Autumn Godwin is nehithaw iskwew from the Montreal Lake Cree Nation on Treaty 6 territory, Northern Saskatchewan. She actively facilitates decolonization by sharing information and creating community spaces for urban Indigenous peoples. At Concordia, she researches Indigenous cultural resurgence, with a focus on reclaiming language, ceremony and educational band-based practices.
Reawakening, not revitalization
by Autumn Godwin
Photo: Buckskin Babes
This piece was originally written by Autumn Godwin in May 2023. In it, Autumn discusses the experience of running a moose-hide tanning camp, which took place at Batiment 7 in Pointe-Saint-Charles. Autumn runs Buckskin Babes, a SHIFT-funded partner team that works on relearning cultural practices within urban Indigenous groups living in Tiohtià: ke/Montreal. Buckskin Babes provides workshops across the Greater Montreal Area and collaborates with other organizations under the guidance of Elders and Knowledge Keepers to facilitate traditional practices for and by Indigenous students.
The piece has been edited lightly for clarity by Autumn and by the SHIFT team.
I do not like to use the word revitalize within this context because our practices are not new, many people living in their communities and still working on their traplines have continued to tan moose hides for generations. However, they are not highlighted within mainstream media nor do they have a platform like we have here. This past week, we had guests from Kitigan Zibi and Indigenous youth/students from Dawson College who joined and taught us how to pluck and cook geese. They shared with us about our food systems and explained what kind of foods we eat during each season. They hold the knowledge so I would consider them our teachers. They understand natural law and they practice it daily so to say we are revitalizing would be an insult to them. These practices have always been there, just not visible to us Urban Indigenous community because many of us have been disconnected from our lands, traplines and the bush life due to various reasons. What we are doing is asking people to share what they know so we can understand and connect to our lands, our languages, medicines, food and our culture.
Photo: Buckskin Babes
Photo: Buckskin Babes
We learn collectively and we must share roles and responsibilities so that each person has the opportunity to learn. It was a great honor and privilege to be able to observe and be a helper to an experienced hide tanner this week. We learned many lessons this week, both in tanning a hide and in organizing an urban camp. We will carry these teachings forward and we will continue both practices in order to get better.
This hide camp was special to me because we invited residential school survivors/Elders to join us from across Turtle Island to share their medicines and teachings with us. We had a crazy aunt who gifted us with laughter and love. She traded her medicines and provided a safe space for all our guests. In her community, she is a warrior and land defender, she protects the land from ongoing extraction because she understands the lands and waters are our sustainability and who will protect the non humans and environment if we don’t? Also, our roadside Queen with her inventive creations such as blueberry dyed salmon bones to make earrings/necklaces and drying the beaver pelts for whatever beautiful creation she decides to make with it. She is always busy both in her community and in our camps and she enjoys sharing her knowledge and creating fun working enviroments for us to learn.
Tanning a moose hide is not an easy process nor is organizing an urban camp. Both take a considerable amount of time, patience and practice. It takes a community to work together in both settings.
Photo: Buckskin Babes
Personally, I like the word reawakening.
We are reawakening our spirits when we do these types of work both for ourselves and our youth within the urban landscape. I say reawakening because these practices were sleeping within us and when we organize and bring people together, and we share what we know, we are reminded of the old ways. There is a lot of good medicine that happens when we let go of fear, even our Elders are learning and healing amongst each other. They begin to remember what life was like before the trauma of residential schools and they start to share their stories. This is important because although we understand the impact of colonization, we know what we must do. We must take care of each other but also care for ourselves in the process. This camp informed our relatives that we are thriving within the urban jungle and that we are hungry for our teachings. Our ancestors are observing what we are doing and even though we make mistakes they are proud of us.
Tiniki to everyone who joined us and supported this camp,
Autumn Godwin
