Mishkiki

Grandfather Sun & Father Sky
An Anishinaabe Teaching

In the beginning, Gichi-Manidoo (the Great Spirit) created Father Sky and Grandfather Sun. Father Sky stretched himself over all Creation, and Mishomis Giizis (Grandfather Sun) was given the sacred responsibility of bringing light and warmth to Mother Earth.

Each morning Noos Giizhig (Father Sky) opens the eastern doorway and Grandfather Sun begins his journey. Together they watch over the plants, animals, waters, and the Anishinaabeg.

Father Sky shelters Creation, while Grandfather Sun nourishes it. Neither seeks glory for himself. They work together, as relatives should, maintaining balance and reminding the people that everyone has responsibilities to one another.

At evening, Father Sky welcomes Grandfather Sun to the western doorway, and through the night Grandmother Moon watches over the Earth until Grandfather Sun returns once more.

Because of their faithfulness, the Anishinaabeg offer to***co and give thanks each day for the gifts of Father Sky and Grandfather Sun.

Mino Noosinaan Giizhigad / Happy Father’s Day! 💙☀️

Mino Magoshan Gijigan / Happy Solstice! 💫 🌞

Mino Anishinaabeg Giizhgat! 💛🖤🤍❤️
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!

Painting by: Norval Morrisseau
Artist Link: https://OfficialMorrisseau.com

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The Legend of the Lady’s Slipper (Moccasin Flower)
An Anishinaabe Story

Many winters ago, on the shores of the Great Lake Superior, lived a young Ojibway girl who adored her older brother.

He was the best at everything young braves should know. He tracked animals and mimicked their calls perfectly. He was swift and silent in the woods and swam like an otter.

The people gave him the task of messenger for the village. He taught his sister his skills, but never took her with him when he raced to other villages to relay news.

One winter day, an old woman in the girl’s village became sick. The next day, several others fell ill with fevers and weakness. Soon every wiigiwaaman was struck. The elders worried, but no one knew what to do.

In the village across the bay, there lived a woman skilled in healing with plant & animal medicines, but the snow was deep and fierce winds were raging. The Chief of the village hesitated to send the brother to the medicine woman.

When more and more people sickened, the chief had no choice. The young brave would cross the lake the next morning.

Late that night, the young man became ill.

The Ojibway girl was frantic. With her grandmother, father and mother, many of her friends and now her beloved brother failing, she decided to take his place and make the dangerous journey across the bay to the medicine woman’s village.

The dark of the winter dawn made the frigid air seem harsher. The young girl slipped out of her family’s wiigiwaam dressed in her warmest parka, leggings and the fur-lined moccasins that her mother and grandmother had sewn.

Head down, so the fur of her parka protected her face from the stinging cold and wind, she walked quickly through the deepening snow to the lakeshore.

Through the blowing snow she could see the faint lights of campfires in the medicine woman’s village across the ice-covered bay.

Scrambling over the slippery pack ice, the maiden lightly danced across the frozen lake, trying not to listen to the cracking and sighing of the ice beneath her feet.

The people welcomed her hours later when she reached the other side of the bay. Wrapped in warm, beaver robes and fed, the girl told her story. The medicine woman gathered her medicines.

Nearly asleep, the Ojibway girl insisted that she begin the return journey immediately. But the medicine woman assured her that several braves would accompany her back across the lake in the morning, once the storm broke.

When the wind stopped, the girl awoke. It was dark and still. Worrying about her family, she decided not to wait for the braves.

Dressing quietly in her warm, dry clothes, she put the pouch of medicine around her neck and slipped down to the lake shore. She tried again to dance lightly again across the drifted snow. It was too deep. She sank deeply with each step.

Exhausted, she lay back in the snow panting for breath. Then she remembered her brother’s lessons and the otter playing in the snow as if it were water.

Slowly, letting the snow support her, she began to swim through the deep snow.

When the Ojibway girl reached the opposite shore, she was free of the deepest snow, but her moccasins were missing. Her feet were bare and cold.

Soon, her feet were red and raw and her footprints marked by blood. The sharp crystals of wind blown snow cut her feet at every step.

The eastern sky was beginning to lighten by the time the girl saw the shadowy outline of her village. Calling out for help, the worn-out girl stumbled on. The people heard and ran to her.

They carried the Ojibway girl home, wrapped her in warm robes and massaged her torn and bleeding feet with healing ointments. The medicine she brought saved her village.

