Shé:kon skennen Kowa ken?

Good day to you!

Recently I was gifted the honour to engage in a 2 day workshop with Christopher Stock (and his Family) from ‘A Journey Begins..’ learning how to make an authentic wooden Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) water drum. Christopher is very knowledgeable about the Iroquois history, and was very generous with sharing that knowledge with us. He and his family were very welcoming, very organized and thoughtful in their preparations for us, offering different options for decorating our drums, so that they would be as unique as we are. They were very respectful and created an atmosphere of acceptance with warmth and encouragement

This workshop was filled with laughter, fantastic authentic food, and many Teachings from both the Haudenosaunee and the Anishinaabe that was contributed by an attending Anishinaabe Elder. I was very grateful for this knowledge that came with my drum. I was equally grateful for the new relationships I encountered there. Everyone worked hard, and helped each other. We came together with one mind. It was a great way to spend a weekend!

These ways were lost to my family through the Intergenerational Impacts that came down through the generations. It felt good to be able to continue to add to what we are relearning in order to bring back what was once almost lost.

I would attend any other workshops through ‘A Journey Begins..’ in the future in a heartbeat, and fully recommend both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous to attend one! You will not be disappointed.

With much appreciation to the Stock Family;

Niá :wen kowa!