circleteachingspublishing

Rekindling our Relationships

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 21:30:40 GMT

Spring might not be here yet, but the warmth of this month hasn’t just been in the weather.

Lots of great things are happening behind the scenes at Circle Teachings, including new projects and the building of new relationships! We have so many amazing things to share with you in 2023 and 2024.

We have truly had a blast over the past few months, meeting many new and incredible people and beginning multiple projects. This will result in new calendars, new books, and multimedia projects being released throughout this year and the next. Those who have signed up for our newsletter will be the first in the know! As February winds to a close, we are hopeful that this spring will be the breath of fresh air we need to reinvigorate our creativity. Reconnecting with our past and current authors is an important step towards collaborating on future projects, and springtime is the perfect setting for it.

If your community is interested in working with us on a custom calendar or other multimedia project, now is the time to contact us! This is the ideal time of year to begin work in order to have a finished project ready for 2024.

In the meantime, we hope you continue to enjoy our current publications, whose authors we treasure and appreciate! Explore our website to learn more.

2023 has Arrived

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 18:04:54 GMT

Our reflections for the New Year

With the first month of 2023 almost gone, we’ve been reflecting on the amazing things we were a part of in 2022. We are so thankful to our community and friends for their incredible support, wisdom, and guidance. We are proud to have been able to put out new editions of every single one of our calendars for 2023!

Photo Credit: Olivier Prt, https://flic.kr/p/2gzSRTh

We have also been involved in a variety of publishing projects which will soon be available in 2023, including two books. Keep your eyes peeled and your email open for our upcoming announcements of where to find and purchase these new publications. Good things are on the way!

Circle Teachings intends 2023 to be a year of reconnecting with the community. We were able to participate in a few conferences and markets during the last few months of 2022, but we want to ramp up our in-person presence in 2023. We are currently considering locations for an office and studio space, and we will be announcing our participation in various festivals, shows, conferences, and more as the year progresses. For now, 2023 calendars continue to be available for purchase in our online shop, with in-person pick-up available in Edmonton and Canada-wide shipping.

We hope that 2023 is looking just as bright for you as it is for us, and we would like to offer our sincere thanks to everyone who helped us get here. Thank you, from The Circle Teachings Team.

Jubilant Holidays and a Happy New Year from Circle Teachings

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 22:19:56 GMT

The Winter Solstice is a time for rest, reflection, and rebirth

While some of our customers may have already started their 14-month calendars, now is the time for many of you to open them up for 2023! We hope you enjoy the history timeline at the front of the calendars, and that it helps to centre you in the rich context of Indigenous history.

The winter solstice has passed, and the days are set to be longer and brighter as the year begins! The New Year is a time of fresh beginnings, rebirth, and reaffirming relationships with your loved ones. Circle Teachings hopes that 2023 will bring good tidings to you all.

For those who haven’t yet purchased their 2023 calendar, they are still available on our online store. Pickup orders and shipping will be paused from December 25th to January 1st, but online orders will still be accepted and delivered in the New Year.

Meet us at Holiday Markets

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:41:13 GMT

The Circle Teachings Team has had a lovely time participating in a variety of holiday markets throughout November and into December!

This year, we were at the River Cree Holiday Market, and the Yellowhead Tribal College Holiday Fair and Market. We anticipate setting up shop at perhaps one or two more before the New Year (details TBA), giving you a chance to come and say hello.

If you’re unable to meet us there, you can also purchase calendars and posters from our online store, or give us a call. We have curbside pick-up available in Edmonton, along with Canada-wide shipping. To get your calendars in the mail before the New Year, we recommend that you buy them before December 15th, although late orders will of course be accepted. With the holidays coming up quickly, our story calendars make excellent educational and cultural gifts.

What could be better during the holidays than spending time by a nice, warm fire listening to kohkom? Well, with Stories from the kohkoms I and II , you can be surrounded by kohkom wisdom year-round. After feedback from some of our Elders, we will also be changing the name of these calendars to Stories from the ôhkomimâwak I and II , so watch for that in the New Year!

Stories from the bush offers an excellent educational starting point for beginner Cree learners. If your New Year’s resolution is to start learning, this calendar will help you follow through with Cree Language and teachings on the wall year-round.

Traditional dances and regalia are showcased in Stories from the Pow Wow Circle , bringing colour, movement, and music into your home. Learn about the history of dance, the significance of regalia, and Indigenous artistic resurgence.

And for those who are dealing with loss, mourning, and residential school trauma, Moving Forward Together offers stories of traditional healing and Indigenous resilience. The holidays can be a tough time for many, and Moving Forward Together is a good reminder that you are not alone. Many people are working together to make a brighter future.

The holidays are approaching fast!

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 23:14:00 GMT

Despite the unseasonal warmth of this October, the Holiday Season is almost here! Have you thought about what you’re getting your loved ones this year? Circle Teachings Publishing has great gifts for people of all ages. Everyone needs a calendar for 2023!

Our calendars are suitable for people at all stages of development. These stories offer wisdom, love, and knowledge for the New Year. Each calendar is full of pictures designed for inspiration and reflection, alongside a huge variety of stories and traditional teachings. Our unique historical timelines at the beginning of each calendar are an educational resource you won’t find in schools — yet! The Circle Teachings Team is dedicated to showcasing the histories and teachings of Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island in an honest and heartfelt way, and we hope that you enjoy what we have to offer this Holiday Season!

