Rights of Passage: A Reconciliation Podcast is a three-part podcast that engages with wampum and contemporary treaties, territorial and land acknowledgments and most importantly, the actions that Canadians can take as we work together with First Peoples towards reconciliation. Haudenosaunee knowledge holder Kelly ‘Frantastic’ Davis and Dr. Stephen Svenson of Wilfrid Laurier University are your hosts.
About the Rabbit Dance Song:
Haudenosaunee social songs and dances are for the enjoyment of the people. They are referred to as earth songs and we are taught that they are also to let Creator know that we are grateful and appreciate all of creation, our natural environment. We chose the rabbit dance for this reconciliation podcast because this is typically the first dance that a
newly united couple dances following their sacred ceremony.
Throughout the song and dance the couple join hands standing side by side with their bodies and feet facing forward. After the singer sings the introduction of the song, the couple begins to swing their hands and move their feet forward. As their hands are swinging out in front of their bodies and looping around to do a full 360 degree turn and appear to be looping around again, their arms retreat when they reach a quarter of the way into the next circle. While their arms are swinging, their feet move forward two steps, one foot in front of the other. When their arms retreat, so does the leading foot.
These movements repeat over and over, other couples join single file behind the leading couple as they circle around the singers seated in the middle of the dance area. During each song there is a change in the drumbeat and that signals each couple to go around in their own small circle before continuing to dance around the singers. As the couples go around in their own little circle, they maintain the same movements and continue to stay to the beat of the handheld water drum.
Reconciliation work requires the union of people being in sync with each other despite the challenges that will be presented along the way. During Rights of Passage: A Reconciliation Podcast you will hear discussions between our hosts who come from diverse realities speaking about how they work together as colleagues and friends to share reconciliation practices and ideas for a brighter future for all of our future generations.
Important Links
Organizations:
www.sixnations.ca/ http://mncfn.ca/
www.nctr.ca/ - National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation:
www.facebook.com/nctr.ca
www.woodlandculturalcentre.ca/ - Woodland Cultural Centre
www.crowshieldlodge.com/ - Crow Shield Lodge
Educational Resources:
www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-davis-heyote-dok-37171710/?originalSubdomain=ca
www.lspirg.org/knowtheland - Know The Land Territories Campaign
www.goodminds.com
www.reconciliationcanada.ca/ - Reconciliation Canada
www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada - Indigenous Canada (free online course)
www.lynngehl.com/uploads/5/0/0/4/5004954/ally_bill_of_responsibilities_poster.pdf - Ally Bill of Responsibilities
