Anishinaabe Team Rebuilds and Repairs Relationship with Water We are Canoe People. When I first started saying this I felt weird and got alot of side eye. But I know from time immemorial Anishinaabeg have migrated and thrived on our waterways. From a system of highways to the center of our food system we have always relied upon the water. The memory of this has been systematically taken from us. Through the theft of our children to the boarding schools to the allotment system removing our access to waterways that lie even within our reservation boundaries, our ability to move and live a mino bimaadiziiwin has been under attack for hundreds of years in many ways. As a trail runner...
One of our basic Ojibwe principles is Reciprocity. Whether it's about helping each other during ceremonies, taking care of each other's children, or giving someone a ride to the store, we have always worked together to thrive and during other times to survive. Manoominikewin with Kaasii Houchin As an entrepreneur the push is always to grow grow grow and focus on the profit of the business. But Heart Berry is more than a business, we are a cultural art space. We are working to revitalize moccasin making. We are institutionalizing Ojibwe art. We are always working to re align ourselves to the Heart. Makizinikewin with Elders at Biigidain Housing 15 months ago I attended a scholarship ceremony at Cloquet High...
If you've been following along, we don't really do things the usual way. At Heart Berry we are always aligning and re aligning ourselves with who we are as Ojibwe. When we work and lead from the heart our choices are often different. As the boss I am thinking about how do I want to lead, how do I want to provide opportunities for development not only as staff but development of us as Ojibwes. This past winter we began to offer Ojibwe language study time as paid time at work. My belief is that this reciprocity is what helps us thrive. I want a staff that is connecting, learning, and growing as Ojibwe people, not only as "workers". Who...
Indigenous People are master scientists, inventors, historians, and navigators. We have used our knowledge of the land, water, stars, plants, animals, and our human ingenuity to thrive in reciprocity for thousands and thousands of years. The genocide, and truly apocalypse of disruption caused by colonialism changed not only our knowledge of these incredible systems but the Way we passed that knowledge. The US Policy of church ran Boarding schools in specific decimated generations of our families. While mentorship, teaching, and learning was a fundamental part of our way of life, our first experience with what we now consider “school” was one of loss and trauma. Now here we stand in 2025 Our students sit at this crossroads of that experience...
