Our spirits Connect with Moosewah

Reconnection with cultural teachings is deeply healing for our spirits to sustaining traditions for future generations. Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) supports Healing Justice activities like the Hide Camp hosted by J-Shine Design. Healing Justice revitalizes our spirits by offering  opportunities to engage and reconnect in cultural activities. ICA is proud to support individuals who provide such experiences with low barriers, allowing our people to dedicate time and energy to meaningful reconnection.

Alongside the City of Edmonton, ICA had the privilege of supporting this project and immersing ourselves in this experience. We witnessed a courageous group of individuals come together to heal through the labor-intensive process of hide tanning. In just six days, laughter, storytelling, and shared effort transformed a group of strangers into a close-knit family.

Introductions Lead to Lasting Relationships 

From August 27 to September 1, 2025, Healing Through Moose Hide Tanning was facilitated by Jess Sanderson-Barry (J-Shine Design) and hosted in Heartland, Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton.) Thirty participants from across Alberta gathered to share the experience of connecting with the mooswah. 

From fleshing and stretching to scraping to tanning, the camp required immense love, generosity, labour, and care. Observing this collective dedication and witnessing the transformation of acquaintances into family was an honour. It’s incredibly heartwarming to see so many Indigenous people actively reclaiming cultural practices like hide tanning.

J-Shine is a master of her craft, and ICA is honoured to support her mission to empower Indigenous peoples through cultural reconnection and healing. In addition to  teaching hide tanning,. she is a skilled artisan who creates beautiful jewelry and artwork using tanned hides and other materials to fund her ongoing work. You can learn more about J-Shines ambitions of establishing a permanent camp here:

A Week of Learning, Healing, and Connection

The week was filled with more than just hide tanning. Elders, knowledge keepers and participants gathered for storytelling sessions. Each day began and ended with a circle – offering time to reflect, smudge, pray and give thanks to the Creator. These moments helped ground everyone in a shared purpose: to reconnect nature and our spirit. 

With the amount of labour that goes into the treatment of these hides, having this many participants is crucial in taking care of the hides and for each other. Community is such an integral part of this process. We cared for each other the same way we cared for the mooswah – with love, generosity, gratitude, and and grace.

While J-Shine facilitates, plans and organizes each hide tanning camp, it’s up to each participant to take responsibility for learning, engaging and contributing the efforts that makes each camp successful.

We are entering these spaces with so much vulnerability, whether that is our emotions, the unknown, healing trauma’s and J-Shine has done an incredible job of welcoming each individual in a safe and understanding state of mind. When we are met with an immediate respect, especially from a facilitator, we are encouraged to bear our vulnerabilities with comfort.

Reflections on What We Leave These Spaces With

J-Shine’s Healing Through Moose Hide Tanning camp offers much more than a space  to learn a new skill. It provides an opportunity for collective healing, cultural resurgence, and community care. The teachings, stories, and relationships built during those six days will ripple far beyond the camp itself – strengthening our communities and spirits. By supporting knowledge keepers like J-Shine Design and creating opportunities for Indigenous peoples to reconnect with land, culture, our spirits and each other, we help build lasting resilience among our communities. Cultural revitalization through  camps like this ensures that traditions are not only remembered but lived, loved, and passed down, and taught with a love that can be appreciated for generations to come.

Call to Action: Support J-Shine Designs

Share more of J-Shine’s upcoming hide camps with your networks

Follow J-Shine Design on social media
Facebook
Instagram

Donate to support more cultural camps and projects like J-Shine Design’s hide tanning camps.

Support J-Shine Design’s Work

Support J-Shine’s Hide Land: A gathering place for Continued Hide Tanning: