In this session, Cree Knowledge Keeper Marilyn Dykstra invites visitors who have completed the two years of Full Moon teachings to rejoin again to continue their commitment.

As the first spring arrives, so does the spring equinox. Cree communities recognize this moment as a powerful time of balance and returning life. The land will begin to waken soon and the days and nights stand in equal measure, but the ice remains for a bit. As the light circles back around, it strengthens our personal fires to be compassionate with each other because the ground is still frozen and we are still living in tight quarters.

The equinox’s spiritual doorway also helps us to cleanse our hearts as it will be another moon before we open our doors. Soon Mother Earth’s blood will thaw in the rivers and lakes and we will begin to prepare for the coming seasons. We will reconnect with gratitude and ceremony. The equinox teaches that just as the earth finds balance between light and dark, people too are invited to find balance within themselves both emotionally and spiritually.

The Cree teaching of compassion, or kisêwâtisiwin, takes on deeper meaning. Compassion is more than kindness; it’s the ability to feel with others, to understand their struggles, and to act with gentleness and generosity. As the land softens and opens to new life, people are reminded to soften their own hearts by releasing the heaviness of winter and making space for empathy and forgiveness. The spring equinox becomes a time to practice compassion in tangible ways such as helping family and neighbours who may have low reserves after the winter. We also need to offer support to those who carry burdens and treat all living beings with tenderness. In this way, compassion mirrors spring itself with quietness, steadiness and life‐giving renewal.

Method of teaching

The method of teaching will utilize Indigenous pedagogy as well as incorporate a traditional tea.

Participants will discover their relatedness and interconnection with human rights and balance.

This workshop is part of a monthly Wahkowtowin and Ways of Being series led by Knowledge Keeper Marilyn Dykstra. Each month, we will explore a variety of moon, pole and tea teachings in the Inninewak (Cree) tradition.

Wahkowtowin – which translates to kinship – highlights how relationships, communities and the natural world are all interconnected.

Participants will discover and reflect on their connections with each other, with balance and with human rights through teachings and a traditional tea.

Traditional Helper Peyton will support the teachings while she continues her learning journey within Wahkowtowin.

Marilyn Dykstra is a status Bill C31 First Nations woman from northern Manitoba. She has been immersed in a working matriarchal system that practised Indigenous ways of thinking and being since she was born. Alongside her family, she has participated in many peaceful social justice movements.

Marilyn uses her matriarchal knowledge as a foundation for her work in the Indigenous community, which has been ongoing for over thirty years. She still follows her matriarchal teachings, but she has also spent her life learning traditional knowledge and passing the teachings on.

She is a pow wow dancer, knowledge keeper, and she carries the responsibility of a bundle. She happily participates in naming ceremonies, sweats, pipe ceremonies, moon teachings and more.