The sun shone and the breeze blew off the canal in the heart of Bobcaygeon on Saturday, June 17th. It was the perfect day to gather and celebrate the strawberry in a good way – together.
Chief Keith Knott from neighbouring Curve Lake First Nation and Mayor Doug Elmslie both shared their words of welcome, gratitude, and a hope of working together in places such as the land across from the gathering – what was called a Mishkodeh by Elder Doug Williams.
CLFN Anishinaabekwe and Knowledge Keeper, Brittany Taylor, spoke about smudging and offered her kind heart in sharing this important practice with all of us.
Anne Taylor, Community Anishinaabemowin Coordinator for CLFN, shared a beautiful story about the strawberry for us all to learn from. Everyone, including the young ones in the circle, listened closely.
Peter Kingsbury spoke about his decision to support the Mishkodeh initiative by donating money he received from the sale of his family cottage. He feels it is our responsibility to give back from the proceeds from land that should never have been owned by us in the first place.
Mississauga Ojibwe Elder, Dorothy Taylor, got us all up to teach us how to do a round dance with the help of her beautiful voice and the beat of her, Brittany, and Madeleine’s drums.
After a lot of listening and learning and the hot sun beating down on us, it was time for some tacos on Ojibway-style frybread created by Pow Wow Bus and strawberries and ice cream.
MCIK (Mishkodeh Centre for Indigenous Knowledge) is grateful to Chief Knott, Brittany, Anne, and Dorothy for joining us and helping share the vision of what is possible to happen on the land across the road from our gathering. Thank you to Mayor Elmslie for your support. Miigwetch to TRC-Bobcaygeon for all of your help in making this beautiful day happen. Thank you to Wally Koekebakker for his technical persistence and Bob Root for powering the sound system with his SUV.
And a huge thank you to everyone who joined us in circle on June 17th. We hope both your hearts and your bellies were full and you left with something learned and something more to think about.