Our Stories from the bush calendar is the perfect tool for Cree Language learners looking to practice their vocabulary and learn traditional Cree teachings at the same time.

Stories from the kohkoms I and II are excellent for parents looking to reconnect with age-old traditions of motherhood, child-rearing, and guidance from women elders.

For those who are more interested in history, our Stories from the Métis of St. Albert calendar provides a look into the rich past and continuing vibrance of the Métis of St. Albert.

And our Moving Forward Together calendar offers stories of traditional healing, hope, and cultural resilience and resurgence in the face of residential school trauma.

Update to the Moving Forward Together project

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 19:34:42 GMT

The seasons are changing again this year, and it has been lovely to look outside and watch the leaves transform. After such a hot summer, this cool break is very welcome. However, September is also an important time to remember the history of residential schools and genocide in Canada, and to reflect on what this season meant for thousands of children who were forced to leave their families. The second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will land on Orange Shirt Day, September 30th. Leading up to this day, we encourage everyone to take part in the many different truth-telling, supportive, and reconciliatory events happening across the country.

In light of recent events in Canada, we decided to put extra effort into the Moving Forward Together project this year, and do our part to support the resurgence and resilience of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Moving Forward Together has received a new section dedicated to the Recent Firsts of the First Peoples , including the accomplishments of people like NDP MLA Blake Desjarlais and Governor General Mary Simon. It also has new updates about the unmarked graves found last year and this year, along with the Pope’s visit to Canada. We have added 4 new month stories as well, upping the calendar’s month total to 16.

We felt that it was important to focus on the Moving Forward Together project and have it released for this season in the wake of Pope Francis’ penitential pilgrimage. We know tensions are running high, and we hope that this calendar can help to provide support to those who want to learn more about residential schools, and those who are struggling with the legacy of residential schools as Survivors, Support Workers, and those dealing with intergenerational trauma.

Reaching out to the community! - August 2022

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 22:16:17 GMT

What a busy summer!

This summer has been very active for our team! We hosted a booth at K-Days, we put out 2023 editions of our calendars, and our team is travelling to Wabasca this week to photograph the Renewing Our Spirit Youth Conference!

We have finally been able to get out of lockdown and into the sun, and we are so happy to be able to engage with our friends in person once more. A lot has happened since our last blog post, and we are very excited to bring you new teachings from the community of Elders and Knowledge Keepers who lead our publications.

We are currently still working on Stories from the kohkoms III , which was put on hold due to the teaching camps being cancelled. We hope to soon publish a new collection of stories, which we have compiled through individual interviews rather than one large group event.

In addition, we would like to announce that we have begun work on a new series: Stories from the multicultural grandmothers . This series involves interviewing grandmothers and community Elders from various cultures, using the theme of food to connect them. Food is a universal need, and it plays different roles in many cultures. We hope that by interviewing multicultural grandmothers about food, that we can produce a calendar that will teach about the interconnectedness of humanity and the importance of passing down culture to new generations. Production of this project is ongoing, and anyone who would like to participate is invited to contact us to receive an information package and be screened for an interview!

Thank you so much to everyone who has continued to support us, and to anyone new who is interested in learning through our materials!

New story calendars and new editions of your favourites!

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 19:25:51 GMT

Introducing Stories from the Powwow Circle!

It's what you've been waiting for:

New story calendars and new editions of your favourites in our Stories from... series for 2021, now available for order and preorder!

The holidays are almost here! We have you covered for your favourite calendar series, and we are ready to take orders for Stories from the kohkoms I, II , and (get ready for it) Stories from the kohkoms III ! We are also accepting preorders for Stories from the Powwow Circle , a brand new Circle Teachings calendar. And we have 2021 Stories from the bush and Stories from the Métis calendars available to buy now!

Brand new story calendar in the series:

Stories from the Powwow Circle;

Healing through cultural dance and art during a global pandemic.

Circle Teachings has been working on a Powwow themed calendar in collaboration with the Running Thunder Powwow group and Adrian LaChance. We have now included teachings from Elders and knowledge keepers. The calendar is near completion and we are excited to announce that you may order now on our website!

"The ceremony of Powwow includes teachings of the medicine wheel. Of all the elements; the fire that comes from the sky, that’s the tempo and the beat and the dancers dance according to the tempo of the drum; the water, the wind, and how we move in that circle of life on the Earth. It renews our relationship with all those four elements of life. And it also teaches us about the four stages of life and belonging in community and ceremony."

We want to showcase the depth beyond the surface beauty of Powwow, and give dancers, drummers, and Elders a chance to describe the lifestyle, ceremony, and teachings that make it sacred.

New edition of a fan favourite:
Stories from the kohkoms III;
The stories that the kohkoms
chose to tell

We are very excited to announce that a brand new Stories from the Kohkoms III calendar will be available soon! Keep your eye on our website for it to go live. We are sure they will go fast as it has been some time since we released a new calendar in this popular series!

Correction: The calendar is still under development and not yet published

Created in collaboration with the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society of Edmonton.

