Indigenous Opening and Welcome
Wabusk Skweow Kahetapit Neegn Nipeek Ohscheh – which means “Polar Bear Woman/ White Bear Woman Who is Looking Ahead from the Water” – is a Lenaapeew/ Anishinaabe kwe, Bear Clan. She comes from the Elunaapeewii Lahkeewiit First Nations, known as Delaware Nation of the Thames or Moraviantown.
She is an Indigenous Wholistic Practitioner, Educator, wisdom-seeker, and advocator who utilizes decolonizing Indigenous practices aiding in the resurgence of Indigenous ways of knowing, teaching, and re-learning/unlearning. She has over 24 years of inter-collective experience in land-based education to uplift traditional cultural teachings, ceremonies, and practices, and will be offering more insight in her understanding of indigenous traditional medicines in this area.
In this opening presentation, Tracey will share the importance of Indigenous knowledge of their Songs and dances, which holds within their DNA and blood memory the sacredness of true identity, heritage and resilience of survival. For example, the women’s shawl dance represents the gentle dance of the shawl, which awakens a powerful image—a butterfly bursting free from its cocoon. It’s a breathtaking symbol of hope, growth, and transformation. This imagery embodies the fierce spirit of young Indigenous women as they blossom into adulthood, embracing their identity, strength, and the limitless possibilities that lie ahead. It’s a celebration of resilience, a radiant emergence into a future shaped by courage and cultural pride in our heritage. These ways of knowing remind us of our interconnectedness to our ancestors, our relatives, Mother Earth and Creator.