Tākwākin, or fall, actually translates to "gathering" or "adding up" (takwa = gathering; kin = it is happening) because this is the season in which birds and people gather to prepare for the coming winter; the birds prepare to leave and the people prepare to stay in one place. The moons for this season are hopahamowī pīsim (flying moon), pimahamowī pīsim (flying back moon), and nanimitahamowī pīsim (getting ready moon). The Asiniskaw Īthiniwak would hunt moose and bear, prepare pounded and smoked meat, and trap fish.
Related Outputs
- māskīkīy miskanaw: The Medicine Way Teacher's Guide
The Teacher’s Guide is intended to support educators using māskīkīy miskanaw: The Medicine Way and the MWAKWA app in the classroom. It presents four thematic modules that include teaching strategies with suggested connections to Manitoba middle years curricula in Social Studies, Science, English Language Arts, Health, and the Arts as well as Rocky Cree culture and language.
- māskīkīy miskanaw: The Medicine Way
māskīkīy miskanaw: The Medicine Way is the third book in the Six Seasons series written by Rocky Cree storyteller William Dumas and illustrated by Rhian Brynjolson.
As the seasons change and the birds begin to head south, Ācapi Okimaw and his family make their annual journey to see relatives and teachers in the heartland. Family members each receive teachings and share their own knowledge with their mentors in this community. All expect for the youngest, Mwakwa, who hasn't yet chosen the skill that will define his miskanaw, or the path for his life.
As he helps his relatives prepare for winter, Mwakwa wonders what his gifts might be. His cousin Mikisiw wants to be a hunter and takes the lead on a moose hunt for the first time while the family is visiting, but Mwakwa knows he isn’t a hunter. He enjoys singing and sharing that with others, but how else can he contribute?
When Mwakwa meets his uncle Opimotiho, a stargazer and storyteller, he learns a new way of looking at the night sky. But will Mwakwa be brave enough to leave his family to become the stargazer’s apprentice?
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