reconnect to traditions

Drumming & Drum Making

The sharing of traditional knowledge, including drumming and drum making, is done through the passing of teachings from knowledge keeper to learner.

Drums are more than communication tools and musical instruments; they are tools for a lifelong connection to and relationship with all living things. The drum voices our connection to all creation when we drum and strengthens our connection to each other when we drum together.

Sweat Lodge

If you are on a healing journey the Sweat Lodge is a good place to begin because when you are sitting in a sweat lodge, you are at the centre of the Four Directions. The sweat lodge ceremony forms part of the ceremonial life of many First Nations. Even within one territory, there may be differences in the way the ceremony is conducted.

Medicine Picking

Within Indigenous cultures, the techniques for harvesting and preparing medicines are regarded as cherished knowledge, often safeguarded as the intellectual property of particular individuals or families. There is a sacred and great connection between Indigenous peoples and the natural world, where the wisdom of ancestral healing practices endures. Residents take part in picking medicine alongside elders and knowledge keepers, learning how to identify, pick and store Sage, Sweetgrass, Tobacco, and Cedar.

Smudging

Our Elders teach us that all smudging ceremonies must be entered into or begun with good intent. During the ceremony, the smoke rises, and prayers rise to the Spirit world of our grandfathers, grandmothers, and the Creator.

Negative energy, feelings, and emotions are lifted away and used for healing of mind, body, and spirit, as well as balancing energies. Smudging also unifies the energies and the people within the circle.