One day early the next spring, the Ojibway girl and her brother searched the woods and the lakeshore for her moccasins. Instead, they found beautiful pink and white flowers shaped just like moccasins.

There was one for every drop of blood that had fallen from the Ojibway girls feet on her journey to bring medicine home from the other side of the lake.

The Ojibway people named the flower maakisin waabigwaan (Moccasin Flower) also known as Lady’s Slipper. They bloom in May and June in the moist pine / hardwood forests, mossy wetlands & tall grass prairies.

If you see one, enjoy its beauty but remember it is rare, sacred & protected; just like you. 💖🌸🪶

Painting by: Rachael Koppendrayer, Artist
Artist Link: https://www.rachaelkoppendrayer.com/

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This month we will be returning to Caldwell First Nation to host a Cultural Immersion Camp!

Chi meegwetch to the staff & community for inviting us 🙏🏽🪶

Everyone is Welcome!

Mishkiki Mishkiki means “medicine” in Anishinaabemowin — the sacred power that brings healing, balance, and life. Our name reflects our purpose: to carry this medicine into every community and help heal the wounds left by colonialism.As an Indigenous-founded organization, Mishkiki walks in both worlds ...

This month we are welcoming Odemin Giizis -
The Strawberry Moon.

The sixth moon of Creation is the Strawberry Moon. The medicine of the strawberry is reconciliation. It was during this moon cycle that communities usually held their annual feasts, welcoming everyone home, regardless of their differences over the past year, letting go of judgment and/or self righteousness. The strawberry is the first berry to ripen it is thought to be a good medicine for the heart and the teeth.

The Makwa (Bear) & Odemin (Strawberry)
An Anishinaabe Story & Teaching

Long ago, when the world was young, after Nanaboozhoo rid the world of evil and built the land, but before the human beings were here.

The plants and animals were all new and getting used to each other and things looked much different. The rabbits had long tails and short ears.

The bears were giants with short noses. The bears didn’t have enough food to eat because someone was eating all the strawberries, and the bears were starving.

They were upset because they became too skinny and weak to hunt and only had bitter roots to eat to survive. They weren’t sure they could survive the next winter, so they asked Nanaboozhoo for help. He said he would help and sent the bears back home.

The moment the bears went home and told their families that he would help the next year, but they had to survive the winter without food and only bitter roots to eat.

Nanaboozhoo watched over the berry patch for the whole year. The next spring when the strawberries were ripe, Nanaboozhoo saw rabbit eating everything and saving nothing for anyone else. So he spoke to rabbit about the bears starving because they were eating all the strawberries. The rabbits didn’t care because the bears were eating all the rabbits when they were healthy.

Just then, Nanaboozhoo caught the giant bear eating a rabbit and grabbed it by the snout, holding its mouth closed. They locked for months and years. The bear refused to stop eating the rabbit and Nanaboozhoo refused to let the bear go so he could finish swallowing the rabbit. The giant bear shrunk in size and its snout became brown and long where Nanaboozhoo held on.

The strawberries were upset because the rabbits were still eating all the strawberries when they were instructed to share their medicine with all beings.

Nanaboozhoo tried to catch him, but the rabbit started running away. Nanaboozhoo lunged at rabbit and caught it by the tail. Rabbit twisted away and broke its tail off to escape. As it was about to make its escape, Nanaboozhoo grabbed the rabbit by the ears and its ears stretched out and became long. The rabbit stopped running before its ears broke off too! Now the rabbits could hear the bears coming and have lots of time to escape.

Next, he changed the medicine of the strawberries to be much sweeter. The next spring, the rabbit could only eat a few of them, and only once in a while. So there were lots of strawberries for the bears to eat when they came out of their fast.

That’s why the first thing we eat when we emerge from our fast is bear root and strawberries. We do this to honour the gifts and the medicines of our closest relatives, the bears.

Story & Painting by: Tom Sinclair, TMS Woodland Art
Artist Inquiries: [email protected]

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We had an amazing time in Sheshegwaning First Nation this weekend making Mini Tipi’s with birchbark, quills and sweetgrass!

Chi meegwetch again to all you who came out and to everyone who made it possible. ❤️🪶🙏🏽

We will be back in Sheshegwaning First Nation next weekend and next month for workshops!

There will be an Indigenous Crafts Pop-Up Shop at the Sheshegwaning Complex this Saturday 🪶

Chi meegwetch to the staff & community for making this all possible. 🙏🏽❤️

Mino Bimaadziwin (The Good Life)
An Anishinaabe Teaching

Mino Bimaadziwin is an Anishinaabe way of understanding our responsibilities to ourselves, our families, our communities, and all of Creation.

