Star Teachings with Bwaananaabekwe & Ogimaawab

<p>Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig, Shingwauk Anishinaabe Students Association, and Anishinaabe Initiatives welcomes Bwaananaabekwe (Mary Moose) and Ogimaawab (Joseph Sutherland) for an Anishinaabe star teachings seminar.We invite all those interested in learning about the importance Anishinaabe star teachings, as told by a beloved elder, to join us Sunday April 25, 2021 from 1-3pm.Bwaananaabekwe (Mary Moose) is Mermaid clan and is a unique Anishinaabe Elder, born in the remote regions of Northern Ontario, Canada. She is also known as Gaa-giizhiikwajiwed Bwaananaabekwe, The Mermaid Who Swims Fast, or just Bwaananaabekwe .Bwaananaabekwe was raised by her grandparents in the deep bush of Northern Canada. Her early life was similar to that of our ancestors who lived before contact with Europeans. Mary heard many stories as a child, bundled in bed in the family wigwam. She listened to her relatives fill the long winter nights with ancestral teachings that connect every living thing and how these stories are written in the stars. At a very young age, she used her star knowledge to navigate cross-country back to her home, after escaping horrific abuse in a government boarding school.Mary holds a wealth of knowledge, skills, and abilities. She devotes her life to helping Anishinaabeg in Canada and the United States revitalize language, and pass on knowledge that has been suppressed over hundreds of years (and counting) of forced assimilation.Ogimaawab (Joseph Sutherland) is from the Fort Albany, Ontario reservation and currently resides in Duluth, Minnesota. Since 2000, Ogimaawab has worked on numerous jobs that involve the revitalization of Anishinaabe culture. He has worked with several organizations in Indian country that involve Anishinaabe language and cultural knowledge. Currently Ogimaawab teaches culture and language at a Native American treatment centre in Sawyer, Minnesota. He has worked on projects that share environmental knowledge that connect to the stars and shares teaching of the Anishinaabeg doodem (clan) system, and connection with constellations.</p>