Wasakam: Mistatimwak Kiwicihikonawak

June 28th and 28th

Our first Healing with Horses camp invites up to 15 participants to join us on the land to learn about our relationship with horses, the land, and our relationships with others. This Healing with Horses camp is being hosted for Indigenous survivors of sexual violence. This camp will take place on the land at the Wasakam camp, and will share 

For several hundred years, the story of the connection between Indigenous peoples and horses in general, and more specifically plains people including Cree and Métis, has been told by those of European descent and diminishes our voices. Our elders tell us about the relationship we have always had with the horses that lived on these lands alongside our nations. Our songs, ceremonies, and our very creation story, feature this important relationship with horses. Over the past 20 years, archeological research on the horses of North America, and the protection of horses that carry the genetics of our original horses, has presented an environment for telling the story of Indigenous relationships with horses with our own voices, and for reestablishing a direct relationship with horses in our communities. As powerful healers, horses (and especially those who carry the bloodlines of those original horses to these lands) are ideal guides for healing for those who are healing from sexual violence. Reclaiming our voices and stories around horses, hearing our horse songs, and spending time connecting with horses is a part of our cultural heritage of relationship on the land. Experiencing those stories, ceremonies, and songs in community with ketehayak is what Mistatimwak Kiwicihikonawak seeks to offer participants from the Edmonton region.