A Lasting Legacy: Learning From the Land
Ajae Wilson - 2 October 2025
Saturday, September 27, 2025, Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge (WLGL) celebrated the debut of the and the launch of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation (AWN) hide-tanning manual at River Cree Resort. AWN course co-instructors and other community course members, along with WLGL and Faculty of Law staff, and previous students came together to celebrate land-based learning and honour the family of the late Elder Adelaide McDonald, the founder of the Wahkohtowin Intensive course.
This unique and powerful course offered through the 海角社区 Faculty of Law was the late Elder Adelaide McDonald’s dream. Students who experienced the first course offered in 2017 had the privilege to learn from Elder Adelaide herself at Susa Creek. After losing this beloved matriarch in the spring of 2018 and navigating the pandemic within a remote community, Elder Adelaide’s family pulled together to continue her dream of teaching students about Indigenous laws and their way of life.
The film was created and produced by Cree filmmaker Tom Crier. It captures the essence of the course and the experiences of those involved. Tom expressed his gratitude for being invited into the community and the opportunity to capture the beauty of Susa Creek and the process of moose hide tanning. His biggest takeaway during the filming was seeing the way the community has continued living their culture and knowledge. He hopes one day his daughter will get to share in the same experience.
The Moose Hide Tanning Manual was a combined effort between the AWN community and the WLGL staff. Dehcho Dene lawyer Gavin Cazon-Wilkes, helped create the community’s vision of the detailed manual. Gavin experienced the course first as a law student and later as legal counsel for the WLGL. Gavin spoke to the need for pedagogical shifts from learning about Indigenous legal orders from text to experiencing and engaging with them in land-based learning contexts. He expressed that Indigenous laws and legal orders are lived in many ways, including in the process of tanning a moosehide, which is not something that you can get out of a textbook.
“Hopefully the young students follow what they see today” - Elder Mabel Wanyandie
The event opened with a song from Robert Wanyandie and Jacob Wanyandie. David MacPhee, president of AWN, brought greetings from the Nation and Scarlett Papin Cardinal, Enoch Cree Nation Councillor, who participated in the course, welcomed everyone to her Nation and shared how important the learning has been for her leadership in governance.
For Marc Jr. Doire, a young AWN community member and a 海角社区 student featured in the film, seeing his community’s knowledge reflected in the manual and film in their own words is very meaningful. Marc pointed out that the manual is a transfer of knowledge initiated by the community. The book is an extension of how the community sees themselves, not how others perceive their ways.
Elder Adelaide’s daughters, Marianne Moberly, Carol Wanyandie and Alice Moberly had the opportunity to share their gratitude and stories of how their mother inspired their own journey of educating university students on the land. They spoke to their mother’s commitment to reconciliation, pride in culture, and dream of facilitating a course at Susa Creek. Alice spoke to the two principles in the name of the course: wahkohtowin and miyo wîcêhtowin. The first principle reminds us that we are all connected and the second reminds us to maintain good relations as we walk together. The members of AWN look forward to many more years of learning from each other and the land, as well as teaching others.
Mabel Wanyandie represented the Elders and Jacob Wanyandie and Rebecca Wanyandie represented the youth of the community. Jacob and Rebecca have both taken an active role in teaching the students about the land and the laws that they live. Rebecca recounted how she was taught how to bead by her grandmother. She then shared her gift of beading with the audience as she led them through a beading activity using the very moose hide that the students processed at the course.
Several past students and participants also shared the powerful impact of the course on their lives and learning journeys. Current graduate student and WLGL Legal Counsel, Casey Caines has had the privilege of attending the course for four years in a row. She brings her children with her each year and sees the relationships that she and her family have built as the most influential parts of the course. She believes that love and relationality could create impactful change within the legal system. The legal system can benefit from the inclusion of Indigenous legal orders.
On a final note, Dr. Hadley Friedland acknowledged the Alberta Law Foundation, for their belief in the value of land-based Indigenous law education. A heartfelt thank you went out for their continuing relationship and support.
The Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge and the Faculty of Law are grateful to the late Elder Adelaide and her family for welcoming our students into their home and trusting us with their stories, knowledge, and teachings. hiy hiy.
