UPEI Faculty of IKERAS holds Sharing Our Stories and Apukna'jit Spirit Ceremony
The UPEI Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research, and Applied Studies (IKERAS) held a Sharing Our Stories and Apukna'jit Spirit Ceremony, with four Knowledge Keepers from the community, on February 5 at Bill and Denise Andrew Hall, UPEI.
The ceremony was held in honour of Indigenous Storytelling Month and the mid-winter celebration of Apukna'jit. In Mi’kmaw culture, February 1 marks Apukna'jit, a time of year when the community would gather to share food to make it through the hardest month of the year. The tradition also involved offering food and tobacco to Apukna'jit, the winter spirit, in the hope of a light winter and an early spring.
Doris Googoo, a member of the IKERAS faculty, invited community Knowledge Keepers Keptin Jimmy Bernard, Barbara Jadis, Francis Jadis, and Stephenson Joe to participate. In attendance were IKERAS Dean Angelina Weenie, UPEI Elder-in-Residence Judy Clark, IKERAS faculty and staff, students, and other community members.
The ceremony began with the creation of a spirit plate. After smudging took place, Elder Clark opened the ceremony in a talking circle and then explained the mid-winter celebration of Apukna'jit. Tobacco was offered to and accepted by each of the knowledge keepers.
Each knowledge keeper and elder shared their lived experiences in the talking circle. Sharing these experiences supports the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action by passing on stories and knowledges to others so that they will gain understanding of traditional ways of knowing and being.
After lunch, the talking circle was closed with an acknowledgement of those in attendance, and the ceremony was concluded with a wish to all for a safe journey home.
