Indigenous Moose Teachings Webinar
This webinar was presented on October 21, 2020, by Keepers of the Water, Indigenous Knowledge Wisdom Center, kâniyâsihk Culture Camps, and Indigenous Climate Action.
Our presenters were Jeff Wastesicott and Kevin Lewis, with moderation by Jesse Cardinal and Cleo Reece.
About Jeff Wastesicoot
Jeff comes from Pimickamack Cree Nation (Cross Lake Manitoba). He has served as a Language consultant and knowledge Keeper for many years.
Jeff continues to dedicate much of his time to helping people overcome personal challenges through ceremonies, traditional medicines, and counselling. He has devoted his life to preserving the Nehiyew language and culture. Jeff recognizes the spirit within the tongue as he interprets the parables within the Nehiyew language. He is recognized and acknowledged among the First Nations community as a spiritual leader and traditional healer.
Jeff’s life experience includes time spent in residential school and foster homes in Canada and the United States. Prior to entering the residential school and foster care system, memories of the time spent with his grandparents, Johnston Blacksmith and Mary North, in Pimickamack Cree Nation brought solace during troubling times away from home. These memories prompted his return to his Peoples and community of Pimickamack Cree Nation and the teaching of his grandparents and other elders among them.
Jeff was re-indoctrinated to the ways of the Nehiyew upon his return. The experience of residential school and numerous foster homes suppressed the language of his birth, and he had to reclaim it over time. His determination to reclaim the language and ways of his grandparents resulted in a proficiency that garnered recognition as an interpreter and language consultant. This recognition drew Jeff into the work of First Nations leaders and Elders throughout Canada.
The stories told to him in the Nehiyew language through ceremony and consultation with the Elders remain, and he, in turn, continues to promote this knowledge with other Nations throughout Canada. Jeff resides in Onihcikiskwapiwin Cree Nation (Saddle Lake, Alberta) with his wife, Shelly, their children, and grandchildren.
About Dr. Kevin Lewis
Dr. Kevin wâsakâyâsiw Lewis is a nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) instructor, researcher and writer. Dr. Lewis has worked with higher learning institutions within the Prairie Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in the areas of Cree Language Development and Instructional methodologies.
His research interests include language and policy development, second language teaching methodologies, teacher education programming, and environmental education. For the past 18 years, Dr. Lewis has been working with community schools in promoting land and language-based education and is a founder of kâniyâsihk Culture Camps, a non-profit organization focused on holistic community well-being and co-developer of Land-Based Cree Immersion School kâ-nêyâsihk mîkiwâhpa. Dr. Lewis is from Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 Territory.
Connect with kâniyâsihk Culture Camps
Website: kâniyâsihk Culture Camps