Ginawaydaganuc - Strengthening Our Connections

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The Ginawaydaganuc project consists of twelve ongoing workshops held at Plenty Canada once per month 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 will teach Algonquin arts and culture, led by Barry Sarazin, Chuck Commanda, and Larry McDermott and a few other Indigenous knowledge keepers. Workshops will open and close with ceremony and bring all peoples together.

The project’s main goal is 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 will also involve cross-cultural educational activities for Indigenous and other children, youth and adults living locally, to promote the spirit of reconciliation. ​

The workshops will be linked together through the sharing of Algonquin language (Omàmiwininìmowin) and ceremony. Many of the workshops include:

• Birch bark 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 will also coincide with the building of an Algonquin-style birch bark canoe by master canoe builder Chuck Commanda.