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    It is our aim to make Aboriginal and Western Canadian more available to
    a wider public. Unfortunately, due to the costs of research and development,
    it still means that we have to pay for the costs somehow, especially now
    that the Government of Alberta has undercut our efforts. To help us make 
    more of this information available to the public, we are implementing a 
    program of answering questions of interest and placing them in the Public 
    Domain, and of accepting sponsorship for posting and maintaining information 
    of special interest to our readers and researchers.

    We will be pleased to send you replies to your inquiries and questions,
    of to forward to you information from our files for the price of a
    donation to cover the costs of staffing our site and retreiving the
    data for you. Replies can be sent to you confidentially by e-mail at 
    your request, or will be posted on an FAQ page.

    NOTE

    For those of you not familiar with Aboriginal society, it is a normal
    sign of respect when visiting or asking questions of an Elder, teacher,
    spiritual leader or respected person to bring a gift. Normally this is 
    in the form of tobacco. Today it is normally a package of cigarettes 
    that are offered. This is as a sign of respect for the Elder, and as an 
    acknowlegement that the questioner is serious. The tobacco is then 
    consecrated by the Elder to the Great Spirit and is used in a Holy 
    Manner to offer prayers to the Great Spirit. Smoke from tobacco is said 
    to be a message to the Great Spirit conveying respect and thank you, and
    the tobacco is offered by the Elder to the Great Spirit. The accepting 
    of tobacco by an Elder is often followed with a ritual question: "What 
    do you want to know?" Elders tend to think it a gross display of poor 
    manners and ignorance if this is not done, and will often refuse to 
    respond. If the learning and questions are not enough value to you to 
    show minimal respect and manners, it is not worth answering.
                    
    Because questions and learning in today's society are no longer 
    necessarily face-to-face, sending of tobacco can be somewhat cumbersome.
    Like in many things, the tobacco has been substituted by money of similar
    value, along with a statement requesting that the offering be accepted 
    in lieu of tobacco. The Elder then uses the money to purchase the tobacco
    for the offering. The justification here is (rightly or wrongly) that it
    is the intent and action that are the key ingredient, not the tobacco 
    itself.

    Send your questions to: Heritage Consulting





    Your donations are made through PayPal to insure security and proper
    accounting and recordkeeping.

    We can also send you more complex and involved information from our
    files at our standard rates or provide more
    extensive data on request.


    
SPONSORSHIP AND DONATIONS

    We have in the past approached the Governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan
    and Canada for sponsorship to develop this site and being more of this
    information to the public. We have also approached the Hudson's Bay
    Company and the major Oil Companies. We have also approached the National
    Museum of Canada, the Provincial Museum of Alberta and the Glenbow Museum,
    the Smithsonian and the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre. We have also
    approached the Universities of Alberta and Calgary, and the Saskatchewan
    Indian Cultural Centre. Quite obviously, promoting Indian history is not
    of any interest to any of these organizations. In fact, it would be fair
    to say that the main interest in Western Canadian Aboriginal history is
    not in Western Canada or among the aboriginal population, but in the
    United States and Europe, among descendants of some of the families 
    associated with the west and - interestingly enough - the Lakota Sioux.

    So, to help continue building our site, we have to turn to sponsorship
    to our average reader and user - you. With your sponsorship and support 
    we can put more information on Internet for the Public Domain, such as 
    placing a "This Day In the Canadian West" file or family history files. 
    Sponsors names can be posted with information and sections they have 
    sponsored.

    Send your requests to: Heritage Consulting





    Your donations are made through PayPal to insure security and proper
    accounting and recordkeeping.

        How to get more detailed information




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