Ginawaydaganuc - We Are All Connected

---

The Ginawaydaganuc project (2019) consisted of workshops held at Plenty Canada in accordance with the seasons. Ginawaydaganuc is the Algonquin way of saying, "we are all connected", which is a large part of the Algonquin worldview that this project will help foster and strengthen. The workshops taught Algonquin arts and culture, led by Barry Sarazin, Chuck Commanda, and Larry McDermott and a few other Indigenous knowledge keepers. Workshops opened and closed with ceremony and bring all peoples together.

The project’s main goal was to foster interconnectedness and cultural capacity development among Indigenous and other community members in the area, by bringing people from different communities in the Ottawa valley together for these arts-based workshops. It also involved cross-cultural educational activities for Indigenous and other children, youth and adults living locally, to promote the spirit of reconciliation. ​

The workshops were linked together through the sharing of Algonquin language (Omàmiwininìmowin) and ceremony. Many of the workshops included:

• Birchbark basket making
• Traditional snowshoe making
• Harvesting of materials 
• Moccasin making
• Traditional beading

And associated ceremonies such as:

• Traditional mens drum
• Storytelling including teachings associated with wampum.

​The workshops also coincided with the building of an Algonquin-style birchbark canoe by master canoe builder Chuck Commanda.