Creative Manitoba Indigenous Program

Are you looking into funding for your next project but need a little more info? Canada Council for the Arts information sessions are happening soon in Winnipeg, Brandon and Portage la Prairie!

WINNIPEG
Date: Thursday, June 25
Time:
French session from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. https://tinyurl.com/5c885erz
English session from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. https://tinyurl.com/3u42bh78
Location: Video Pool Media Arts Centre, The Output

BRANDON
Date: Friday, June 26
Time: 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. https://tinyurl.com/xtz3d7zw
Location: Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Drawing Studio

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE
Date: Saturday, June 27
Time: 1 p.m.- 3 p.m. https://tinyurl.com/5basu37b
Location: Prairie Fusion Arts and Entertainment - Portage Mutual Gallery

Please use the links above to register for a session that works for you!

Are you an artist with a plan and want to apply for grant?
You're in luck! Canada Council For the Arts will be in Winnipeg sharing info on how to apply for their funding opportunities!

Canada Council for the Arts in-person information sessions on offer June 25,26,27 in Winnipeg!

Winnipeg
Date: Thursday, June 25
TIme:
• French session from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. https://shorturl.at/4sh1x
• English session from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. https://shorturl.at/TdNyT

Location: Video Pool Media Arts Centre, The Output

We are thrilled to introduce The Auntie Awards!
A first-of-it’s-kind celebration of creativity, tradition, and community spirit on the Pow Wow trail. These awards honour the incredible artistry and dedication that keep our culture vibrant and alive.

CALL OUT FOR SUBMISSIONS: The Auntie Awards are about honouring tradition, showcasing talent, and celebrating families who live the Pow Wow way of life, whether you’re an artist, dancer, or supporter.

2026 & Inaugural Auntie Awards Categories (Must be 18+ to enter):
-Finest Beaded Earrings
-Finest Quillwork
-Finest Appliqué
-Pow Wow Miles
-Finest Lu Lu’s
-Finest War Cry
-Finest Pow Wow Family
-Finest Drum Group
-Finest Pow Wow Poster (No Ai generated posters)
-Finest People Choice

You must register on your own behalf, but be sure to "nominate" others by tagging & sharing the info, and encourage them to register!

For full rules, criteria, more information & registration please visit:
https://www.manitoahbee.com/events/theauntieawards/auntieawards/registration/

The awards will be presented as part of the Friday, October 30, 2026 event at the Canada Life Centre. Stay Connected on social media for more information on the event!

The Legend of the Lady’s Slipper (Moccasin Flower)
An Anishinaabe Story

Many winters ago, on the shores of the Great Lake Superior, lived a young Ojibway girl who adored her older brother.

He was the best at everything young braves should know. He tracked animals and mimicked their calls perfectly. He was swift and silent in the woods and swam like an otter.

The people gave him the task of messenger for the village. He taught his sister his skills, but never took her with him when he raced to other villages to relay news.

One winter day, an old woman in the girl’s village became sick. The next day, several others fell ill with fevers and weakness. Soon every wiigiwaaman was struck. The elders worried, but no one knew what to do.

In the village across the bay, there lived a woman skilled in healing with plant & animal medicines, but the snow was deep and fierce winds were raging. The Chief of the village hesitated to send the brother to the medicine woman.

When more and more people sickened, the chief had no choice. The young brave would cross the lake the next morning.

Late that night, the young man became ill.

The Ojibway girl was frantic. With her grandmother, father and mother, many of her friends and now her beloved brother failing, she decided to take his place and make the dangerous journey across the bay to the medicine woman’s village.

The dark of the winter dawn made the frigid air seem harsher. The young girl slipped out of her family’s wiigiwaam dressed in her warmest parka, leggings and the fur-lined moccasins that her mother and grandmother had sewn.

Head down, so the fur of her parka protected her face from the stinging cold and wind, she walked quickly through the deepening snow to the lakeshore.

Through the blowing snow she could see the faint lights of campfires in the medicine woman’s village across the ice-covered bay.

Scrambling over the slippery pack ice, the maiden lightly danced across the frozen lake, trying not to listen to the cracking and sighing of the ice beneath her feet.

The people welcomed her hours later when she reached the other side of the bay. Wrapped in warm, beaver robes and fed, the girl told her story. The medicine woman gathered her medicines.

Nearly asleep, the Ojibway girl insisted that she begin the return journey immediately. But the medicine woman assured her that several braves would accompany her back across the lake in the morning, once the storm broke.

When the wind stopped, the girl awoke. It was dark and still. Worrying about her family, she decided not to wait for the braves.

Dressing quietly in her warm, dry clothes, she put the pouch of medicine around her neck and slipped down to the lake shore. She tried again to dance lightly again across the drifted snow. It was too deep. She sank deeply with each step.

Exhausted, she lay back in the snow panting for breath. Then she remembered her brother’s lessons and the otter playing in the snow as if it were water.

Slowly, letting the snow support her, she began to swim through the deep snow.

When the Ojibway girl reached the opposite shore, she was free of the deepest snow, but her moccasins were missing. Her feet were bare and cold.

Soon, her feet were red and raw and her footprints marked by blood. The sharp crystals of wind blown snow cut her feet at every step.

The eastern sky was beginning to lighten by the time the girl saw the shadowy outline of her village. Calling out for help, the worn-out girl stumbled on. The people heard and ran to her.

They carried the Ojibway girl home, wrapped her in warm robes and massaged her torn and bleeding feet with healing ointments. The medicine she brought saved her village.

One day early the next spring, the Ojibway girl and her brother searched the woods and the lakeshore for her moccasins. Instead, they found beautiful pink and white flowers shaped just like moccasins.

There was one for every drop of blood that had fallen from the Ojibway girls feet on her journey to bring medicine home from the other side of the lake.

The Ojibway people named the flower maakisin waabigwaan (Moccasin Flower) also known as Lady’s Slipper. They bloom in May and June in the moist pine / hardwood forests, mossy wetlands & tall grass prairies.

If you see one, enjoy its beauty but remember it is rare, sacred & protected; just like you. 💖🌸🪶

Painting by: Rachael Koppendrayer, Artist
Artist Link: https://www.rachaelkoppendrayer.com/

Contribute to Mishkiki Here👇🏾:
https://paypal.me/MishkikiNPO or by E-transfer: [email protected]

What does it mean to find your way home?

In this new episode, host Shaneen Robinson sits down with Robert Fritzche, a Sixties Scoop adoptee who was raised away from his Gitxsan roots, Robert shares his remarkable journey of reconnecting with his culture and building a life within the Gitxsan community.

Robert reminds us that no matter how far we’ve been separated from our roots, it is possible to find our way back.

Listen to the full conversation now on Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your favourite podcast from!

Check out our latest roundup featuring a few months of music media coverage amplifying Indigenous artists and music companies in Manitoba including Brandi Vezina, Catie St.Germain, Chuck Copenace Music, Desiree Dorion, Don Amero, FONTINE (pictured), Mattmac, William Prince, and more... read at www.indigenousmusic.ca/smokesignal