Ojibiikaan Cultural Network
Joce Two Crows Tremblay: Two Crows is a Great Lakes metis of Mohawk, Pottawatomi, Francaise and Ashkenazi ancestries. They were raised on the Land, practicing ecological stewardship with family in Southwest Ontario and has been a lifelong Earthworker in and around Tkaronto, Penetanguishene and Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. Two Crows is committed to Indigenous Land Sovereignty work across our diverse communities, cultural revitalization, seed saving, deepening knowledge of Land-based ceremonies and honoring the sacred mounds.
Erica Gray: Erica is Kanienkehá:ke from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory where she sits with the Wolf Clan. She is learning to speak Kanien’k, and enjoys travelling to other Haudenosaunee communities as she gathers knowledge about Onkwehón:we culture.
WORKSHOP TITLE : Ojiibikens Little Roots: Connecting our youngest to the Land
DESCRIPTION : Ojiibikens means little roots in Anishnaabemoen and in our urban land-based cultural learning project, we aspire to support our littlest roots in growing strong, grounded in their Indigenous Knowledge and identity as inseparable from the Land. We believe passionately that working with community to connect our youngest members to the earth and non-human Relatives, provides a powerful through-line to adulthood. These young ones will carry the Medicines forward that will nourish their participation in culture, in its preservation and production. As a critical response to indigenous disaffection in the cityscape, this project aims to invest in “preventative” health measures, by providing the appropriate access, by and for our own community and starting at the roots. In this workshop we will address our work approaches, including but not limited to: decolonization + re-indigenization, outreach and partnering with community, accessibility, inter-generational facilitation, land-based engagement, indigenous land sovereignty, traditional food security, Nation-to-Nation relationship building, earthwork as ceremony, harm reduction/self-determination, etc. Based on the interests of the workshop group, we will share our practices, cedar tea, and kinship.