The name kîwêtinohk maskwa (Keewatinook Musqwa), northern bear, came to us on January 2, 2022 from Elder Larry Oaks. In a naming ceremony with the Oakes family on Neekaneet First Nation, Larry shared how the name came to him in a dream. In the dream there was a line of bears coming from the north. They were dark white in colour, and they were entering the north side of a building that he had known as a bar. The line of bears coming from the north was endless, and they were as far as the eye could see. The building had two doors facing the street (north), the bears were going in one door and coming out from the other. The bears were helping all the people who had been wounded from complications from colonization, impacting many generations.

Larry spoke about how the bear gave us the sweat lodge and how these bears have come to help us in our work. The bears will help each person who needs to find their way back to wellness. The bears going in one door and coming out the other signify for us to never give up on anyone because there is limitless help. Larry shared ideally most of us would have found our way back to the lodges and ceremony, but many of us do not and this is why the bears have come to help us. Daily we hold deep honour, respect, and obedience to the name kîwêtinohk maskwa, and to the bears. Annually we will attend ceremony to give an offering for kîwêtinohk maskwa as acknowledgement and thanks for the medicine they bring to each person we walk beside on their healing journey. Larry asked us to share this story and hold it as central to the work we do.