Elder Wilfred Buck explained: The translation of Paymatisiwin is “going forward, with the memories of ALL our female relatives who have gone before us, in a confident manner.” (Canadian Space Agency, 2025)

All humans are important and we’re sacred all the time. The Cree word for woman comes from the word for fire. We all come to this earth from mothers who passed down generations of fiery blood memory. Blood memory ties us to our space and place yet reminds us of our need to move and migrate throughout life. Migration and movement can be difficult, but the path has already been created and we just need to follow our teacher’s lead.

Leadership is critical during migration and yet it’s shared among the group. There are no experts; there’s no slacking. All represent their leadership skills as part of their community within Wahkowtowin. Leaders call everyone into the circle to share their gifts and to teach one another as our mothers did when we were young. The circle gets stronger as we share and invest in the future of the community and each other. The circle only gets stronger as we call each other in rather than calling others out.

As we come together to make that tough journey through the upcoming winter, let’s discuss how we bring our ancestral knowledge into our practices today to keep our communities moving forward.

Special notes

There will be smudging smoke present during the event.

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.