New story topics include:

Manat’siwn (respect)
Ahcakos Iyiniwak, returning to the stars
Visions and Miracles
Non-interference
Where are you from?
Relations
Growing up on the reserve and then in an “Indian Hospital”
Discipline
Little People
Kisewatisiwin
Protocol
Staying connected with our spirits
Dry meat : la vyaand shaysh
Smudging

We have announcements to make!

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 22:08:02 GMT

New calendars, a BOOK, and opportunities for you

How are you doing out there? We know it's a tough time as we all adjust to life during a global pandemic. We hope you are finding ways to care for yourself and you community, and that we will emerge stronger and with a more keen sense of how precious life and connection truly are.

We have been busy!

Our work has not stopped, and it feels more needed now than ever.

We are adjusting our activities to focus on delivering solutions for connection, celebration, education, cultural knowledge transmission, intergenerational learning, and community healing through multimedia.

Many gatherings and celebrations are postponed. But what would have been expressed and given to the audience at those events can still be offered in new ways. Through video, print media, and other means of communication we are helping organizations reach audiences that are staying safe and taking care.

We've officially had our first frost, so it's time to stock up on some new reading material and get cozy with a cup of tea!

Announcing Hannah Clifford's first book, Hallway

This is a story of a Saulteau Cree rapper who is on his deathbed. David spent his twenties rapping around the world under the name The Aboriginal Original. Follow this story of David and his friends, while they learn about death and dying. The narration is based on true events and told from the eyes of a girl, in her twenties, in love at his bedside.

About the author

Hannah Clifford was born and raised in Prince George British Columbia, one of Canada‘s most dangerous cities. Growing up Hannah learned a lot about social justice and wellness in community. In elementary school she spent many days walking to Jubilee Lodge with her class to sing the songs like “I Think You’re Wonderful” with seniors. She enjoyed writing, though struggled to read as a young child. As a youth she wrote a poem and was asked to speak at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43. At 11 years old Hannah took her St. John’s Ambulance babysitting course and became a Childminder at the Aboriginal Head Start pre school on nights when parents and teachers had meetings. This was the beginning of her youth work career. She later became a Community Facilitator teaching film and art in many communities in Canada for over eight years. Hannah grew up under the wing of her parents. Her mother was the Director of Health at the Prince George Native Friendship Centre, for twenty years. Her father was a pool hall proprietor. He often stood on Third Ave and George Street, sometimes offering players tobacco in trade for a story. Her father would then tell Hannah the stories and she was humbled to learn about the world that surrounded her. Hannah is excited to continue writing and to continue learning stories that build our communities. She is of Irish, Lower Russian and Métis decent. Hallway is Hannah’s first published book.

Stories from the Pow Wow Circle

Healing through cultural dance and art during a global pandemic

Circle Teachings has been working on a Pow Wow themed calendar in collaboration with the Running Thunder Pow Wow group and Adrian LaChance.

We want to show the depth beyond the surface beauty of Pow Wow, and give dancers and drummers a chance to describe the lifestyle, ceremony, and teachings that make it sacred.

Adrian shared an important teaching with us: that many people from a variety of dance groups and nations have always traditionally come together in the Pow Wow circle, and it is time to bring more people into the circle of creating this calendar. We are currently seeking community organizations to collaborate with, to align with the teaching of many coming together for Pow Wow and healing.

Now more than ever we need ways to connect with our customers, friends, and families that are safe and yet still powerful, and inspiring. We need reminders and teachings that bolster our resilience. This calendar does not replace the Pow Wows we are missing, but it is the published equivalent to one.

The calendar gathers together dancers, role models, crafters, and those with stories that will connect and inspire us in a format that is already beloved and familiar to our clients and customers.

We’re not sure when we will be able to gather in the same ways we used to, and the calendar will help tide us over. We are envisioning that reading and looking at it will feel like being at a Grand Entry, but with more rich behind the scenes information, including a timeline about Pow Wow history.

The theme of the calendar will be healing through cultural dance and art from Indigenous perspectives ; there will be stories about what dancers have done to stay balanced in their medicine wheel throughout the pandemic, and things that readers can do to stay connected, safe, and healthy. There will also be stories about regalia and traditional crafts, and teachings behind Pow Wow gifts like blankets.

The calendar can also be created with a poster series or other spin-offs in mind. The cost of creating posters is very low when converting images and text directly from a calendar.

We are also working on our Kohkom III calendar, and a Multicultural Grandmothers of Edmonton calendar!

Stay tuned for more information and in the meantime:

Let us know if your grandmother has any good recipes!
Email us or give us a call if you want to get involved. We need volunteers, submissions, and sponsors!
Now is the time, we are working on getting this calendar done this fall!

Thanks for keeping
up to date!

Circle Teachings is proud to help host part of the Government of Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 22:27:53 GMT

Join us virtually! The video is live and you can check it out below!

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day. It is a day for all Canadians to honour and celebrate the contributions of the original people of Turtle Island; the First Nation, Inuit and Métis Peoples.

Despite limitations due to Covid-19. The following virtual presentation was completed through the pure and sincere dedication of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members who wanted to ensure this day is still recognized!

Virtual celebration program highlights:

Grand entry
O’ Canada in three languages: English, French and Cree
Federal Family Message – RDG Jamie Brown and REO Rhonda Laboucan
Jingle dress healing dance
Métis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras’ Special Message
Métis Dancing
Inuit Elder Edna Elias Special Message
And more!

On behalf of Circle Teachings, we thank everyone who made this virtual presentation possible. A special note of appreciation to Alberta’s National Indigenous Peoples Day Chairperson Heather Poitras, whose passion and prayers helped to inspire and drive this unique project. As a non-Indigenous partner, we are committed to helping with reconciliation and healing as we walk forward together.

Our company produces cultural teaching calendars, many in partnership with Indigenous educators, Elders, and community members. More recently, we started making videos. If you have inquiries and would like to create your own products, we would be happy to hear from you.

We sincerely hope you enjoy this year’s NIPD virtual celebration. We look forward to celebrating the signing on June 21, 2021!

ENJOY

For more information on National Indigenous Peoples Day, Métis Fest and other celebrations in Alberta please explore the links below!:

https://www.alberta.ca/national-indigenous-peoples-day-celebrations.aspx
http://albertametis.com/alberta-metis-fest-2020/
https://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/schedule_festivals_events/national-aboriginal-day.aspx
http://albertametis.com/about/news/events/
https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013248/1534872397533

It's about time we checked in with you

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 22:11:50 GMT

How is everyone doing out there? We know it has not been an easy Spring for most.

We pray that you are all safe and healthy.

During the pandemic, we have been reminded of some of the teachings our Elders and the ohkomak (grandmothers in Cree) have been sharing with us for years.

We are all interconnected. What we do now impacts all our relations, and our future generations.

We can choose to enhance or hinder through the way we live our life.We have a responsibility to defend the sacred.

We need to care for and respect our bodies, as they are a gift from Creator. Listening to the wisdom of your body is respecting that gift.

Now is the time to celebrate the gift of life, and the health of our families. Celebration of life should not be just when someone passes on.

The Circle Teachings team has been very lucky to have kept working on meaningful projects while sheltering in place

We are proud to work with the First Nations Health Consortium (FNHC) on their Annual Report design for the second year in a row. The FNHC's work is incredibly important to the wellness of First Nations children across Alberta.

FNHC is one of the first organizations in Canada to implement Jordan’s Principle - Child First Initiative, striving to ensure First Nations and Inuit children are not subject to delay, denial or disruption of services due to disputes between governments or government departments.

We have also been working on a commemorative booklet for the Bigstone Cree Nation Elders Lodge, which closed after over 20 years of serving the community this Spring. The Lodge provided a safe home-like environment for the Elders and hosted a variety of programs over the years. We're proud to help out with this project through writing and designing the booklet!

We're also working on a video for National Indigenous Peoples' Day on June 21. Under normal circumstances, we would be preparing to attend, participate in, and organize events to celebrate the contributions, cultures, and heritage of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Due to the seriousness of the Covid-19 crisis the celebrations for National Indigenous Peoples Day will be at home. We were asked to help create a video to bring the community together in celebration through film, so that presenters, performers, and community members could still contribute to the celebration.

Another exciting development is that Circle Teachings is working on a variety of multimedia projects with Mikisew Cree First Nation and its Elders. We are in the process of creating an app, videos, curriculum materials, a book, and even a cultural festival which will occur whenever it is safe to gather in numbers. Our goal is to support Mikisew Cree First Nation in preserving their heritage: their language, culture, the stories of their Elders, and their skills and arts. Both Mikisew Cree First Nation and Circle Teachings do this for the benefit of the future generations.

There are many more exciting projects on the horizon!

We are currently working on a Stories from the Kohkoms III calendar with the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society. The approach to this years' edition of the calendar will be different; each month will feature one individual kohkom's submission or stories. We look forward to adding another calendar to the series!

We are also working on the Multicultural Grandmother calendar. We are looking for submissions, especially from those who are in a "support bubble" with their grandmother, in lieu of organizing interviews right now between youth and grandmothers to keep everyone safe! Contact us if you'd like to submit, or if you know someone who would. Any and all grandmothers are welcome to submit some advice for the future generations, recipes, poems, or anything else they are inspired to offer for publication.

Thanks for keeping up to date, and look out for exciting updates soon in our newsletter!

We want you to head into the holidays with this...

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 20:59:36 GMT

Love, gratitude, and well wishes from the team at Circle Teachings!

On behalf of Circle Teachings, thank you for another fantastic year! We are very proud to look back on completing the Stories from the Métis of St. Albert Calendar, the Residential School Health Support Worker calendar called Moving forward together, and some custom calendars for groups like the Mikisew Cree First Nation, who we are honoured to work with.

We also did a lot of work to plant seeds for new calendars next year, such as two related to different Jordan's Principle related programs and organizations, a multicultural grandmother calendar, an expanded Métis calendar, and more!

Just like the little birdy told you, we've got 2020/2021 calendars! All of your favourites and some new ones available now!

Stories from the Métis of St. Albert (NEW); Stories from the kohkoms I and II; Stories from the bush; Moving forward together (NEW); and everything is also available in poster form!

Stories from the Métis of St. Albert (NEW); Stories from the kohkoms I and II; Stories from the bush; Moving forward together (NEW); and everything is also available in poster form!

Call to purchase: (780) 452-0601

Calendars can be ordered online or by phone, and shipped or picked up at our downtown Edmonton location! There's still time before the holidays.

Don't be a stranger!

Please come visit us in the New Year in our new location at 12032 102 Avenue. We are happily established in a new home; a little house with a purple door right across from the Oliver Exchange building. In the New Year, look out for an invitation to our next open house.

Thanks again, and see you in the New Year!

And just for fun... Here's a couple classic Christmas songs sung in Cree for the road! These videos aren't ours but they sure have been playing a lot around our office.

Little Drummer Boy

Jingle Bells

O Holy Night

Visit Our Open House

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 19:14:33 GMT

Come and celebrate our new studio with us!

Please join us on November 21-23, from 9:30AM-5:00PM,
as we celebrate our new home! It will be our delight and joy to see you at the studio.

After 25 years in the same west-end office suite, Soul of Canada
and its affiliated company Circle Teachings will be setting up shop
in the Oliver neighbourhood.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Come to our open house!

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 17:02:44 GMT

Please come visit with us on Wednesday the 17th any time between 10:00 and 17:00 for light refreshments and mingling.

We will do a short presentation on our upcoming Stories from the Multicultural Grandmothers of Edmonton project at 15:00, and invite community participation and discussion.

Don't miss this opportunity to ask us questions about our full range of projects, see how you can get involved, and meet kohkoms from our community!

How to find us

We are on the corner of 143rd street and Stony Plain Road. If you are going west on Stony Plain Road, there is a small parking lot on your right (north side of street) right before 143rd.

We are in the building beside that parking lot upstairs on the second floor. Here are pictures of the parking lot and building.

What to bring

Your lovely self
Your questions and curiosity
An *optional potluck item
(bonus if it is a family recipe, or a traditional food from your culture!)

We hope to see you in a couple weeks!

Reconciliation in Education

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Our response to the need for respectful and appropriate educational resources, guided by Elders and Indigenous grandparents

All teachers in Alberta are now mandated to respectfully include First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives and experiences in curriculum, including content focused on residential schools and treaties. Not all teachers are prepared for this, or feel they have the proper resources to do so.

Education should have always been fair, respectful, safe, and inclusive, but it has not been. Teachers and Indigenous activists, scholars, thought leaders, and Elders are working hard to make Canadian education better. Teachers need resources, and they need them now.

We are doing our best to support the process and be a bridge between Elders and educators, and ultimately, the coming generations. This is about education that strengthens relationship and builds on a past that we should all be aware of so that history does not repeat itself.

Building relationships takes time. Teachers ask us if it would be appropriate to have an Elder come to their classroom. How they can get an Elder to come to their classroom when they don’t know who to approach, or what they can do if it isn’t possible for whatever reason?

We have been working to connect teachers with Elders that can address their questions, and provide Alberta teachers with content directly from Elders from Treaty 6, 7, and 8, and the Kohkoms of the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society. Our teaching calendars, videos, and lesson plans will help fulfill some of the need.

We are also working with Residential Health Support Workers on a residential school teaching calendar. This includes a timeline composed of points (in the public domain) from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s reports, so that they are in an accessible format.

When this is complete, we will be sending a pdf version of the residential school timeline in our newsletter as a printable resource.

Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta and Bi-Giwin

Survivors with the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta (SSISA) were present in Canada Place earlier this month at their powerful National Exhibit. When the exhibit tours, Survivors tour with it and interact with folks who come by to learn about the Sixties Scoop. It gives the public important opportunities to learn from Survivors' stories, and it also gives local Survivors a chance to connect with people who share similar experiences. Belonging is incredibly important for Survivors, many of whom have not felt a sense of belonging for most of their life because of the system.

One of the kohkoms we work with, Kathy Hamelin, who contributed as an oral storyteller to our Stories from the Kohkoms II calendar, is a Survivor on the board of SSISA who travels with the exhibit. She walked us around the exhibit and shared stories with us. It was a moving experience.

For those who have never heard of the Sixties Scoop, it is as important to understand as residential school history. When residential schools began to close in the 60s up until the late 90s, the Canadian Government used child welfare services as another institutional method of assimilation. They legally kidnapped Indigenous children who were displaced from home communities and trafficked, adopted out, or placed into foster homes. Many Survivors deal with obstacles to wellness that stem from trauma; many have ended up on the street or incarcerated.

This is an ongoing issue and currently we live in the time of the Millennium Scoop.

The Sixties Scoop and Millennium Scoop are part of the legacy of residential schools and strategies of assimilation. The excuse for apprehensions has often been that parents and extended family are not fit to care for their children in their home communities. Many of those parents are descendants of residential school Survivors or Survivors themselves. A lot of them are dealing with their own healing journey from residential school, but historically, Indigenous parents have also been deemed unfit by the Canadian Government for simply being Indigenous, or traditional. Unfortunately the placements for children who are apprehended are too often not culturally appropriate, and can even be abusive. Some say that this is a part of an ongoing strategy to erase Indigeneity (CBC, 2018).

