Mission, Vision, Values and Teachings.

Mission

Our mission is to walk alongside those who are in need of healing. Through Indigenous land-based healing and education we offer connection and belonging to a community dedicated to responsible land stewardship.

We aspire to remain grounded in the Seven Grandfather Teachings of respect, truth, wisdom, honesty, humility, courage, and love.

Our vision for the future is that of a thriving community which is founded on unity, equality, and understanding as we walk forward together in healing and reconciliation.

Vision

We envision a thriving community where Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples live according to the original instructions and where sharing and caring for the land is everyone's responsibility. We are a community that is grounded in healing and reconciliation as we walk forward together in unity.

Values and Teachings

The lodge is based on the Seven Grandfather Teachings and also the Medicine Wheel teachings. Both are rooted in First Nations’ philosophies. and allow for the exploration of different roles and responsibilities that include masculine, feminine, and two-spirited peoples.

Connection

A Connection to Nature and to Each Other

Since time immemorial, First Nations peoples have had ties to the land that have been intricate, respectful, spiritually and physically dependent, grateful, and protective. It has been a stewardship responsibility rather than ownership.

A long history of assimilation has attempted to take those teachings and gifts from Indigenous peoples. Traditional knowledge, languages, cultural practices and oral traditions built up over the millennia are all connected to the land. It is time we move forward in re-establishing relationships through reconnections to the land.

One way to reconnect is to provide opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to learn about these connections together - on the land. The vision is walk toward reconciliation together through a Teaching Lodge that will provide the space to accomplish this.

Education

Learning from the Land

Disconnecting from conveniences and technology is one way to return to the basics. There is no better teacher or classroom than getting out on the land. Land-based teachings can make this reconnection possible. Sustainability and healing comes from reconnecting to the land.

From the beginning of time the Indigenous people have been at one with Mother Earth. Crow Shield Lodge will offer a space for this reconnection to occur.

Reconciliation

Working Towards Reconcilation Together

Reconciliation is a critical, complex and multifaceted process that is about working towards solidarity as a society between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

It is the responsibility of every Canadian to revitalize the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canadian society. As we walk in the light of reconciliation together, we are moving forward as one.