Facilitated by Knowledge Keeper Sonny Robbins

The Ceremony

“The Waking Bear Ceremony is held in February/March when female bears are giving birth to their cubs. The elders say that the fog we see in the mornings during this time is the first breaths of these bear cubs being born. Because of that, the spirit of the bear is strong during this time and is a good time to honor these spirits and ask them for healing.

When participants arrive, they are to place any sacred items they would like blessed in the centre of the facility on a blanket and take a seat in the circle. Participants may keep their pipe and/or bundle with them if they wish to help with the pipe ceremony and blessing of the items. After the pipe ceremony is completed, the facilitator will open the ceremony with a prayer and a song. Participants will then be able to give thanks and ask creator and the spirits for help, healing, or guidance during a sharing circle.

Once the sharing circle is complete, participants will be able to offer semma to the healers to request a brush down. A brush down is a short ceremony where 4 healers will use eagle fans and/or cedar brushes to remove negative energy, spirits, and illness from your body. A song is sung, and the healers will move around the individual brushing them down until the song is finished. This is done for each individual seeking help or healing.”  — Sonny Robbins, Knowledge Keeper, Pikwakanagan

Women, please remember to honour Mother Earth by wearing a long skirt.

The Feast

Once the brush downs are complete, we will close the ceremony and participate in a feast. A feast plate will be made and offered to the spirits for helping with the ceremony.

All participants are encouraged to bring a small contribution to the pot-luck & to bring their feast kit (bowl or plate, cutlery, cup). Our Feasts are how we honour the Spirits of our Ancestors and our Bundles (the tools we work with), rather than the all-you-can-eat buffet of Western Society.

Our teachings tell us to include meat/fish from our lands, berries, corn, and wild rice — the food that grows on water that sustained our people on the migration from the East. So bring only as much food as you can eat: we’ll all share, and hopefully, we will be able to eat it all; whatever remains must be given to the land.