In this session, Marilyn will explain that Cree stories remind us to care for all within Wahkowtowin (kinship). We cannot make changes from an armchair. We must work within our community and in kinship to ensure that all beings are receiving the care that they need. Respect is born out of that work, and when we take direction from our community.

All reconciliatory paths are the right path if they are laid in protection, respect and clarity of intention. We cannot deviate from those right ways. Respect means following protocol. It is Tapwewin (truth) and natural law. Those laws live within our blood memory. We all have our personal prayers that live within that memory. Respect your intuition because it’s your spirit talking to you. 

We feel an imbalance when others’ journeys and knowledge — which has been shared with them — are not respected. If we find ourselves in this predicament, Cree Matriarchal teachings that have supported Indigenous ways of being since time immemorial provide direction. They remind us to ask, “How are our behaviours respecting and protecting all within natural law?” When creating reconciliatory action, we need to call others in and make space in the great circle of life. 

Workshop

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 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.