She never claimed elder status until recently, before that she said she told everyone to call her ‘the old lady.’
And that’s what the youth called her. ‘Hey, old lady’! They would call out to her if they saw her out and about.
Bobbie Koll laughed as she said it, getting a huge kick out of the recollection.
"I didn't feel like I had earned the title of elder until now," Mrs. Koll explained.
But ask anyone else that knows her and they'll tell you she had earned the title of respect a long time ago.
Now she does claim elder status as she’s retired from her work and spends her time volunteering in the community, including at the Native Friendship Centre.
“I’ve taught four generations how to make dream catchers here,” Mrs. Koll said with a smile on her face. “It’s just wild to think about. Now it’s Christmas and I am working with the elders and we’re making ornaments.”
Mrs. Koll said she enjoys her time here and creating culturally-focused crafts is something she loves to do and teach others to do as well.
Elsewhere Mrs. Koll is part of the cultural program at the Prince George Regional Correction Centre and she’s teaching people there how to create cultural crafts.
“So we’ve made neck pouches, chokers, dream catchers and right now we’re doing Christmas presents so they are making three beaded eagle keychains and they select a card and then those gifts will be mailed out to their loved ones. It’s something different for them for Christmas.”
Mrs. Koll does a session for men and women at the correction centre.
“It’s Christmas and this way they can connect with their families in a normal way,” Mrs. Koll explained.
And her most recent volunteer work?
“Right here at the Native Friendship Centre – it’s Christmas and I love doing it,” Mrs. Koll said.
“When you start working here and volunteering here you become family,” Mrs. Koll said. “That’s what the Native Friendship Centre does, it builds connections and that’s what Kookums’ Konnection does, too.”
And that's the group she was helping recently by teaching them how to create ornaments that featured a beaded piece of leather going on top of a round hanging ornament with tinsel in it. The ornaments would soon be donated to those in need of a little cheer this Christmas.
Kookum means grandmother and the role of these volunteers falls into a traditional grandmother’s role where she will play with the little ones (in the early childhood education department at the Native Friendship Centre), guide in tradition the young ones who need grounding (in the youth groups), assist with food security (at the food bank) because there’s nothing worse than an empty belly and then there’s even some craft creating of items that are gifted to those in need. It’s all part of the volunteering effort to lift up the community in need of assistance, teachings and guidance.
“The Native Friendship Centre gives you family connections and you get concerned about the people here,” Mrs. Koll said. “Because that’s what the Native Friendship Centre does, it’s not just a place to come, it’s a place to develop.”
