I am my Nikâwiy (mother) and Nohtâwiy (father) who were guided by my Nukhom (grandmother) and Nimosôm (grandfather). My kinship and swampy Cree language define my home as "rock on both sides of the lake" or the Precambrian shield around the water that sustained us.

Kinship bonds supersede outside influences so understanding Kinship is critical to understanding the worldview and social organization of the Cree. Terms often group relatives by roles, such as a mother’s sister being considered a mother figure. If your parents’ siblings are also your parents, how many parents do you have? What are your responsibilities to your kinship?

We hold our relatives and kinship close because they connect us to our ancestors and community. It’s relational to all creation, our responsibility to natural law, the law that comes before any other laws. Knowing where you come from shapes a strong sense of identity, space and place, your connection to the land, names, stories, and relationships tied to a specific location. To truly understand yourself, you must understand your connections to the land, animals, fish, trees, plants, birds, and all living beings. Learn how your land acknowledgement is tied to your kinship?

A special note

There will be smoke present from smudging.

Hands‐on activity

The first 30 registered people will be offered the opportunity to participate in a hands‐on activity.

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.