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 our next generation begins to take flight, other species such as the sturgeon begin to lay their eggs. Today, the Sturgeon Moon continues to inspire a commitment to future generations by reminding us that strong communities are built through shared responsibility and collective care. We do not focus on competition but rather learn about our connections that fortify our humanity.

We are called to strengthen and preserve cultural knowledge. As we embrace the teachings of Wahkowtowin, every act of service helps ensure our community remains connected to our sacredness. We are all bundle carriers because the first piece of a bundle is your own spirit.

During this moon, we will focus on sewing together the sacred teachings of our ancestors and bringing them forward to support our new generation. As time moves on, we will age but we will also gain wisdom that we are meant to share. We must support the young because they are the ones that will guide the new generations to come. We can ensure that like each sturgeon, our legacy will continue for over a hundred years. Even if our homes no longer stand the way they used to, our reciprocal relationship with the earth will remain, like each ancestor that you carry in the strands of your hair.

Method of teaching

The method of teaching will utilize Indigenous pedagogy as well as incorporate traditional tea and burning traditional medicines. 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

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