Ginawaydaganuc Village

Ginawaydaganuc Village, established 2022, is an Indigenous-led non-profit organization based in Mississippi Mills, Ontario. Our mission is to construct an eco-sensitive, education, and gathering place rooted in our cultural heritage, based on our medicine wheel teachings, and guided by principles of community empowerment, sustainability, healing and working in harmony with our environment and each other. The Village is committed to helping repair and prepare the way for seven generations to come.

Ginawaydaganuc is an Algonquin word, the essence of which means “we/all things are connected.” The name was chosen to honour the late Algonquin Elder William Commanda, with whom each of Village’s Board of Directors had a special relationship during his life.

The Spirit of Ginawaydaganuc speaks to our intrinsic relationship with Mother Earth — her land, air and waters — as well as to the cosmos and, of course, to each other. Ginawaydaganuc is the thread that connects ALL cultures, ALL peoples, and ALL things. The concept of Ginawaydaganuc is intentionally woven into everything we do.

When complete, the Village will consist of five main buildings, with an Elder’s Lodge in the centre. The Village will contain a welcome centre, an academy, accommodations, a restaurant, and retail space to carry course materials, construction equipment and supplies, ceremonial supplies, and gifts.

The Elders' Lodge is the nucleus of the entire hub. It will provide a safe, inclusive space for people from all walks of life to gather, learn, share, heal, and experience Indigenous teachings at the knee of authentic Elders.

The Ginawaydaganuc Academy will provide both free and paid workshops on a variety of subjects, including social and cultural awareness, as well as eco-friendly construction methods, natural medicines, crafts, and much more. The building will be suited for workshops as well assmall conferences.

Guided by Indigenous Elders and knowledge keepers, the Village’s multi-faceted plan offers programs for the general public, including special programming for marginalized and vulnerable populations. At the core of our programming are Indigenous teachings and educational opportunities that promote social well-being and sustainable living and working practices.

The Village aims to set a positive example with our use and promotion of environmentally proactive construction modalities (such as living rooves, rammed earth walls, cordwood masonry, hempcrete, strawbale, solar, and much more) for our facilities. This foundational programming, with the support of our cultural training, will help to empower Indigenous youth from remote reserves (amongst others) to lead their communities to use locally and ethically sourced materials to address chronic housing and resource shortages.

Key to Ginawaydaganuc Village’s success is developing a network of reciprocity for knowledge, food, medicines, art and crafts, tools, pro-eco building materials, and more. For this reason, we ask our readers to please reach out to us if you have resources and/or are a teacher of any of these modalities. Please contact [email protected] or visit www.ginawaydaganuc.ca for more information.

By encouraging one another to respect, care for, and harmonize with the environment and each other, we aim to help repair and prepare the way for the seven generations to come. We hope you will join us on this journey.

— Karen Bisson


(Photo caption) The conceptual designs for the Village were created by globally renowned architect Douglas Cardinal and adapted from our logo, designed by Karen Bisson, one of the Village’s directors.