Subject: Indigenous Family Literacy Circle October 2020 Newsletter

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Come Walk in My Moccasins Newsletter
October 2020

 
In this issue:
Books: Raven Squawk, Orca Speak, It's a Mitig, Solomon's Tree, Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies
Our Words: Varieties of Leaves - Mohawk
Our 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
Did you know?
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 here

Reflection question:

What can you do to bring about peace within yourself, others, and within your own community?
Featured Books

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)
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)
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)
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)
Our Words
Varieties of Leaves in Mohawk

Identify trees by recognizing their leaves. Practice saying their name in Mohawk with Erica. (.59 second video)
Our Music 
Midaaswi Mishiimininsag 

Sing about ten little apples on the tree in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe).(1:37 minute video)


Our Arts
Walnut Dye

Enjoy this tutorial with Erica and try using walnut dye at home.
(4:49 minute video)
Our Stories
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)
Our Traditions
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)

Indigenous Fusion Recipe
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.
Indigenous Language Resources
NEW! Anishinaabemowin@home
Anishinaabemowin Homeschool Blog
NEW! Mohawk Language Classes
Mohawk Language Classes - Facilitated by John Henhawk, Kanyen'keha:ka Nation, Wolf Clan
Saturday mornings at 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

KANIEN'KÉHA LANGUAGE INITIATIVE 
Online Mohawk Dictionary
Anishinaabemodaa - Waking Up Ojibwe
Through a series of programs and partnerships the Anishinaabemodaa initiative is focused on providing Anishinaabemowin instruction from preschool through to post-secondary.
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. 
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!
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

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.
Courses and Resources
Online Anishinaabemowin
Free Ojibwe classes Monday - Friday 11 am

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.

Indigenous Ally Kit
Resource for Aboriginal Early Childhood Education Practitioners
Guide for Evaluating Indigenous Children's Books
Beauty in Movement: An Indigenous Guide to Physical Activity 
Pamphlet about the importance of physical activity and ideas to get children moving
Gathering Communities Making Connections
A list of resources and services for people of Indigenous Ancestry, and for those who work with them
Canoe Kids
A family book for readers of all ages that explores Indigenous cultures through authentic Indigenous voices


Sources for Indigenous books:
Indigenous Book Lending:
Events
Indigenous Knowledge Keeper Luana Harper Shirt, ONLINE
Thursday, October 1
Cherishing Indigenous Language in Children's Books, ONLINE
Friday, October 2
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
Previous Issues of Come Walk in My Moccasins
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.

Indigenous Family Literacy Circle Partners:
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. 
Click here to download or print the Come Walk in My Moccasins pamphlet.
  Copyright 2016 Indigenous Family Literacy Circle 
 465 Advance Avenue, Napanee, Canada
8064 Old Hwy #2, K0K 1X0, Deseronto, Canada
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