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The Land Bass Presentations are designed and delivered by Shibastik to revive Native culture,  instil pride, inspire courage, raise awareness, and promote healing. Often presented in the form of a school assembly, even the toughest crowds remain locked in and engaged.

Using live original Native hip hop performance and art exhibition, as well as storytelling, motivational speaking and cultural teachings, these interactive and entertaining workshop presentations focus on many of the issues First Nations youth are all to often confronted with. While topics including depression, suicide, addiction, and the inter-generational effects of residential schools are discussed, the importance of healing and moving forward are the focus.

Whether small or large, audiences are captivated by the music, artwork, and storytelling of a Native who grew up in the North and has a deep love for his people, land and culture.

All Land Bass presentations are altered depending on the age range and can be delivered at all levels of education, from primary to university.

* Hunt for Healing

Hunt For Healing teaches about how having a connection to the land through traditional hunting practices can be a powerful coping mechanism as well as help provide the tools, skills and mind-set for dealing with issues such as depression, anger, and low self-esteem. 

For Shibastik, the land has always been a source of strength, a place to heal, to reconnect, and to recenter. Life is all about balance. There must be balance in nature, and there must be balance within. When healing, it is important to focus on the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual sides of one's self. It is all connected, as are we. 

Through his work as a IRCS (Intensive Rehabilitation in Custody Supervision) Worker at a Secure Custody Youth Detention Centre, Shibastik gained extensive experience working with troubled youth. Shibastik also received a wide variety of training, in everything from cognitive therapy, to building sweat lodges and running sharing circles. This workshop is a product of all of this work and life experience.Delivering a message of self-empowerment, self-respect, and self-worth, Hunt For Healing will ignite a fire of hope.

*Hurt People

This presentation addresses residential schools and the devastating impacts they've had on our lives and in our communities. If bullying is an issue with your youth, this workshop is vital, helping to bring healing and understanding to both the bullied and the bullies.

Many do not associate residential school traumas with current issues affecting their families and/or communities. Even worse, these problems are often generalized as 'just a Native thing.' 

"We do not have these issues because we are Native," says Shibastik. "We have these issues as a direct result of our historical trauma." Shibastik feels it is extremely important that all Canadians make this connection. We must never forget that for 150 years our children were stolen and mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically abused in concentration camps they called residential schools.

It is a dark part of our history that still haunts us. Its lingering effects are most evident in the large and disproportionate numbers of our youth in foster care, inmates incarcerated in correctional facilities, and our missing and murdered. Our resilience is our strength, proving it's never too late to revive who they tried to kill in us. It is time to end the cycle of pain that began in residential schools.

* Native Class

Land-based education is of the upmost importance and it is vital that our traditional knowledge is protected, preserved and passed on. The Native Class workshop reminds us of who we were as Native people, and who we have the power to be today.

As well as advocating for the protection of the land and waterways, Shibastik reminds us of the importance of making our spirit plate offerings, while also encouraging we feed our own spirits by learning our history and practicing our culture. Our traditional practices as hunters were all about sustainability and understanding that our actions today will affect all of the generations to come.

Shibastik will also share valuable land based teachings he was taught by his father and his experiences on the land as a hunter. His personal stories of survival and life altering experiences on the Mushkegowuk Lowlands are authentic and unique. They create vivid imagery and reveal hidden lessons that have forever changed him, moulding him into the man he is today. Shibastik shares these stories in a way that outlines the teachings within them. 

Music is medicine. It can be used to heal. It can also be used to poison. There are many negative influences in mainstream media, including materialism, alcohol and drug abuse, promiscuity, and violence, among others. This workshop  teaches the importance of becoming media literate in order to make educated and positive decisions.

Shibastik hopes that people who participate in the Native Class workshop will develop an even deeper appreciation for what it is to be First Nations.

* Culture Shock (Moving North to South)

This presentation is designed specifically for Native youth from remote Northern communities who are graduating High School with plans of moving south to pursue further education or work.

This mind opening presentation will help youth prepare for the struggles and emotions they will be faced with when making the transition to city living.

