Student Tasks

Begin with Your Experience

Think about these questions as you start:

• Have you ever felt hurt or sad and then started to feel better? What helped you feel better?
• Who do you talk to when something is hard? What do they do that helps you feel safe or calm?

Learning About Ceremony

Indigenous Knowledge | Healing: Video 1
Morris Shapwaykeesic from Whitesand First Nation performs a smudging ceremony.

Indigenous Knowledge | Healing: Video 2
Morris Shapwaykeesic from Whitesand First Nation accepts a tobacco offering given as a thank you for sharing his knowledge.

Questions:

• During the smudging ceremony, what do you notice about what Morris is doing?
• Why might this be an important part of healing?
• To what extent do you think offering tobacco is important?

Listening to Stories

Indigenous Knowledge | Healing: Video 3
Morris Shapwaykeesic from Whitesand First Nation speaks about the long healing process that has allowed him to share his story honestly.

Indigenous Knowledge | Healing: Video 4
Tom Lachinette from Whitesand First Nation speaks about how healing journeys should be connected with cultural teachings.

Indigenous Knowledge | Healing: Video 5
Tom Lachinette from Whitesand First Nation shares a story about how his daughter was given her Spirit Name.

Questions:

• What is one thing you remember from each story?
• What helped Tom feel stronger or more connected?
• What do you think it means to get a spirit name in the way that Tom's daughter received hers?
• Why could this be part of healing?

Connecting with the Land

Indigenous Knowledge | Healing: Video 6
Erin Kelly, an Environmental Technician from Four Rivers Environmental Services Group with Matawa, teaches Matawa Education and Care Centre youth about freshwater mussels near Makokibatan Lake, Ontario. 

Indigenous Knowledge | Healing: Video 7
Graeme Saukko-Sved, a Geomatics/Environmental Technician at Four Rivers Environmental Services Group with the Matawa Tribal Council, teaches youth from Matawa Education and Care Centre about trembling aspen near Makokibatan Lake, Ontario. 

Indigenous Knowledge | Healing: Video 8
Erin Kelly, an Environmental Technician at Four Rivers Environmental Services Group with the Matawa Tribal Council, teaches youth from the Matawa Education and Care Centre about the codes used by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to identify and monitor wildlife species.

Questions:

• Have you ever spent quiet time near a lake, forest, or animal? How did it make you feel?
• What are the mussles, trembling aspen, and fish teaching us?
• How do you think being close to the Land can help people feel better?

Reflect and Share (Putting It Together)

• What is one thing from these videos or photos that made you feel something?
• What does healing mean to you now?
• What is one way people or communities can heal?
• What is one thing you carry from these stories and experiences that you want to remember? How might it help you live in a good way?