Nanaboozhoo (Greetings in the Name of Ojibwe First Teacher)!
Through research of the Seasonal Pedagogy and the Memory Teaching Bundle, Dr. Gokoomis (Grandmother) Jacque shared her memories of a Wiigiwaam (Grandmother’s Lodge/Bush Shelter) that was built behind her family cabin at the edge of the bush just beyond Shawanaga First Nation reservation. While there are many ways to make wiigiwaamen (plural), the teachings that she shared were that these round lodges, shaped like Doodoom Aki (Mother Earth), were always within the care and direction of Gokoomisag (Grandmothers). From these Wiigiwaamen (Grandmother Lodges) come first teachings of Four Directions (East, South, West, North), Four Seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), Four Races of Human Beings (Asian Peoples, Indigenous Peoples, Black Peoples, White Peoples), and the Four Sacred Medicines beginning with Asemaa Nitam (Sacred Tobacco First).
These first teachings connect back to Nanaboozhoo (Ojibwe First Teacher), his Gokoomis (Grandmother), and the Wiigiwaam they shared at the beginning of his time on Doodoom Aki (Mother Earth) which you can read more about in The Mishomis Book: Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Benai.
Each Direction is tied equally in those Four Sacred Colours of Yellow, Red, Black, and White that connect all connect back to those First Teachings of the Four Directions. When these Wiigiwaamen (Grandmother Lodges) are strategically located adjacent to communities intent on reconnecting with these Old Bush Teachings, they provide a safe space for children, families, and anyone looking to come into relationship with this Che Gete Inaakonigewin (Very Old Anishinaabe Law) following an Anishinaabe Calendar of the Solstices, Equinoxes, and 13 Moons of Creation.
Gichi Miigwech (A Big Thank You)!