In the third year of our work to apply Indigenous and decolonizing methodologies, the bear team agreed to move to the calendar of Maskwa (Bear). We began with preparations to move into hibernation with Bear and the Elder conducted a ceremony for bears' time of rest. Bear team talked about what hibernation would look like for us in our work and personal lives and updated the bear pin tracker to include those items. We also used this as our theme in gatherings and as reminders to one another for what turned out to be a hard hibernation for our team.
This was the first time for many of us to think about time in the ways of our ancestors. For me personally, it was a reminder to rest/let things go. For the team it meant slowing down our rhythm without guilt. This was really important when most of the Bear team was caught in downtown Ottawa while the truckers occupied our streets while creating physical and emotional pain for our and our neighbors. As a team/manager lucky enough to have support from an Elder we faced this together as a circle, not as individuals.
Our Elder recently led us through waking the bear ceremony. This allowed us space to acknowledge what happened to us, while planning for the abundance of the summer months.
Over hibernation, I read the book ""Spirit Gifting: The Concept of Spiritual Exchange" by Elmer Ghostkeeper (Métis). The book outlines what a calendar based on nature brings us compared to the calendar of economy. This experience of bear time and this book got me thinking about how to build a dynamic bear calendar that we could use year after year. This is the start of this work, part of a larger journey of learning and my spirit gift.