Article referenced: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/a-special-edition-of-the-current-for-january-25-2018-1.4503172/the-millennium-scoop-indigenous-youth-say-care-system-repeats-horrors-of-the-past-1.4503179

April News

Open house

Join us on April 17th, 2019, for our first open house! We will have all of the calendars and educational products displayed and some light refreshments available. We will be also be inviting visitors to contribute ideas to the Multicultural Grandmother calendar. This is not mandatory. If you're interested in how you can help please contact us with questions beforehand, or come to visit and ask us on the day of the open house.

Professional development session for teachers

Keep your eyes on our updates for our future sessions and the release of the Edu-kit we are working on!

Thanks for reading our newsletter this month. We hope to see you at our open house!

Announcing the Stories from the Kohkoms video series!

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Scroll down to see our first ever Stories from the Kohkoms video!

Making Elder role-models and teachings accessible to youth through digital media

Imagine the anticipation of sitting down in front of a kohkom or grandmother who is prepared to share stories from her childhood and life experience; stories that convey teachings, traditional values, lessons in history and relationship building in the context of an interdependent world. This kind of experience is a sacred privilege, and should be the right of all children in their communities.

Many children, and even adults, never get an opportunity like this in their communities or families.

We want to make this experience accessible, if not in person, through digital media. And we have begun that process with Cree Métis Elder Elsie Paul.

One of the solutions that has been suggested both by our Elders, and educators who need to find a way to bring the teachings into classrooms, is to record oral storytellers.

Many of the Elders we work with emphasize how important it is for youth to have opportunities to sit and listen to their communities' Elders. They also discuss the barriers to this. One of the solutions that has been suggested both by our Elders, and educators who need to find a way to bring the teachings into classrooms and children's lives, is to record oral storytellers. These recordings can be made available so that they will serve youth and the future generations of the kohkoms' families and broader communities.

Videos could never replace the preciousness of visiting in person with Elders, and we encourage everyone out there to seek out a local Elder, prepared to give a gift of tobacco protocol, to sit and listen to teachings and history in person.

Check out our first teaching video!

Elsie Paul discusses kinship from her perspective as a Cree Métis Elder in the Circle Teachings studio space.

March News

Circle Teachings posters up in Kitaskinaw School Library!

Barb Halliday, librarian at Kitaskinaw School Library in Enoch First Nation, put the Circle Teachings poster series on display and we have never seen anything like it!

Invitation to monthly open house at Circle Teachings studio space

Keep an eye on your inbox for monthly open house invites, starting this March!

We welcome our community to come to our studio for tea and light snacks for a chance to get to know us and socialize with others who are interested in or contributing to the work we do at Circle Teachings.

Interesting articles and links

Grandma storytellers transmit culture to future generations
Weonjae Park, Chief of the Beautiful Story-Grandma Program, Advanced Center for Korean Studies:
https://ichcourier.ichcap.org/article/grandma-storytellers-transmit-culture-to-future-generations/

Grandmothers join Edmonton high school students in charitable game of Scrabble
Morgan Black, Radio Anchor/Reporter Global News:
https://globalnews.ca/news/4979099/grandmas-edmonton-students-scrabble/

Thanks for reading this month's newsletter and staying in touch!

Stories from the Multicultural Grandmothers of Edmonton and Treaty 6 Territory

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Circle Teachings is in the planning and networking stage of our long awaited Stories from the Multicultural Grandmothers of Edmonton project!

We need our community's help to get the word out to grandmother representatives from different faith and cultural communities in Edmonton, potential sponsors, and educators who might have other kinds of valuable input as to how this project should take shape!

How we arrived at the opportunity to do this project

Circle Teachings has been working closely for the past five years with Indigenous Elders, grandparents, and storytellers in Edmonton, Alberta.

That work has been done in collaboration with the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society of Edmonton, Alberta.

Our mission in working together is to build relationships, and create quality printed resources with teachings from Indigenous Elders and grandparents to support the resilience of our communities and Edmonton youth.

The Kohkom Society has multicultural membership and supporters, in addition to a broad spectrum of multicultural Indigenous members, and there have been countless requests for a Stories from Multicultural Grandmothers project. This would include grandmothers local and international (whose descendants live in Edmonton) who are from a variety of cultural and faith backgrounds.

"A project that connects young people to the teachings of multicultural grandmothers in their community to foster respect, resilience, and peaceful coexistence."

Including multicultural grandmothers in one publication facilitates curiosity in, acceptance of, and respect for other cultures’ customs and traditions.

"This is about relationship building."

Our vision for Edmonton’s multicultural future is that not only are people from all different cultures welcome to live here, but that they can keep their cultures alive in Edmonton and share them in the spirit of relationship building, and common values.

"We wish for other cultures to feel welcome and respected when they come here, to learn about cultures Indigenous to the land they live on, and to share their own in respectful ways."

What you can do to help

Share this announcement with your network
Suggest grandmothers from your community that would be open to participating as an oral storyteller
Talk to us about what you would like to see as a result of this work
Connect us with sponsors, or sponsor the project

Fundraising

If funded adequately, this project will result in a calendar showcase with 44 pages, 10,000 words, and 65 photos; video teachings from interviews with multicultural grandmothers; audio material that can be used later in other ways such as a podcast, posters, blog posts, and more.

This project is groundbreaking in that it is lead and informed by Indigenous grandmothers who are active leaders in multicultural community building in Edmonton.

