Wîcîwisis Campion Academy has developed several programs and courses to help Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples learn and practice traditional Cree knowledge and culture. Each program is adaptable to meet the learning needs of each group of learners.
Below are descriptions of programs that we can deliver:
Drawing on our ceremony family of knowledge keepers and practitioners, we also develop custom courses and training for specific learner groups. Please contact us to find out about program and course development options.
This set of courses is based on lessons and information shared by Fred Campion (Driftpile Cree Nation), Melanie Dreaver (Big River First Nation), and members of the ceremony family. It includes sometimes distinctive traditions of a variety of Indigenous peoples who currently reside in and around Treaty 8 and Treaty 6 territories.
The lessons should be given in a safe and trauma-informed space for women from distinct backgrounds and Indigenous traditions to share, discuss, and learn. It is not the intent of the lessons to prescribe or mandate any particular understanding of Indigenous women’s teachings.
While these lessons are primarily focused on women, it is also the responsibility of men to learn their roles in the context of collaborating with women to sustain families and communities, to help create safe spaces for all, and to help undo the harms of colonialism.
Course 1: Introduction to Women in Ceremony and Spirit
Lesson 1: Women in Indigenous cosmology
Lesson 2: Power of ceremony is made by kisi manitou (Creator)
Lesson 3: Women’s protocols and responsibilities
Lesson 4: Overcoming Fear, Guilt, Shaming about Ceremony
Course 2: Indigenous Women’s Life Stages and Responsibilities
Lesson 1: Growing up
Lesson 2: Pregnancy and childbirth
Lesson 3: Community Responsibility for Raising Children
Lesson 4: Roles as Women Adults and Elders
Course 3: Women’s Community and Ceremony Roles
Lesson 1: Food Roles and Knowledge
Lesson 2: Creating space for girls and women in cultural teaching
Lesson 3: Dealing with Colonised Men
Lesson 4: Leadership Capacity and Contemporary Contexts
Indigenous Social Science 101 will equip people who serve or support Indigenous community members with an understanding of Indigenous cultures, histories, and worldviews as they relate to healing. This course helps learners to understand how Indigenous experiences and perspectives of relationships, Treaty and history, spirituality, and language affect individual and community healing. By learning about the intergenerational and cyclical dimensions of Indigenous peoples’ knowing and being, practitioners will enhance their ability to provide more effective and supportive services for Indigenous community members. Learners will be able to apply knowledge from this course to better plan, connect, and implement services with Indigenous peoples in mind in their professional, workplace, and community environments.
This is not a “cultural competence” course in the sense that learners will come to appreciate that there are diverse peoples on Turtle Island, or that there are distinctions within and among Indigenous groups. The intent of this course is to support the learner to consider how Indigenous peoples might see and experience settler environments. This course encourages open dialogue, self-reflection, and a commitment to ongoing development of relationships and knowledge. Respectful engagement with course materials and a willingness to apply learning in real-world contexts are essential for success.
Prerequisites
Students should demonstrate cultural competence as expressed through self-awareness, cultural humility, and the commitment to understanding and embracing culture as central to effective practice in current or recent employment or non-employment work. Learners are encouraged (but not required to) to assess their own cultural competence prior to starting this course.
Class format
Classes will be delivered in a hybrid format with flexibility for in-person and online classroom learning.
Course schedule
Week 1: Introduction and Indigenous Relationship "Wahkotowin"
Week 2: Treaty 101 History - "Where it All Began"
Week 3: Treaty 101 History - "Elders' Worldview"
Week 4: Indigenous "Spirituality" Worldview
Week 5: Indigenous Languages
Week 6: Summary / Conclusion
This training is designed to introduce learners to a spiritual foundation and identity deeply rooted within Nêhîyaw Pimâtsiwin (the Cree way of life). Learners will be guided by elders and traditional knowledge keepers on a journey of revitalizing sacred Indigenous practices of education and healing. During these lessons, students will learn how traditions have survived through colonialism and support the resurgence of Indigenous nations’ natural identity throughland and ceremony. Although this is taught through a Nêhîyaw (Cree) lens, this curriculum is meant to empower the identity of all people who are seeking stronger connections to the natural world.
This training outline is based on lessons shared by Fred Campion, Mel Dreaver, and members of the ceremony family. In particular, teachings about drums and singing were shared by Arsene and Creedon Arcand.
* The training is designed to help learners gain foundational knowledge about Indigenous spiritual and cultural practices as they relate to recovery from colonization impacts, problematic substance use, trauma, exclusion, lateral violence, and related experiences, realities, and challenges.
* The foundational knowledge is taught according to traditional Indigenous practice which brings together knowledge keepers and learners of diverse abilities and experiences to collaboratively share knowledge that is most relevant to them. According to this holistic model of understanding, the specific sequence of learning matters less than the relationships among the ideas taught.
* A body of teachings for learners to explore is contained in the Curriculum. The Indigenous Foundations training can draw from a range of teachings from the Curriculum depending on the duration and participants of the training.
