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Cree teachings, fan down ceremony and potluck feast with Knowledge Keeper Marilyn Dykstra

Saturday, October 19, 2024

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A flock of geese fly in unison against a brilliant blue sky. Partially obscured.

Photo: Geese, Cyndy Sims, CC BY-SA 2.0

Cost:
Free, registration required
Location:
Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The group will meet in Bonnie & John Buhler Hall, Level 1 and proceed together to Level 6.
Language and Accessibility:
This event is offered in English.

Migrating in life is difficult yet can lead to a wonderful transition. Once again in October, we envelope ourselves in the teachings of the Migration Moon (Nîkân isîhcikêwin) and sharing our Ancestors’ path. 

Join Cree Knowledge Keeper Marilyn Dykstra to celebrate the momentous migration our animal family members will make during this moon. They have already learned about communicating and building bonds – now they will focus on sharing their journey as they support one another in flight and in life.

We will hold a fan down ceremony and Potluck to honour our winged earthly family members who are migrating to the next stage of life and plan our own.

Potluck lunch

When we hold a ceremony, we are honouring our ancestral connections – those who have passed on, those who are yet to come, and the ones we share our lives with every day. Please bring a food item to share with the rest of the group that has no nuts or pork products. Dishes, cutlery, plates, and tea will be provided. 

Fan down ceremony

A fan down ceremony allows us to migrate away from ways that no longer serve our wellness within the medicine wheel. The fan also honours our ancestral connections. Please bring a food item to share.

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.

Marilyn Dykstra is a status Bill C‑31 First Nations woman from northern Manitoba. She has been immersed in a working matriarchal system that practiced 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.

Find out more about this series

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