We require immediate sponsorship for this project in order to move forward. Please support the work we are doing together with Edmonton grandmothers from Indigenous and multicultural backgrounds to connect with youth and educators to make Edmonton a better place.

We are Treaty People

Thu, 14 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Why land acknowledgements are important and how to make them engaging

This month we collaborated with ECALA to put their land acknowledgement into visual form. Having an acknowledgement on the wall allows for constant recognition of territory and Treaty relationships. In addition to having a visual reminder, it is also important to open meetings and events with a land acknowledgement. In addition, we must consider why land acknowledgements are made, so that activities reflect an awareness of the Nation to Nation relationship we agree to have with Indigenous Nations we have entered into Treaty with.

Every time we do something on the land, in these territories, our activities are linked in some way to how we got here, the history of this land and the Peoples on it. Our activities might be contributing to reconciliation and right relationship, or they might be building on a history and contemporary reality of colonialism and colonial violence. When we ask ourselves how our activities today play into either, and discuss this in a land acknowledgement, the statement becomes more than just a disclaimer or a box to check. It becomes an active process of respecting relationship and building awareness. It is then a decolonial activity, not just a token of reconciliation.

How do our activities contribute to the relations we are building and maintaining on this land? Whose traditional territory is it? How are we honouring or giving back to them through our work to show our appreciation and respect for our Treaty relationship and presence here.

February News

Multicultural Grandmothers Project

Circle Teachings is in the project planning stage of a multicultural grandmothers project! This will be created in collaboration with the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society. We are seeking to build relationships in Edmonton’s multicultural communities. If you would like to get involved, or if you have ideas or a grandmother who would like to offer her stories, please reach out to us!

Circle Teachings’ work is done on Treaty 6 Territory. Through our various projects and services, we strive to honour Treaty and intercultural relationships, and maintain a presence that enhances rather than hinders the communities we work with. We explicitly support the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island and the Calls to Action and Recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Camp

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT

This weekend we packed up our vehicles and headed north-east from Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) towards Onihckiskiwapowinihk (Saddle Lake Cree Nation) for a weekend of workshops and ceremony led, facilitated, and attended by women of the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society.

This weekend we packed up our vehicles and headed north-east from Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) towards Onihckiskiwapowinihk (Saddle Lake Cree Nation) for a weekend of workshops and ceremony led, facilitated, and attended by women of the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society.

When we arrived the grandmothers were preparing food for campers who were setting up for the weekend in the field near the Eagle's Healing Lodge. Already standing in the field were two tipis and two Métis canvas tents, a big top tent, and a sweat lodge at the far end, tucked away from the activity areas. Near the entrance there was a kitchen area and washrooms.

We set up camp and went for lunch, greeting the kohkoms. The old people like it when young people greet them, one of them was to tell me later, so we made sure throughout the weekend to go shake hands and greet Elders like they did when they arrived. Their greetings and this practice of saying hello and shaking hands with everyone gave the camp a real feeling of community.

There were activities planned for all three days of the camp, with reflection periods and meal times between, and they began on Friday after the opening circle and prayers and our first meal together as a camp. At the first talk, we all sat in a circle (as we did many times throughout the weekend) and listened to a traditional Elder speak, and wavers were passed around for camp-out participants to sign.

The Elder spoke about how back in the old days before colonization, people gathered and did ceremony on the land without having to worry about laws that made it difficult for them to do so. Of course there were territories and protocols around doing ceremony and gathering, but the cultural protocol and traditional laws had more to do with being respectful of the land and nationhood than reporting to the government and getting permission and wavers from their legal system.

It can be arduous, confusing, intimidating, and expensive to get insurance and do the paper work needed to host a gathering. These kohkoms do it anyway because gathering and sharing knowledge is important. We all signed our wavers happily and gratefully because the kohkoms had done so much to be able to welcome us to the camp. We thought and spoke about the Treaties and the land we were on, that the Saddle Lake Cree Nation are custodians of. Many of the kohkoms in attendance were from Saddle Lake and have relations living there today. Some of them had lived there for their entire lives, and were in their 80s.

In the opening circle talk Elsie Paul shared with us about the value of learning the customs and beliefs of different nations. She spoke not only of Indigenous nations but of groups of people from around the world, and those living on Turtle Island. It is important to learn about each other, she said, because when we learn the customs and beliefs of others we can better respect and honour them. She gave the example of two different nations; one that sees it as respectful to eat all of the food you are given, and the other that has to keep giving food until the other stops eating. If these two are unaware of their customs, there will be some sore bellies and empty pantries in the end, and either side might feel disrespected; the ones who will keep eating will eat until they feel sick and might think that the others are trying to make them feel terrible, the other might think they are trying to eat all of their food stores.

Stories, beliefs, ceremonies, and language were shared over the course of the three day retreat between participants, and the long lineages many of them represented.

