Welcome to episode 3! We are thrilled to have Ron Indian Mandamin join us with his insights and teachings he received growing up in the Mide lodges. In this episode, Ron shares portions of the Anishinaabe creation story. Among topics he covers are: our Creator, Nanabooshoo and his siblings, Nanabooshoo’s travels, the three sisters, as well as other stories. Listening to these stories, it reaffirms Anishinaabe understanding and acceptance of gender-diversity prior to colonization. Speaker bio: Ron Indian-Mandamin is an Ojibwe-Anishinaabe from Iskatewizaagegan #39 (Shoal Lake, Ontario ~ Nimama – My Mother) Independent First Nation, and Gichi-Mashkosii Minis-ziibiing (Big Grassy River ~ Nindede – My Father) Ojibwe Nation. Ron identifies as a gay man. Ron is a full-time educator, currently a Culture and Language Support Coordinator for BIMOSE Tribal Council in Kenora, Ontario. Ron also continues to teach and provide on-going educational awareness of First Nations culture, in collaboration with various health and educational institutions working collectively with members of our communities in restoring historical and ancestral knowledge, including social sciences and human evolution. Ron also is accredited with Health Canada as a Spiritual Care Giver, a Spiritual Support Services provider, and is also a conductor of the Midewin situated in his home community of Shoal Lake. Midewin: a spiritual foundation specializing in wholistic healing and wellness. The work entrusted to Ron as a knowledge keeper is to promote a healthy balance in our lifestyle and lifestyle choices, creating a better understanding of one’s self. Ron is also entrusted to provide several rites of passages for the Peoples. Ron was raised in a spiritual, traditional and contemporary lifestyle by his parents, who both worked in the professional area of Community and Social Services, including First Nations Governance and Infrastructure safety. Ron was given by his parents the tools necessary to assist not only himself, but others on how to flourish and prosper in today’s modern society and on-going changes, utilizing our indigenous culture, healing methods and using the current trends, allowing to become aware and educated in the importance of common unity and social enrichment. These tools can provide a solid foundation of cultural bridging within Nations.
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