* Oral teachings are founded on showing respect for teachers and storytellers by learning how to listen with the mind and the heart. The learning space is emotionally safe and caring with proper protocols to the land and the spirits–humans, animals, plants, rocks–and the Creator. The lessons should be in a physical environment that supports interactions and learning.
* This is not a training in which memorization, recall of facts, or theoretical application to other individuals is sufficient to demonstrate learning or understanding of the material.
Sample Training Schedule:
Day 1
Session: Course Introduction, Sharing Circle / Talking Circle Check-in
Session: Foundations of isîhcikewin (Ceremony)
Lunchtime Informal Learnings
Session: Mindset for Learning
Session: Men’s Traditional Responsibilities
Session: Women’s Traditional Responsibilities
Session: Key relationships among Creator, humans, ancestors, and the spirit world in nehiyaw traditions
Daily wrap-up
Day 2
Daily Setup
Session: Creator’s Law: Spiritual/Cultural Values + Teachings, Language and Ceremony
Lunchtime learnings
Session: Colonial impacts on ceremony: Fear, Guilt, Shaming
Session: Responsibilities with ceremony and traditional knowledge
Daily wrap-up
Day 3
Daily Setup
Session: Importance of Respect + Sharing
Lunchtime Informal Learnings
Session: How to bring sharing back to communities
Daily wrap-up
Day 4
Daily Setup
Session: Ceremonial Practices (Meanings of Drums, Rattles and Songs)
Session: Rites of Passage
Session: Taking action to strengthen culture
Lunchtime Informal Learnings
Session: Wrap-up, Evaluation and presentation of certificates
Session: Daily wrap-up
Pre-training Evaluation
Post-training EvaluationThis training program is designed to equip corrections staff and leaders, Indigenous Elders, and cultural practitioners with the skills, knowledge, and support needed to improve cultural supports, enhance the role of Indigenous spirituality and traditions in correctional facilities, and address the unique needs of Indigenous residents, including women and Two-Spirit individuals. The program will respond to goals of improving cultural supports and reducing recidivism among Indigenous residents, and to challenges and opportunities identified by the TRC, RCAP, MMIWG, and further reports.
Program Goals
1. Improve Cultural Supports: Provide corrections leaders and staff with foundational training in Indigenous culture, spirituality, history, and protocols to foster culturally safe and respectful environments.
2. Empower Elders and Knowledge Keepers: Equip Elders and cultural practitioners with tools to navigate corrections facilities, processes, and regulations while maintaining the integrity of Indigenous ceremonies and traditions.
3. Address Gender-Specific Needs: Integrate teachings and practices that are responsive to the unique needs of Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, non-binary, and male residents.
4. Foster Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: Create opportunities for corrections staff and leaders, Elders, and cultural practitioners to share experiences, address challenges, and collaborate on best practices for supporting Indigenous residents.
5. Promote Healing and Reintegration: Support the use of culturally grounded and trauma-informed practices to address intergenerational trauma, reduce recidivism, and improve outcomes for Indigenous residents.
The two-day Naskumituwin (Treaty) School program will help learners and educators to build their understandings of the Spirit and Intent of Treaty.
To educate K-12 students on the spiritual and practical significance of Treaty 6 and further treaties between First Nations and the Crown to help Nation members place and grow their roles as Treaty People. We will go beyond the book teachings about Treaty through Elders and knowledge keepers’ traditional understandings of Treaty.
Program Goals
* Develop a deeper understanding of the historical and other contexts of Treaties
* Explore the spiritual, cultural, and other aspects of Treaties
* Provide knowledge to counter common misunderstandings and misinterpretations of Treaties
* Promote reconciliation through education about the mutual responsibilities of Treaty
* Encourage critical thinking and discussions about the ongoing relevance and implementation of Treaties.
Program Structure
The program will be divided into two mornings or afternoons of teachings tailored to different age groups and delivered through a combination of ceremony, school-based lessons, on the land learning, and community learning activities.
Major portions of the program will be delivered along with key people from the Nation, including Elders, knowledgeable people, and ceremonial and other leaders.
Day 1
1. Opening Pipe Ceremony
2. Introduction to Treaty from a younger person’s perspective
3. Understanding the Nation as a Treaty-based Nation
* Facilitated by a Nation leader or knowledgeable person
* Oral traditions of Treaty
* Cree words about Treaty
* Where are we today?
4. Connect learners to the list of Chiefs and Headmen of the Nation who signed Treaty
* Help please each learner as a Treaty person
* Facilitated by local Elders and others with genealogical knowledge and interests
5. Treaty Jeopardy
* Treaty facts: oral and written aspects, gatherings, historical contexts, unique parts of Treaty 6
* Mythbusting (e.g., about taxes, free tuition, etc.)
