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(All meetings were held at Allan
& Lucy's near
Penetanguishene unless otherwise noted.)
January 23-24:
Eleven folks came this weekend. People went cross-country skiing to the
beaver dam. Drumming session and sweatlodge Saturday evening.
February 7-8: Winter
camping weekend at Cyprus Lake, Bruce Peninsula National park. Five people
braved very cold temperatures. Several walks to the spectacular
Georgian Bay shore were made.
February 20-21: Several
Ontario Trackers attended the Elders Conference at Trent University in
Peterborough, Ontario.
February 27-28: Eight
at this weekend. Sweatlodge Saturday evening - much snow to be shoveled
out of the way to get at the lodge. People took long walks, including
across the bay to an island. Basket-making.
March 20-21: Eleven
at this meeting. Sweatlodge Saturday evening. Fleshing hides,
hand-drill fire-making. On Sunday the group went for a long walk, some snow shoed
(still plenty of snow on the ground). On Sunday morning we had a sunrise
ceremony in honour of the Spring Equinox.
April 9-10: Some
folks came for individual 24-hour Vision Quests.
April 24-25:
Drum-making weekend, led by Allan. Twelve drums were made, 16 people came
to the weekend. Saturday afternoon we went for a herb walk, harvesting
wild leeks for supper. Sweatlodge Saturday evening. On Sunday we cut
wood for future sweatlodges.
May 22-23: The focus
of this weekend was on plants, led by Georgina. Included a plant walk down
to the beaver dam on Saturday. Sweatlodge Saturday evening. Sunday
focussed on herbal remedies, such as vinegar foot bath, tonics, tinctures,
etc. Some worked on planting garden. Thirteen people here this
weekend.
June 19-20: Fifteen
in attendance. Saturday we practiced bow & arrow, throwing sticks,
atl-atl. Sweatlodge Saturday evening. Beading workshop.
July 17-18: A quiet
weekend with a small group of six. Sweatlodge Saturday evening.
Basket-making led by Allan. Walks to beach and swamp.
August 21-22: At
Hildegard's place, near Durham. Six people attended this pleasant
weekend. Long walk through countryside. Drumming session Saturday
night.
September 18-19: This
weekend's focus was on tracking by the 14 in attendance. Raked areas on
trails and then examined them the next morning for tracks. The group also
had practice feeling the negative and positive energy in objects.
Sweatlodge Saturday evening.
October 23-24: Almost
all of the 16 folks here made a basket Saturday afternoon, using non-primitive
materials. Sweatlodge Saturday evening. Sunday we did a drum
stalking exercise. Some people studied skulls. Some burned out bowls
and spoons.
November 19-21: A
large number (23) at this weekend. We were taught how to make dream
catchers, and many folks made one. We had two sweatlodges Saturday night:
first one for the women, second for the men. On Sunday we had the
experience of killing live rabbits for food, skinning them, and cooking them in
pits. One person brought an excellent collection of skulls for us to look
at.
December 17-18:
Nineteen people here. On Saturday we went for a long walk. Later we
collected wood and rocks for future sweatlodges. Saturday night we had a
long hot sweat. Sunday we did a giveaway. The concept of this is
that each person was to bring an object that had personal meaning for them at
one time, and they feel that it is now time to give it away. The objects
are then exchanged at random while one person beats a drum. When the drum
stops, the object that you have is the one that is now yours. Frank did a
small beading-on-buckskin seminar for us.
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