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.

Nationbuilding and medicine have always been deeply connected because the wellbeing of a people forms the foundation of a nation’s strength, stability and identity. Medicine, in its fullest sense, is not merely an external intervention or a set of clinical practices; it’s a holistic response to the challenges a nation faces. When approached through the lens of the medicine wheel, healing becomes an integrated process that honours the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions of community life. This holistic balance is essential for cultivating resilient citizens and thriving societies.

True medicine also carries cultural and political significance, shaping how communities understand themselves and envision their collective future. When nations ground their values of balance, respect and relationality, they strengthen social cohesion and affirm a shared identity. A healthy nation is better equipped to engage with others in meaningful, reciprocal ways that contribute to a global wellbeing while upholding its own cultural integrity. In this way, the medicine wheel becomes a powerful force for unity, sovereignty, and the longterm flourishing of all nations.

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.