Winter Storytelling - Selis Elder Shirley Trahan

About the Event

For nearly two decades, Winter Storytelling at Travelers’ Rest has been a seasonal celebration of the Séliš tradition of sharing stories during the cold winter months.

we will gather at the Travelers’ Rest State Park Visitor Center – and on Zoom – at 11 am to hear stories from elders, authors, historians, and naturalists.

Admission to Winter Storytelling is $5 per person; free for members of Travelers’ Rest Connection. A Zoom link is provided below; we hope all of our Zoom attendees will join the Connection or make a donation using the Donate button at the top of this page. Thank you!

Join on Zoom

Schedule

-Séliš Elder Shirley Trahan

Shirley Trahan is the senior translator and language adviser for the Séliš-QỈispé Culture Committee. She is one of the few first-language Séliš speakers left on the Flathead Indian Reservation. In a recent article for Native News, a special project by the University of Montana School of Journalism, Trahan recalled her school days, “All of the teachers were white and punished students for speaking Séliš. ‘That’s one of the reasons why our language started to fade away,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t allowed.’” Shirley has worked diligently with the Culture Committee to preserve and revitalize her language and culture for future generations.

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