no set path for becoming an elder. There is no school to go to,
no degree or course you can take. But the education for becoming an elder
can begin at a very young age.
"It's very intuitive," says Perry Roberts. He is a member of the Cree Nation.
"It's a person who would probably come back and ask, ask for more knowledge
about their people. Then the elder would start telling them more and more
and more. Finally he would be to a point where he would become the historian
or storyteller."
"Age has some things to do with elders, but many times, age is not the
main criteria," says Joseph Dupris. He is a Lakota Indian.
"Just because you're older doesn't mean that you're smarter than anybody
else or have much wisdom. It's whether or not you have some experience to
go along with it."
Elders can also be chosen by the tribe or community, Roberts says.
"They would ask one of the elders to be the historian or the storyteller.
To remember, that would be his job: to remember the stories and to pass them
on when he finds a suitable person to pass them on to."