Women’s Hearth Program
A Live, In Person, Cross Cultural Program to Connect Women With The Land.
A Letter To You –
Tawaw! I don’t know how you found your way here, but I’m glad you’re here. I want to share something with you.
Sitting with nohkom and mosom, and listening to how things were is one of my favourite things to do. Its fun to imagine life in a small community on the land more than 200 years ago. But, even more than that, it allows me to imagine it for us again in the future.
Its a very human experience, once upon a time, to live close to the land. For thousands of years, people everywhere had to have skills that grew out of that place where they were from, which allowed their families to survive.
From tanning hides, to felling trees, from building homes, to clothing themselves, these are all deeply human skills.
In our modern lives, we often suffer from a locak of connection to the land, and our collective human roots which teather us to something deeper, more vibrant, more rich in life. And, that void causes us to reach for hollow substitutes.
One solution is, More Connection. More connection to the land, more connection to culture, more connection to stories, to songs, and to each other.
It is these layers of connection that we seek to foster in this program. To take you out of the city, of work, of the grind, and to remember something more ancient. Something we can only have together, on the land.
So come. Learn to weave beautiful experiences together and we connect with those skills and traditions that make us human.
DATES: April 5th, May 10th, June7th, July 5th, August 9th, September 6th, October 4th, November 1st, December 6th, January 3rd, February 7th, March 7th
Whats Included in The Program?
- Monthly gatherings on the land, near Perryvale AB from morning through evening (9:30 am to 6 pm).
Ancestral Skills
- Learning to build several styles of shelter while out on the land
- Learning to start fire with flint and steel
- Learning to start fire with a bow drill
- Making a bow drill for fire starting
- Learning how to cook on a fire
- Knot tying
Community
- Time spent on the land with women learning together
- Meals during our live gatherings each month
Connection to the Land
- Nature Awareness Skills
- Mapping
- Journaling
- Offerings to the land
- Connection exercises
- Learning about the edible and medicinal gifts of plants
Arts
- Basket making
- Cordage
- Weaving
- Tanning
You will also have access to online content for you to learn from in between our time on the land together each month including;
- Instructional videos
- Articles
- Stories
- Recipes
To help deepen your learning.
Is this Program For You?
This program is for Women who;
- Are seeking connection to the land, grounded in stories and ancestral learning
- You are ready to learn, have access to a phone or computer and have access to the internet for access the online content.
- You are able to travel to Perryvale once a month.
- You are financially able. I know this isn’t going to be the case for everyone. However, putting this program on has costs, and there will also be the cost to drive up to our camp once a month.
- You are able to commit to come to our live monthly gatherings on the land.
It’s Feeling Like A Fit
If what you’ve read so far feels like a good fit, I encourage you to join us. I KNOW there will be so much of value for you.
Registering
This program is accepting women into our next cohort starting April 2025. This group of women will be an amazing support as you all move through this program.
You can register at the bottom of this page.
Cost
The cost for this 12 month program is $900.00 CAD.
Course fees support our ongoing development of our culture camp near Athabasca, the costs of hosting the program, and to value the time of teachers.
Do you offer payment programs?
Yes! Email natalie@meetingmyancestors.com and ask to be set up with a payment program to access this program. Our payment programs allow you to divide the fee up into 2 or 4 payments. The first 1 or 2 payments are required before the first day of the program (depending on how many payments the fee is divided into).
Why aren’t your programs free?
All programs that are hosted by organizations have costs. Whether its the classroom or building used for teaching, materials, or having instructors costs covered. Online programs also have fees to pay in order to cover the websites, admin, and the online platform used for classes (these all have costs) and having instructors costs covered. This program has both in person and online costs to cover. Some organizations have funding to cover these costs. Some don’t. We actively seek funders to cover the costs of offering programs and to be able to offer grants. However, this isn’t currently available.