Our ancestors understood that life moves in cycles, and that every stage of life carries its own gifts, lessons, and responsibilities.

These teachings remind us that growth is not only personal, it’s also spiritual, communal, and intergenerational.

The Seven Stages of Life in Anishinaabe Teachings:

1. The Good Life (Birth - 7):
A time of love, safety, and belonging. Children are sacred gifts, carried with kindness and protected so they may grow strong in spirit.

2. The Fast Life (7 - 14):
A season of rapid growth. Young people begin learning who they are, testing boundaries, discovering talents, and absorbing teachings from those around them.

3. The Wandering & Wondering Life (14-21):
A time of searching. Youth begin asking deeper questions about identity, purpose, and where they belong in the circle of life. Mistakes become teachings.

4. The Truth Life (21 - 28):
A stage of accountability and self-awareness. Individuals are called to walk in truth, recognize their gifts, and align their actions with their spirit.

5. The Planting & Planning Life (28 - 35):
A time to build. People begin planting seeds for future generations through family, work, community, and service.

6. The Doing Life (35 - 49):
A stage of action and responsibility. Knowledge gained through earlier stages is put into practice to support family, nation, and community.

7. The Elder / Giving Back Life (49+):
A sacred stage of reflection, wisdom, and teaching. Elders carry stories, teachings, language, and experience so the next generations may continue the circle.

These teachings remind us that every stage of life has meaning. No matter where we are on our journey, we all have a role to play in creating balance in our lives by living with Love, Truth, Respect, Bravery, Honesty and Humility within our communities. By doing so we honour the Seven Grandfather Teachings or 7 Sacred Teachings depending on your nation.

Mino Bimaadziwin is about living each stage of life in a good way. 🙏🏽❤️🪶

Painting by: Norval Morrisseau
Artist Link: https://OfficialMorrisseau.com

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The “Duck & Dive” Dance
Nimiipuu / Nez Perce History

Before sunrise on August 9th, 1877, the Nimiipuu were camped along the Big Hole River, near the town of Wisdom, Montana in Beaverhead County, USA.

They went to sleep that night believing they had finally found a moment of peace.

Then the soldiers came.

Col. John Gibbon launched a surprise attack at dawn, firing into lodges filled with sleeping families.

Women, children, Elders, and warriors were k*lled as chaos erupted across the valley. More than 100 Nimiipuu lost their lives that morning during what became known as the “Battle of the Big Hole”.

As the battle raged, the Calvary soldiers rolled in a cannon and fired twice into the village. Warriors charged through gunfire, attacked the cannon position, and stopped it before it could fire again.

To this day, those two cannon blasts still echo through the drum.

During the “Duck & Dive” song, the drum gets hit with two hard downbeats: only twice, representing those shots fired at Big Hole.

Dancers duck low, dive, and let out a war cry; honouring the memory and the spirits of the ancestors who fought there.

The drum still remembers, and every time the dancers duck on those two beats…

the battle lives again.

Painting by: Tracey @ Spacey Ace Studio
Artist Link: https://spaceyacestudio.com/

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Wenabozho and the Bullrushes
An Anishinaabe Story

One night, Wenabozho heard the music of a grandfather drum in the dark. He thought he was among the Anishinaabeg and that they were celebrating his arrival.

​Wenabozho saw that the people were dancing with great intensity. The dancers would crouch low to the ground, then suddenly rise up and sway.

Wenabozho had never seen such great dancers, especially at a celebration held in his honor.

​Joining in the dance, Wenabozho moved low to the ground just as the others did. He matched the movements of the other dancers perfectly; when they swayed back and forth, Wenabozho did the same.

Impressed by their skills, he even tried to outdo them in a dance-off. Wenabozho stayed as low to the ground as the others, but eventually, he became so tired that he couldn't keep up.

​He decided to lie down and sleep. When Wenabozho woke up, he saw that the Anishinaabeg were no longer there.

All he saw around him were tall bullrushes, swaying in the wind.

Some say this is how the Duck ‘N Dive Dance was born.

Painting by: Frank Polson
Artist Inquiries: [email protected]

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We will be in the beautiful community of Musk-Kosiminiziibing next month to facilitate our Addictions Awareness + Prevention, and Song Writing Workshops!❤️🪶✊🏾🎼🎤