Stories

Carew Papritz's picture

National Thank You Letter Month: A Celebration of Gratitude

November is National Thank You Letter Month (NTYLM), a month-long celebration dedicated to fostering gratitude through the simple yet profound act of writing thank you letters. As the creator of this initiative, I encourage children—and people of all ages—to rediscover the time-honored art of expressing thanks.

National Thank You Letter Month: A Celebration of Gratitude

Through the Eyes of an Educator: How to Make It Through Anything, Even Elections

by Stacey Ebert /
Stacey Ebert's picture
Nov 04, 2024 / 0 comments

In the northern hemisphere, the 11th month of the year conjures images of everything fall festival. Cities and small towns share their Gilmore Girl-inspired events amidst colorful foliage, pumpkin overload, and orchards upon orchards of apple picking. 

Like years, seasons, and hormones, everything comes in cycles—and that includes elections

 Through the Eyes of an Educator: How to Make It Through Anything, Even Elections

Dr. Jessie Voigts's picture

All You Need to Know to Teach Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead

“The word death is not pronounced in New York, Paris or in London,
because it burns the lips. The Mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death,
jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it; it is one of his
favorite toys and his most steadfast love.”
-Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, 1961. 

Music for Autumn's Changes

by Kerry Dexter /
Kerry Dexter's picture
Oct 22, 2024 / 0 comments

Autumn: change in weather and in landscape can happen overnight.

Autumn’s changes may also come in more subtle ways. There are seasonal changes such as turn of color in leaves, and more permanent ones, such as those caused by autumn storms.

Autumn is often a time of change in areas of life beyond the natural world, adjustments of all sorts. It is also, in many parts of the world, a time for political change.

From varied ways love may be expressed to courage to take good journeys to reflection on hope through shifting times, musicians consider all these things, too.

Leeon Prince's picture

Gathering Spring Water

Doesn’t everyone love a fresh glass of water? 

I live in my home community, Mattagami First Nation, with my family; we prefer to filter tap water before drinking it. We also avoid buying bottled water to limit our plastic waste.

Years back, my father told me about a spring water source near our community. My parents decided they wanted to start gathering the spring water in 5-gallon water containers. This helped us reduce our tap water use; gathering the water is always a wonderful outing on the land. 

Through the Eyes of an Educator: Normalize Rest

by Stacey Ebert /
Stacey Ebert's picture
Oct 14, 2024 / 0 comments

In my teenage years, I remember clearly going to a friend’s house and finding her Dad in his favorite chair, resting his eyes in front of the television. I remember thinking, why is he always napping whenever we’re over? Little did I know then that his napping wisdom was far superior to mine. 

Sure, when we’re tired, we might rest, but for many of us, that zeal to be productive usurps our consciousness and a voice of should screams, “there’s something else we should be doing,” so the rest often falls by the wayside. Bob was right. 

Katrina Sackaney-Archibald's picture

Indigenous Sweats

Have you ever heard of Indigenous Sweats? The real Canadian history and traditions of them? Today I will be talking about the importance and wonderful experience of Indigenous Sweats. Let me give you a brief history of Indigenous people and Canadian history, so you can have a little understanding of why it is so important.
 

Land-Based Cultural Healing Camps and Why You Should Try It

by Kadie Bouchard /
Kadie Bouchard's picture
Oct 08, 2024 / 0 comments

Aanii, My name is Kadence and I am from Ontario, Canada. I would like to share my experience with Indigenous land-based cultural healing camps and how life-changing it was for me. These cultural practices are especially needed in smaller remote communities; because they are so isolated from the rest of society, they lack the privilege of good education, social opportunities, and new experiences. This can have a negative effect on the mental and physical health of people who live in these communities. 

Kylee Waboose's picture

Traditional Ojibwe Ways of Life

 

Have you always wondered about the Indigenous Peoples of Canada? Their traditions, culture, and history? No worry, because I will tell you about some of our traditions! My name is Kylee Waboose, and I’m from Long Lake #58 First Nation in Northern Ontario. It’s approximately eight hours northwest of North Bay. 

In this article, I will share two areas that are important to our culture: fasting ceremonies and vision quests.

Jaime Macdonald's picture

The Seven Grandfather Teachings & Using Them In Your Personal Life

There are seven sacred teachings in the indigenous culture that relate to common morals, but it is connected to the medicine wheel: a four-direction circle that consists of four colours, black, white, yellow, and red. The medicine wheel is separated into these four directions, and each direction represents the spiritual, emotional, physical, and intellectual ways of life. 

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