If you are an Indigenous grower, land steward or community member, you are welcome to attend this field day free of charge! Please use the coupon code CAMP2025 when filling out the registration form to receive free admission.

Join Chef Johl Whiteduck for a guided tour of the Mashkode Bizhikiins Culture Camp, where teachings of the four elements – Earth, Air, Water, and Fire – are shared through story, land connection, and food.

The day will begin with a circle gathering beneath the quaking aspens for traditional introductions and smudging. From there, participants will take part in a medicine walk, learning to identify several native plant and tree species along the trail. At a tamarack forest, Chef Johl will demonstrate how to respectfully harvest tamarack bark for medicine. The tour continues back through the rain garden before arriving at the Sacred Fire cooking place. Together, we’ll prepare tea from the medicines gathered on the walk and share a traditional NishDish meal.

The feast will include venison stew, wild rice*, Three Sisters stew*, wild berry crumble*, and beverages (coffee, tea, water). (*Vegan and gluten-free options).

This immersive experience offers an introduction to Anishinaabe foodways, medicines, and teachings while fostering a deeper connection to land and community.

Details:

• Please wear long pants and sturdy walking shoes or boots.
• The event runs rain or shine (meals will move indoors if needed).

Speaker:

Chef Johl Whiteduck is the owner of NishDish Marketeria and Catering, an award-winning small business that’s been reclaiming and serving traditional Anishinaabe food since 2005. Chef Johl’s journey of Indigenous Food Sovereignty has led him to founding Ojibiikaan Indigenous Cultural Network, along with the first Indigenous Harvesters & Artisans market. He has spearheaded Indigenous gardens and a small business dedicated to Indigenous gardens called Miinikaan Innovation and Design, and numerous community partnerships. His creation in 2017 of an Indigenous Culinary Arts curriculum, a ceremonial in-depth land and food-based program, led to some of the first traditionally planted Three Sisters gardens in the GTA. The gifts to Chef Johl of centuries-old ancestral seeds started the ongoing development of an extensive Indigenous seed bank. The expansion of NishDish’s Indigenous food gardens around the city laid the groundwork for the birth of a brand-new organization that Chef Johl founded in 2018, called Ojibiikaan Indigenous Cultural Network. He is the founding Board President of the first and only not-for-profit dedicated to Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the GTA.

This event is part of EFAO’s Indigenous Outreach and Engagement Initiative, which is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.