Service Description

Guided by Laura Selkirk, this 4 hour class will guide you with shared strawberry rattle teachings as you make your own rattle to take home. Mossy Birch Homestead will provide some small wild foraged snacks and drinks during the class and a forest walk is available for those who ask. Laura Selkirk is a rattle-maker, painter, and emerging Indigenous artist and a member of Bloodvein First Nation, whose work is rooted in healing, renewal, and the powerful symbolism of the strawberry. Through her brand Ode’imin Miikana (Strawberry Path) Laura creates handmade raw hide rattles that embody both her inner child’s voice and her journey back to herself. Each rattle begins with raw deer hide and is shaped with intention, care, and ceremony. Laura often forms her rattles into the shape of a strawberry, Honouring one of her spirit names, Big Hearted Woman. These strawberries represent a connection to the heart through the vessels of our bodies. The heart-shaped berry symbolizes love, peace, and the interconnectedness of the mind, body, spirit, and emotions. These teachings emphasize themes of reconciliation, community, and heartfelt relationships, with the strawberry harvest celebrated annually with feasts that foster forgiveness and unity. Strawberry raw hide rattles are handmade ceremonial healing pieces created from raw deer hide, shaped and formed into the image of a strawberry. This work combines traditional rattle making techniques with personal symbolism, reflecting themes of healing, memory and renewal.