Ode'min Giizis (Strawberry Moon)

Some of our Intermediet (gr.7/8) students have been working very hard this term to create an amazing music video. It's an interpretation of "Ode'min Giizis (Strawberry Moon)" by Tara Williamson.

Tara is a singer-songwriter from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and Gaabishkigamaag (Swan Lake, Man.) who works out of Victoria, B.C. She tells us about her song, saying:

"The Anishinaabe keep track of the seasons by the moons," explains Williamson. "There are 13 moons every year and Ode'min Giizis moon usually arrives in June and marks the beginning of strawberries."

"Strawberries are in the shape of a heart," Williamson adds. "And they're the first berry that ripens where I'm from. And so strawberries (heartberries) and the strawberry moon represent kindness, friendship, sweetness and love. So when we sing the song we want to remember those things."