Networking: Honouring National Indigenous Peoples Day

Come join special guest Elder Maria Reed on National Indigenous Peoples Day. Elder Maria will share indigenous stories, history and lead us through a make and take activity that you can share with your children and families.

Light refreshments provided.

A one-hour professional development certificate will be sent to participants upon completion.

Suitable for child care providers and child care workforce.

Registration link: https://anc.ca.apm.activecommunities.com/ygv/activity/search/detail/14160?onlineSiteId=0&from_original_cui=true

When Maria Reed was a child she had a reoccurring dream that she was being chased on horseback by “wild Indians.” Back then, she didn’t know she was Indigenous, but now that she knows, the dream makes sense symbolically. Like so many Indigenous people, her parents and grandparents were robbed of their heritage in residential schools and were fearful of discrimination, so they didn’t practice their culture. Like the dream she had as a child however, Maria’s Indigeous background would eventually catch up to her in her teens when one of her aunts discovered the family’s Indigenous roots. Maria hasn’t looked back since, immersing herself in the culture. Her great grandmother was from the Batchewana First Nation in Ontario and her great grandfather was French and Metis. Maria is French, Cree and Ojibeway on her father’s side and Swedish Sami on her mother’s side. The Sami are Sweden’s Indigenous people and known as Reindeer Herders. Since finding out about her Indigenous roots in her teens, Maria has immersed herself in learning about her culture. “When I found out it was one of those ah ah moments,” says Maria. Her Indigenous name, Waabigekek Ikwe, means White Hawk Woman. Maria loves being an Elder and feels that everything she has done in the fields of wellness – body, mind and spirit, has come together to prepare her to be an Elder.