Nêhiyawêwin was spoken by old, and sometimes even the young attendees. There were Cree speaking circles, but the language was also spoken in the kitchen, around the dinner tables, by the fire, and just about anywhere the kohkoms went. One of the children in attendance said a Cree prayer in a ceremony and everyone around the circle let out a sigh because it was so beautiful to hear the little Elder speaking her language. Someone said at one point during the weekend "we're not losing our language, it's that our Cree spirit is sleeping and we have to wake it up within ourselves, we will listen to Cree and come to understand." The importance of language and passing it down to the little ones was made clear throughout the weekend. Being immersed in the language periodically throughout the weekend was a valuable experience because as one attendee expressed later in a closing circle, it's not often that one can be immersed in the Cree language; you can't just go somewhere for that. At one of the language circles it was said that some people see those Cree speaking spaces as spaces for healing because for a long time they were not supposed to speak their language, or they were shamed for it. They say "we're speaking again" in regard to participating in Cree sharing circles. Language is more than a practical mode of communication: it has to do with ancestry, nationhood, culture, and story-telling.

There was an overall theme to the weekend, and a message for the kohkom attendees from Elsie Paul; and that was that everyone accumulates knowledge, experiences, and stories, and that their teachings are valuable, that everyone has gifts to share. That is part of the kohkoms' role in community, to pass on experiences that are educational for younger generations, and to show everyone in the circle that they have something to share, and to encourage them to use their gifts and help their community in the ways that they can. That is why we are working together to create the Stories from the Grandmothers teaching calendar.

Circle Teachings staff were incredibly grateful to be a part of the camp-out retreat, and we would like to thank the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society and Elsie Paul for inviting and welcoming us into their community of learning and sharing. Thank you for honouring us continually throughout the retreat by publicly announcing our role at the camp to support the preservation and recording of important teachings and traditional knowledge in partnership with the kohkom society. It means a lot to us! Kinanâskomitin, hiy hiy!

If you would like to support the good work the kohkoms are doing please go to their gofundme campaign and contribute whatever you can! https://www.gofundme.com/dashboard-kohkom-teachings-story

And keep your eye on our blog and social media for photos, video, and audio from the retreat.

circleteachingspublishing

Rekindling our Relationships

Spring might not be here yet, but the warmth of this month hasn’t just been in the weather.

2023 has Arrived

Our reflections for the New Year

Jubilant Holidays and a Happy New Year from Circle Teachings

The Winter Solstice is a time for rest, reflection, and rebirth

Meet us at Holiday Markets

The Circle Teachings Team has had a lovely time participating in a variety of holiday markets throughout November and into December!

The holidays are approaching fast!

Update to the Moving Forward Together project

Reaching out to the community! - August 2022

What a busy summer!

New story calendars and new editions of your favourites!

Introducing Stories from the Powwow Circle!

Brand new story calendar in the series:

Stories from the Powwow Circle;

New edition of a fan favourite: Stories from the kohkoms III; The stories that the kohkoms chose to tell

New story topics include:

We have announcements to make!

New calendars, a BOOK, and opportunities for you

Circle Teachings is proud to help host part of the Government of Canada’s National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration

Join us virtually! The video is live and you can check it out below!

It's about time we checked in with you

We are all interconnected. What we do now impacts all our relations, and our future generations.

We can choose to enhance or hinder through the way we live our life.We have a responsibility to defend the sacred.

We need to care for and respect our bodies, as they are a gift from Creator. Listening to the wisdom of your body is respecting that gift.

Now is the time to celebrate the gift of life, and the health of our families. Celebration of life should not be just when someone passes on.

The Circle Teachings team has been very lucky to have kept working on meaningful projects while sheltering in place

There are many more exciting projects on the horizon!

Thanks for keeping up to date, and look out for exciting updates soon in our newsletter!

We want you to head into the holidays with this...

Love, gratitude, and well wishes from the team at Circle Teachings!

Just like the little birdy told you, we've got 2020/2021 calendars! All of your favourites and some new ones available now!

Call to purchase: (780) 452-0601

Don't be a stranger!

Thanks again, and see you in the New Year!

And just for fun... Here's a couple classic Christmas songs sung in Cree for the road! These videos aren't ours but they sure have been playing a lot around our office.

Little Drummer Boy

Jingle Bells

O Holy Night

Visit Our Open House

Come and celebrate our new studio with us!

Come to our open house!

Please come visit with us on Wednesday the 17th any time between 10:00 and 17:00 for light refreshments and mingling.

How to find us

What to bring

We hope to see you in a couple weeks!

Reconciliation in Education

Our response to the need for respectful and appropriate educational resources, guided by Elders and Indigenous grandparents

Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta and Bi-Giwin

April News

Announcing the Stories from the Kohkoms video series!

Scroll down to see our first ever Stories from the Kohkoms video!

Making Elder role-models and teachings accessible to youth through digital media

Check out our first teaching video!

March News

Invitation to monthly open house at Circle Teachings studio space

Interesting articles and links

Stories from the Multicultural Grandmothers of Edmonton and Treaty 6 Territory

Circle Teachings is in the planning and networking stage of our long awaited Stories from the Multicultural Grandmothers of Edmonton project!

How we arrived at the opportunity to do this project

What you can do to help

Fundraising

We are Treaty People

Why land acknowledgements are important and how to make them engaging

February News

Multicultural Grandmothers Project

Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Camp

This weekend we packed up our vehicles and headed north-east from Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) towards Onihckiskiwapowinihk (Saddle Lake Cree Nation) for a weekend of workshops and ceremony led, facilitated, and attended by women of the Kohkom Kisewatisiwin Society.

New edition of a fan favourite:
Stories from the kohkoms III;
The stories that the kohkoms
chose to tell