Navigating the southern landscape is very different than the North. So much will be missing, yet some many new opportunities will be presented and made accessible.

As a hunter, Shibastik took pride in never getting lost, but in the city the feeling of being lost seemed overwhelming at times. Leaving his home community at 18 years old for college in southern Ontario was extremely difficult. The culture shock was devastating but he learned that you can bring your culture with you where ever you go, and you can still be a hunter in an urban environment. It's all about how you carry yourself, and the lessons you learned in the beautiful North.

*Dammed Lands

A discussion about our ‘dying rivers’ and the water being hoarded in the south by the use of dams.

Having healthy rivers is vital to the survival of our culture, and us.

Northern Ontario is the lowest part of Ontario. The Mushkegowuk 'lowlands' are vast swamps that have always relied on the rivers that feed into them from the highlands in Southern Ontario. These rivers and swamps are slowly dying of thirst and it is not natural. It is purely because of the countless dams that have been built to keep the water in the south. "Cottage country" is thriving and it is because they are stealing our water, and now our lands are drying up and our wildlife is disappearing. It is harder and often impossible to get up our rivers to access our lands. There are less and less fish when we can get up the river. Less and less snow geese when we hunt in the fall. More and more forest fires in the summer. This is not natural, it is by design. There is a fight to be fought here.

Other presentations and keynote topics:

* Diabetes in the Desert (Diabetes awareness and prevention)

* Bush League Basketball (Sports for mental and physical health)

* The Lynx and the Cat (Joined by my life partner, the beautiful Cree Cat, for a discussion on what it means to walk together in both worlds)

The original mobile studio song/video production workshop for Native youth and young adults. Participants will create a 100% original song with Shibastik's help and guidance. They will learn how to make a beat using a drum machine, how to structure a song, as well as lyrical techniques and writing skills. They will also experience the recording process and be given the opportunity to get on the microphone and speak their truth. Finally, participants will learn how to mix and master their work to create a final product that is all their own. This workshop is THERAPY as well as educational and fun! Instruments of any kind are always welcome. Drums, rattles, flutes and traditional vocals always encouraged! 

There are many healthy ways to fight through your pain, and painting is one of them.  Expressing yourself and releasing your emotions through art can be very therapeutic, and is a healthy coping mechanism for stress, anger, and depression. Shibastik will work with participants to provide art instruction on composition, visual elements, acrylic paint application and techniques, as well as share stories and teachings on art as a healing tool and a weapon to help you fight off your fear, fight for a cause, or fight through your pain, no matter how deep the wound. Those who participate in this workshop will leave with new skills as artists, some of the weight released, and a fresh outlook on life. (Art pieces produced can range from small canvases to large murals) 

Growing up in the isolated northern Mushkego Cree communities of Moosonee and Moose Factory, Shibastik is an experienced hunter, fisherman, boatsman, and is most in his element when on a snow machine weaving through the vast frozen swamps of the James Bay Lowlands. With extensive knowledge of river and land navigation, traditional animal harvesting and survival tactics, Shibastik will host excursions and provide his own teachings as well as facilitate space for local elders and guides to address participants. (Boats/snow machines and local guides/elders must be provided)

Shibastik started playing basketball at a young age. It began with a cut margarine container nailed to a tree in his backyard. Later, in shops class, he crafted his own spring-loaded double rim and backboard, which he attached to his father's shack. His father then laid down some cement pads in the driveway so he could practice dribbling as well as shooting.

In High School, Shibastik led his team to the regional championships with a 9-1 record. He went on to play in the OCAA as a shooting guard/small forward for the Georgian College Grizzlies (Barrie, ON), as well as to be 2 time captain for Team Ontario at the North American Indigenous Games. He has also played in many tournaments and won championships with the Timmins Bulls, and in 2018, Shibastik won a bronze medal  at the Masters Indigenous Games in Toronto, ON.

The "Shibasketball Camp" will begin with a motivational speech, followed by a series of drills, a skills competition, and a scrimmage.