Episode 2: We've Been Here Before―Returning to the Land for Healing is Climate Change Action with Dr. Kevin Lewis
Welcome to As Long As The River Flows, a Keepers of the Water podcast!
With this podcast, we hope to uplift our communities' collective voices and their work to protect clean fresh water. We are First Nations, Métis, Inuit, environmental groups, and concerned citizens working together for the protection of water, air, and land. We acknowledge that all water is connected and that water is sacred. Clean, fresh water is vital for the future and survival of all the life we share on this incredible planet.
Today's guest, Dr. Kevin Lewis, is from the Miniikwan Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6. Dr. Lewis is a writer, a researcher, an instructor and the founder of the kâniyâsihk (kon-ya-sik) Culture Camp, where students participate in land-based learning such as connecting with elders and knowledge-keepers, harvesting medicines, tanning hides, and participating in ceremonies.
Dr. Lewis reminds us that we have faced climate change in the past. From floods to ice ages to wildfires, we have been on this land for so long that we have collective oral stories to remind us that we have all we need within our culture and languages to face what's coming. There is no denying that we are in a time of climate change, meaning we are in sacred times, and it is our songs, prayers, and teachings that will help guide us all through the uncertainty we are collectively experiencing right now.
The first step on that path is our own personal healing because we know that the land heals, the land is forgiving, the land is generous, and the land is calling us back home to receive our instructions.
Kevin Lewis, founder of kâniyâsihk Culture Camps, believes that land-based education is an important way for Cree and non-Indigenous people to (re)connect with culture and identity. Some of the many things done at camp include learning Cree; harvesting plants for medicines; fishing and snaring; hide tanning; preserving moose, deer, elk, and fish; woodworking and building dog sleds, toboggans, birch bark canoes, snowshoes, and paddles; dog sledding; and participating in the Sun Dance, Sweat Lodge, and Chicken Dance ceremonies. The camp offers an immersive experience in nehiyo culture, and Lewis hopes that more culture camps will become available to people, especially for those living in urban areas.
This episode was edited and produced by Beverly Andrews.
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