Welcome to Peterborough's second annual Ode'min Giizis (Strawberry Moon) Festival.

Ode'min Giizis is the sixth moon of the Anishnaabe calendar. It marks the beginning of summer, the longest day of the year and the harvest of the strawberry in June. The root word of ode'min is ode, which signifies the "heart" in Anishnaabe language. As the strawberry resembles the shape and colour of the human heart it also represents the sweetest and kindest of emotions that bring people together to feast and exchange ideas.

This year's programming celebrates the strength, resilience and innovation of Indigenous artists from all over Turtle Island whose courage and dedication have blazed a trail for future generations despite national and religious attempts to eradicate Indigenous spirituality, language and culture, forcing our creative thinkers to go underground. What has emerged from the underground is a renaissance strongly rooted in traditional knowledge fused with contemporary art forms. It has always been traditional to be contemporary. Simultaneously, our leaders past and present are shaping the identity of the nations we now know as Canada and the United States. The nations represented in this festival include: Cayuga, Cree, Oneida, Anishnaabe, Odawa, Onondaga, Siksika, Taino, Tuscarora, Saulteaux, Metis, Mohawk, Inuk, Mayan, Apache, Yaqi, Kuna, Aztec and Rappahannock.

We also welcome our brothers and sisters from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Yakin Andu (northern Australia). In keeping with the legacy of our ancestors who traded, made alliances and exchanged cultural wealth, we will be reunited at a traditional meeting place on Anishnaabe territory:Nogojiwanong (the place at the end of the rapids).

This place we now call Peterborough was gifted with an abundance of wild rice, game, clean rivers and lakes. I often conjure the picture of an Anishnaabe woman selling her ash baskets along the untouched shores of Indian River and offering a feed of fresh fish and fiddleheads to the settler family and the conversation that ensued. This festival seeks to initiate open conversation about how we move forward, together, and to reinvestigate the quality of our environment, particularly the food we consume and the health of our main life source: water.

Ode'min Giizis has coupled emerging and established, visiting and local artists to further artistic development and foster inspiration. We honour the Anishnaabe value of inclusion and invite everyone to participate and attend this exciting seven day celebration.

Finally, this festival is dedicated to the memory of Gladys Evelyn McCue Taylor from Curve Lake First Nation. She was a respected elder and artist who appeared in several CBC and BBC television series and films. Not only a renowned actor, she was a spiritual and artistic leader and champion of her Anishnaabe culture and language.

Miigwetch,

Patti Shaughnessy
Festival Director
O'Kaadenigan Wiingashk