Workshops

With these workshops participants will complete hands on activities in support of a set of learning objectives on particular subjects. These workshops teach best practices; increases the Algonquin knowledge; helps the culture to expand; and participants will have the chance to learn some Algonquin vocabulary. Below is a list of workshops that may be offered (depending on the seasons and available pre-harvest materials) with a description of what participants will learn.


* Note: All workshops (except for harvesting workshops) include: pre-harvest materials, assemble kits, required tools, a facility, tables, chairs and canopies provided at Pinock’s garage. For external workshops, arrangements of (facility, tables, chairs and canopies) would be required to be provided by the requestor.

Baby Cradle Board

A cradle board is used for the first years of an infant's life cycle. It’s made to hold and carry the infant horizontally on the mother’s back. Built solid, it’s passed down in a family from generation to generation. Babies were wrapped in a moss bag and securely bound to the cradle board that is laced with leather. The board consists of cedar wood, as the handle and foot stand consist of ash wood. Join in on a one-day workshop in making a baby cradle board, hear stories and learn its practical uses.

Birch Bark Basket

With this amazing opportunity attendees will learn in this one-day workshop how to manipulate birchbark. Discover how to use the ancestral ways of etching in Fall and Spring seasonal birchbark, to produce a design on a basket without using markers nor paint. Learn the flexibility of birchbark and how to sew with spruce roots.

Birch Bark Canoe

Come learn the ingenious ways Algonquin ancestors built the foundational structure of their waterproof resistant birchbark canoes with the simplicity of their intellectual designs. No one needs a degree to do this. Anyone can easily build a canoe if they have the patients and desires to learn. All canoes are built depending on the paddler’s needs. In this one week and a half workshop (or 8-10 days separated on different weekends), attendees will learn about: types of natural materials (barks, roots, woods, and gums); how to process the materials; and how to use manual tools.

Birch Bark Match Kit

While canoeing, there are possibilities of tipping over and falling in the water. A great asset to a survival kit would be a floating birchbark match kit to keep the matches dry. Explore in a one-day workshop how to make your very own birchbark match kit. If the canoe ever tips in the water, you’ll be able to start a fire to get dry and warmed up before the cold night comes.

Birch Bark Moose Caller
Callers are a great help during hunting season to attract moose to come in our direction. Get ready for a one-day workshop by making a unique personal birchbark moose caller that will last for generations to come. Learn to use an awl to pierce holes and the reason why not to use a whole puncher. Understand how to sew with roots in order not to use glue. Revive the ancestral traditions of calling and listening, by using both ends of the caller.
Birch Bark Wigwam
Before living in a traditional Algonquin home ‘wigwam’ it’s important to study and determine how to manage the materials used to build it. In this one week and a half workshop (or 8-10 days separated on different weekends), let us gather to work together as a community, strategically plan a wigwam structure to avoid any waste of materials, and find a suitable area to build.
Bone and Cup Game (Algonquin version)

Commonly known, we live in harmony with nature. We only take what we need to survive. We alternate our food supplies during seasons to let the regrowth of plants and re-population of animals. When an animal gives us its life to feed our communities, we use everything that isn’t eatable, to honor that animal. Come and learn in a one-day workshop how to make the Algonquin version of the Bone and Cup Game while effectively learn how to develop concentration and coordination skills.

Canoe Wood Paddle

Back in the days when we needed a canoe paddle, we used the elements around us to produce it. We could use the bone of a moose shoulder blade or a tree branch. In this one-day workshop come discover how to make a wood paddle of the wood (cedar, ash, birch, etc.) of the daily choice and how imperfections are natural beauties.

Harvest - Birch Bark

Get well geared up for a one-day excursion that will help us explore the different types of elements surrounding the Algonquin territory. Develop skills on best times to harvest birchbark in (Spring and Fall). Determine appropriate solutions on how to (harvest, transport, and store) birchbark. Nothing is wasted and we’ll learn how the birch tree elements can help with the production of (syrup, oil, flour, fire starter, firewood, etc). If we are lucky, we might even find some chaga medicine!

Harvest - Spruce Roots
Get equipped and put on some clothes fine to be dirty, as we are going on a one-day excursion in the forest to dig and harvest spruce roots through sandy-muddy soils. We will analyze the forest and see how lucky we are that so many types of trees grow on this territory. Identify different types of trees, dig roots, harvest roots, and store roots. Discover the wonderful smells of the roots while learning to clean the bark off and splitting them.
Harvest - Spruce Gum
Ever wonder how we made sealant in the ancestral ways? Join in a one-day excursion in the forest to harvest spruce gum. Identify the types of trees that produce gum. Discover what the gum looks like in its natural state and once filtered. Establish how to harvest the gum without hurting the tree. Observe how to process the gum filtration while it reveals a blend of calming and uplifting scent designed to evoke relaxation and serenity to promote well-being and reduce stress.
Rawhide - Hand Drum
The drum is the oldest universal instrument that every culture on mother earth can relate to. It has a different meaning for everyone. There are many types of First Nations drums. This one-day workshop provides foundational knowledge about the ancestral ways to make the Algonquin version of the hand drum. Learn how it implicates the connections between the elements (animal skin, water, wood frame, heat of sun or fire mixed with the wind, and cool weather).
Rawhide - Rattle

For yourself or for a gift, join in on this one-day workshop to make a beautiful rawhide rattle. Each rattles are stitched with rawhide lace, left to dry, and then filled with small pebbles. The handles are all made with ash wood, holding properties of strength and flexibility. The use of rawhide and wood gives it its natural beauty.

Snowshoes

Bored at home? Come learn in a two days’ workshop on how to make a pair of snowshoes out of ash wood and rawhide. Elaborate the technique of tying the lace to the frame. Learn how this device distributes body weight over a large area by allowing to move on top of the snow without sinking. How they help the long winters pass by faster while having the pleasure to discover paths in the forest and admire the beauty of nature.

Toboggan
Who doesn’t like to go sliding downhill in the winter snow! A fun physical training activity to do with family and friends. In this two days’ workshop come develop the skills on how to work with manual tools, cut rawhide lace, and the techniques of bending flexible ash wood. See the final product and how ancestral techniques of producing things were made durable. 
 
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