* Basic ceremony knowledge: white feathers, staple feast items, ribbon shirts, sacred medicines
* Rites of passage: historical practices and currently
6. Closing circle reflections in small groups on what each person learned today
Day 2
1. Opening smudge and prayer
2. Introduction to spiritual aspects of Treaty
* Treaty and relationship stories from Nation Elders, bundle carriers, and further knowledge keepers
* Spirits connected to the Treaty in this Nation, and to the Treaties that each learner is related to
3. “As Long as The Sun Shines, The Grass Grows and the River Flows”
* “Six inches of soil”
* “Sovereignty”
* Traditional understandings of Treaty
* Continuing traditional practices and ways of life
4. Learning about Treaty
* Treaty 6, 7, and 8 in Alberta, Peace and Friendship Treaties, modern treaties
* Treaty 6 details - e.g., Medicine Chest clause, cows and plows
5. Ways we can all live up to Treaty
* Restoring and honouring the spirit of treaty
* Connections to culture, language, ceremony and spiritual opportunities on the Nation and beyond
6. Closing circle reflections and feast with traditional Treaty-era foods
The Cree Oskapios Training Program prepares and supports individuals and their caregivers from early childhood through adulthood, ensuring that learners are well-equipped to learn and take on the responsibilities of an Oskapios, cultural helper, or cultural carrier. This program integrates traditional Cree teachings, cultural practices, and modern educational methods to provide a holistic and nurturing environment for the development of future cultural carriers of all genders.
Early Childhood (Birth to 5 Years)
The Cree Oskapios Early Childhood Program immerses young children in traditional teachings and practices from the earliest stages of life. This program focuses on integrating personal and group awareness skills and cultural activities into daily routines, fostering relationships with all living things. It builds connection to Cree traditions, and nurturing essential values such as patience, respect, honesty, and humility. The program supports caregivers to incorporate these teachings into the home environment and take into account each child’s unique development.
Young children can learn to participate in and contribute to ceremony by sitting and listening, taking turns, passing objects while seated in a circle, sharing, smudging, brining food to Elders, helping Elders to gather medicines, respecting all living things, learning teachings and songs, and other daily practices that build patience, consideration, honesty, humility, etc.
These and similar activities are built into a program and at home practices that surrounds a child for their first few years of life.
Childhood (6 to 12 Years)
The Cree Youth Development Program is designed to help Indigenous children aged 6 to 12 learn about their cultural heritage, develop important life skills, and build resilience against racism and lateral violence. This program incorporates a variety of activities and teachings to ensure children understand their membership in and responsibilities to their broader Cree and Indigenous communities. It introduces common ceremonies and rites of passage at appropriate times.
In the childhood years from 6 to 12 years, first nations children learn about their membership in and responsibilities to broader cree and Indigenous communities, their family histories and connections to traditional lands, how to support and contribute to ceremonies, how to build resilience against racism and lateral violence in home nations and in cities, how to identify and use their own strengths, how to pursue cultural endeavours such as dancing, singing, drumming, hunting, medicine picking, cooking, crafting, among other skills that build up to oskapios roles. Children learn to maintain personal accountability and responsibility when other people are not watching, and to respect and take care of the items and spaces of oneself and others.
Adolescence (13 to 18 Years)
The Oskapios Program for adolescents is designed to guide young Cree individuals through their transition to adulthood, ensuring they develop the skills, knowledge, and responsibilities necessary to become reliable contributors to their communities. The program focuses on cultural education, ceremony participation, leadership, wellness, and resilience-building.
During adolescence, a young Cree person knows how to participate in ceremony, support others to participate in ceremony, participates in traditional rites of passage, learns the protocols around receiving and taking responsibility for passing on traditional knowledge with fidelity, gives protocol to an Elder to become an oskapios and/or receive traditional teachings, celebrate their first hunt, becomes a reliable contributor to ceremonies, can be delegated tasks by senior oskapios, can supervise younger helpers, and related skills. They learn how to balance themselves in the four aspects of wellness and build resilience against addictions, criminal activity, lateral violence, and ill-health. They may receive or earn one or more traditional names and colors. They also focus on one or more areas of cultural practice.
Young Adulthood (19 to 25 Years)
The Oskapios Training Program for young adults is designed to build upon the knowledge and skills acquired during childhood and adolescence, guiding participants to become fully responsible and contributing members of their families, communities, and nations. This phase focuses on deepening traditional knowledge, assuming community roles, combining traditional and settler skills, and advocating for Indigenous rights.
During Young Adulthood (19 to 25 Years), cree people can take on learnings from multiple elders and work with peers to develop a related set of cultural and practical skills and language fluency. They also build their own identity and skills as a responsible adult in the family and the nation, and take on more teaching responsibilities for younger people. As they continue to learn from elders, They conduct their traditional work in service of the community. They may also combine their traditional skills with settler skills and professions in advocating for the rights of indigenous communities and individuals. They may also be expected to work toward or take on practical roles in the community such as becoming responsible for gathering and making and administering traditional medicines, hunting, or carrying a pipe or ceremony. This program draws on strengths and learnings from previous phases to support learners to take on this phase of oskapios training.
The 16 Week Program consists of Indigenous cultural healing content delivered and processed in a group format as well as participation in four Sweat Lodge ceremonies.
16 Week Program Overview
These topics and learnings will be distributed over 16 weeks in ways that make sense for the particular group of participants in the cohort. Some topics will be addressed on multiple occasions to reflect the traditional holistic way of learning, building on skills and knowledge, and applying those skills.