The Northern Village of Pinehouse and Kineepik Metis Local are hosting the 12th Annual Elders Gathering from June 16 to June 21.
Elders and guests from all over Saskatchewan are gathering for a week full of traditional events in Pinehouse.
The goal of the gathering is to honor the elders and showcase their skills.
“We offer a place for them to transmit and share their knowledge,” said Billie Natomagan, Project Manager of the Elders Gathering. “Also, to gather together as friends and family and reconnect in a society that can now be seen as very disconnected, we are trying to reconnect people with culture, with family, and with their identity as Indigenous people.”
Some of the activities that are taking place this year at the elders gathering are: card games, king/queen trapper events, music, dry meat and moose preparation, fish making, foot care, hair cuts, beading, ribbon skirt making, tipi teachings, bingo, painting, jigging competitions, square dance showcase, horse rides, skiff building and hide making.
“It’s open to anyone, young and old. One thing I find in the age of reconciliation is that more and more people want to understand Canada’s Indigenous Peoples and where they come from, and this is a great opportunity,” explained Natomagan.
The gathering provides lunch and supper free of charge for the guests and visitors. Traditional foods, like moose and fish, are on the menu daily.
The gathering welcomes everyone who wants to participate.
Judy Cook and Tommy Bird with Hide making tools and medicines
Moose meat preparation
Horse rides being provided at the Elders gathering
(All Photos submitted by Abel Charles)