Events and Activities...

*NEW* Official unveiling of Tunkansida Inyan, the “Grandfather Rock” – June 20, 2025

You are invited to the official unveiling of M'Shoomisanin, the “Grandfather” Rock, on June 20 at the Heritage Garden, located at 151 avenue de la Cathédrale, on the grounds of the Diocesan Centre of the Archdiocese of Saint Boniface.
The ceremony will begin at 10 AM, with Elders Mary Courchene and Clayton Sandy, Archbishop Albert LeGatt and other guests in attendance. The ceremony is part of National Indigenous Peoples' Day, celebrated on June 21.
In the First Nations cultures of Turtle Island, sacred spiritual belief systems include all of creation and all beings within it.
For the Lakota (Sioux), the Grandfather Rock, Tunkansida, is the oldest one and is a way of describing the generational knowledge it carries and is sacred. Because of that, rocks must be respected.
In a sacred healing space like a sweat lodge, when the water strikes the heated stones and that mist rises, the rocks give up their spirit to help us heal, and it brings back the moment of creation.
The Anishinaabe people believe that rocks are one of the earliest gifts of the Creator and are called M’Shoomisaan, “Grandfather”. They are sacred animate creations used in ceremonies.
The rocks have been witness to the passage of time and all that has occurred in that time. That history is held within the rocks and tell of our relationship with the land, the water, the sky and with all beings with whom we share this moment and this space.
The rocks are gifts from the Creator to cleanse and take illness away – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. For as long as the sun shins, and the grass grows and the rivers flow, wo will the Tunkanisdapi and M’Shoomisaan “Grandfathers” hold the sacred ceremonies for all time.

Indigenous Canada FREE Online Course – Available Now!
Offered by the University of Alberta, Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada.

From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores complex experiences Indigenous peoples face today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Indigenous Canada is for students from faculties outside the Faculty of Native Studies, and anyone with an interest in acquiring a basic familiarity with Indigenous/non-Indigenous relationships. Registration is now open