Michipicoten First Nation celebrates with youth and Elders

By Rick Garrick

MICHIPICOTEN — Michipicoten’s 24th Youth and Elders Gathering, held from July 25-29, was a success after two-plus years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Because of COVID-19 it slowed down, but we had it for three-and-half days this year,” says Michipicoten Councillor Evelyn Stone, a former Chief in the 1990s. “We’re bringing back the sweat lodges and the teachings, skirt making, basket making and having the men taking care of the fire, bringing community together again in the healing process.”

Stone says Michipicoten Elders Agnes Stone and Dan Perrault shared some of their fishing and trapping knowledge with the children during the gathering.

“They do a lot of fishing with their grandchildren and a lot of trapping,” Stone says. “They’re very knowledgeable in that way, they’re always open to sharing their knowledge with the people.”

Stone says the children in the community have also been sharing what they’ve learned with other children that are visiting.

“My granddaughter wears her ribbon skirt, my grandson wears his ribbon shirt — they’re very proud to wear those,” Stone says. “We do have drums in the community, some of the younger ones are learning to drum, so we’re bringing that culture, that tradition back.”

Stone says one of the highlights was about how 30-40 children enjoyed walking around and playing with each other during the gathering.

“Some of them, this was the first time they’re meeting, and they were playing with each other,” Stone says. “That is the way we should be doing it, we should be as adults doing the same thing.”

Crystal Osawamick, youth and Elders coordinator at Michipicoten, says the gathering started with the “lighting of the fire and pipes filled with prayers” each morning before sunrise.

“The gathering was truly a beautiful week long filled of the Anishinaabe way of life,” Osawamick says in an e-mail comment. “There were building of two sweat lodges and ceremonies were done daily, people received their names, colours and guidance by Elders, cleansing of cedar baths were done, drum teachings and songs were sung at the opening, daily and for closing, there were teachings, games, laughter, learning to make ribbon skirts and birch bark baskets and much more.”

Stone says the community is planning to celebrate 25 years of the Youth and Elders Gathering next year.

“And we’re also going to be appreciating hopefully all of the ones that helped us during this 25 years to come to where we are today in our healing journey,” Stone says. “There’s many stories that were shared in previous years of healing. It just fills my heart that what we’re doing in our community in inviting family and friends over, it’s a good thing, that journey of healing.”

Stone says the gathering was originally started in 1998 after a vision quest, noting that she had seen that the community was not well.

“The vision I went on said to start an Elder’s gathering, but after a couple of years the youth said, OK, what about us,” Stone says. “So it developed into a Youth and Elders Gathering [with] a lot of holistic healings, bringing back the culture, the traditions, family healing, personal healing, a lot of sweat lodges, a lot of sharing circles, Elders coming to visit, family time.”

Stone says the gathering is open to “everybody to come and share.”

“We’re a small community but our children go to school in Wawa,” Stone says. “We need to come together to understand each other.”