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Come Walk in My Moccasins Newsletter October 2020
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In this issue: Books: Raven Squawk, Orca Speak, It's a Mitig, Solomon's Tree, Noopiming: The Cure for White LadiesOur Words: Varieties of Leaves - MohawkOur Music: Midaaswi Mishiimininsag (10 Apples) Our Arts: Walnut Dye Our Stories: Giving Thanks to the Trees Our Traditions: Taking Care of an Eagle Feather Recipe: Hickory Nut Soup |
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Did you know that the Tree of Peace (the great white pine) is a symbol of the unity of the nations of The Haudenosaunee confederacy. Its needles grow in clusters of five, symbolizing the uniting of the nations. The white pine’s broad branches provide shelter and it is beneath the tree that an agreement of peace was made. Find more Haudenosaunee symbols hereReflection question: What can you do to bring about peace within yourself, others, and within your own community?
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Infant and Toddler
Raven Squawk, Orca Squeak is written by Roy Henry Vickers of Tsimshian, Haida, Heiltsuk and English ancestry, and Robert Budd. This sturdy board book is also brightly and boldly illustrated by Vickers to introduce iconic sounds of the West Coast. Raven Squawk, Orca Squeak supports the language development of babies and toddlers. (excerpt from Goodminds.com)
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It's a Mitig!
Preschool and Kindergarten
It’s a Mitig! is Bridget George’s first book. She is an Anishinaabe author-illustrator and graphic designer raised on the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation in Ontario. It’s a Mitig! guides young readers through the forest while introducing them to Ojibwe words for nature. From sunup to sundown, encounter an amik playing with sticks and swimming in the river, a prickly gaag hiding in the bushes and a big, bark-covered mitig. Featuring vibrant and playful artwork, an illustrated Ojibwe-to-English glossary and a simple introduction to the double-vowel pronunciation system, plus accompanying online recordings, It’s a Mitig! is one of the first books of its kind. It was created for young children and their families with the heartfelt desire to spark a lifelong interest in learning language. (excerpt from Goodminds.com)
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Solomon's Tree
Primary
Solomon's Tree was selected for the 2004 First Nation Communities Read program by Ontario's First Nations Public Libraries. Their endorsement of this title is well justified. In this contemporary story set on the Northwest Coast, a Native boy learns about the cycle of life and traditional art when a special maple tree is felled during a storm. Solomon is an only child in a warm and loving Northwest Coast Native family. He finds hours of joy and comfort as he plays in the family's large maple tree. Solomon climbs the tree and spends hours watching the cycle of nature as it is revealed in the changing seasons. The tree is home to a hummingbird family as well as a chrysalis that metamorphoses into a butterfly. The tree speaks and sings as wind blows through its branches. In fall the colourful maple showers the boy in falling leaves. All this comes to end when a storm topples the beloved tree. Solomon is devastated but his thoughtful uncle shows the boy that the tree's spirit can be honoured by creating a traditional mask. Solomon's uncle is a master carver and together they work on carving a wooden mask. Solomon helps chisel and oil the mask and explains his special relationship with the giant maple. During the process his uncle teaches him Northwest Coast songs and teachings about the creation of a mask. When the mask is complete, the family gathers to watch as Solomon wears the mask and dances in the spring sunshine. In the earth beneath the child's feet, a new tree sprouts from a tiny seed. The story details were meticulously researched by the author, Andrea Spalding, who took a mask making workshop with Tsimpshian (Tsimshian) master carver Victor Reece. Reece created a mask specifically for the story and it is pictured on the back cover. In the author's note she describes the process of mask carving and some of the designs that are incorporated throughout the book. Illustrator Janet Wilson adapted Northwest Coast art designs and these images appear below each page of text. Wilson's depiction of a contemporary Northwest Coast Native family and the artistic process involved in mask carving capture the warmth and love of this Native family. An excellent book that deals with the cycle of nature, friendship, loss, healing, and the Native artistic tradition. (excerpt from Goodminds.com)
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Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies
Adult
Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson who is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer, scholar, and musician, and a member of Alderville First Nation, is a novel that combines narrative and poetic fragments through a careful and fierce reclamation of Anishinaabe aesthetics. In Noopiming, Mashkawaji (they/them) lies frozen in the ice, remembering a long-ago time of hopeless connection and now finding freedom and solace in isolated suspension. They introduce us to the seven main characters: Akiwenzii, the old man who represents the narrator’s will; Ninaatig, the maple tree who represents their lungs; Mindimooyenh, the old woman who represents their conscience; Sabe, the giant who represents their marrow; Adik, the caribou who represents their nervous system; Asin, the human who represents their eyes and ears; and Lucy, the human who represents their brain. Each attempts to commune with the unnatural urban-settler world, a world of SpongeBob Band-Aids, Ziploc baggies, Fjällräven Kånken backpacks, and coffee mugs emblazoned with institutional logos. And each searches out the natural world, only to discover those pockets that still exist are owned, contained, counted, and consumed. Cut off from nature, the characters are cut off from their natural selves. Noopiming is Anishinaabemowin for “in the bush,” and the title is a response to English Canadian settler and author Susanna Moodie’s 1852 memoir Roughing It in the Bush. To read Simpson’s work is an act of decolonization, degentrification, and willful resistance to the perpetuation and dissemination of centuries-old colonial myth-making. It is a lived experience. It is a breaking open of the self to a world alive with people, animals, ancestors, and spirits, who are all busy with the daily labours of healing — healing not only themselves, but their individual pieces of the network, of the web that connects them all together. (excerpt from Goodminds.com)
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Varieties of Leaves in Mohawk
Identify trees by recognizing their leaves. Practice saying their name in Mohawk with Erica. (.59 second video) |
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Midaaswi Mishiimininsag
Sing about ten little apples on the tree in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe).(1:37 minute video)
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Walnut Dye
Enjoy this tutorial with Erica and try using walnut dye at home. (4:49 minute video) |
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Giving Thanks to the Trees
Learn the importance of trees, and medicines they offer in this video featuring part 10 of the Opening Address; giving thanks to the trees. (2:48 minute video) |
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Taking Care of an Eagle Feather
Kelly from Niwasa Hamilton demonstrates how we keep sacred items safe, such as an eagle feather, and how to care for them. (9:37 minute video)
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Hickory Nut Soup
Although hard to crack open, this fall favorite wild edible is well worth the trouble. These fatty nuts are pecan-flavored and are one of the most calorie-dense wild plant food.
