Author Archives: benjaminironstand

Culture Camp

The purpose of the camp was for students to learn Indigenous content in Indigenous ways

Bow making

Mitiigwab – the bow. Once the tree has been cut down the wood must cure until it has dried enough to begin working it. A good rule of thumb is about 1 year for every inch of diameter. The next step is to split the wood and make staves. Once the staves have been cut …

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Anishinaabemowin

This is a list of Anishinaabe words and phrases which I have compiled mainly through conversation with nimishoomis and noko (my grandfather and grandmother).

Peer Reviewed Article

Here is a link to “Generating and sustaining positive spaces: reflections on an Indigenous youth urban arts program,” a peer-reviewed article which I co-authored with our team from IPHRC. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1177180117714406

Deer Processing and Raw Hide

This post shows the process from hunting, to skinning, to stretching, and fleshing the hide to make raw-hide. Click on the images to read the description. Bellow is a video of part of the process as well as photos with descriptions in the captions. Once the animal is killed, tobacco is offered and a prayer …

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Noondamikwe – Beaver hunting

Amik – The Beaver: Amik is one of the wisest animals and appears in our creation stories. It used to be one of our primary food sources before colonization and also is a source of traditional medicine. During the fur trade, amik was one of the main resources sought after by the European fur traders …

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