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Indigenous Language Resources |
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NEW! Anishinaabemowin@home Anishinaabemowin Homeschool Blog |
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NEW! Mohawk Language ClassesMohawk Language Classes - Facilitated by John Henhawk, Kanyen'keha:ka Nation, Wolf Clan Saturday mornings at 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Anishinaabemodaa - Waking Up OjibweThrough a series of programs and partnerships the Anishinaabemodaa initiative is focused on providing Anishinaabemowin instruction from preschool through to post-secondary.
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Ojibwe.net This site represents many things, most of all, it is evidence that Anishinaabemowin is alive and well. A living language must be spoken fluently and used creatively. We have created this cyber space so that the ancient sounds are not lost and can be connected to anyone willing to listen, learn, and labor with us in the effort to maintain Anishinaabemowin. |
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Kingston Indigenous Languages Nest With the help of fluent speakers we are reclaiming our Indigenous languages & cultures. We sing, play games and do special projects. All are welcome!
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First Voices Kids Interactive online resource for helping children learn words and phrases in 50 different Indigenous languages on Turtle Island!
Mohawk Words and Phrases Translations in print and audio formats
Michif Language Resource Translations in audio, video and print formats
Anishnaabemowin - Our Language Our Culture Ojibwa language booklet
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Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na provides Mohawk language and culture programming at the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory (the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte). They run several programs, including Totáhne (At Grandma's House) for preschool children, Kawenna'ón:we Primary Immersion (K-4) and Shatiwennakará:tats, a year long program for Adults. |
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Online Anishinaabemowin Free Ojibwe classes Monday - Friday 11 am
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Turtle Island Conservation Curriculum- Based Activities Guide
The Toronto Zoo’s Ways of Knowing Partnership Turtle Island Conservation programme shares the hopes and goals of our First Nation partners in the commitment to preserve wild life and wild places for those yet to come. The TIC programme partners with Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee First Nation communities in Ontario, to incorporate Traditional Knowledge into turtle and wetland conservation programming. The intention of this partnership is to bring together Traditional Knowledge Keepers, Elders, First Nation community members, and TIC programme team members to support cultural and natural history priorities of the individual community, while building awareness with non-Aboriginals. The programme employs First Nations youth and is guided by a First Nation Advisory group. All knowledge and teachings remain with the partner community, while awaiting their decisions on how the information is to be used.
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Beauty in Movement: An Indigenous Guide to Physical Activity Pamphlet about the importance of physical activity and ideas to get children moving
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Gathering Communities Making Connections A list of resources and services for people of Indigenous
Ancestry, and for those who work with them |
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Canoe Kids A family book for readers of all ages that explores Indigenous cultures through authentic Indigenous voices
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Sources for Indigenous books: Indigenous Book Lending:
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Indigenous Knowledge Keeper Luana Harper Shirt, ONLINE Thursday, October 1 |
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Cherishing Indigenous Language in Children's Books, ONLINE Friday, October 2 |
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| Songs & Stories with Kahwa:tsire - Giving Thanks, ONLINE Wednesday, October 7 |
| | Indigenous Foodways Past and Present, ONLINE Monday, October 12 |
| | Indigenous Learning Circle, ONLINE Wednesday, October 14 |
| | Discussion on Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga, ONLINE
Thursday, October 15 |
| | We need YOU! Help us become more inclusive of the many First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples among our readership. Share an Indigenous recipe, song, or traditional art through Come Walk in My Moccasins. Contact aflccanada@gmail.com if you are interested in becoming a guest contributor.
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| | Indigenous Family Literacy Circle Partners:
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| Come Walk in My Moccasins is created by the Indigenous Family Literacy Circle and sponsored by Journey Together through Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. |
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Copyright 2016 Indigenous Family Literacy Circle 465 Advance Avenue, Napanee, Canada | |
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