Tikinaagan~ Is Ojibwe For Cradleboard. (Baby carriers)

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Such a cute bundle, no?

This is a cradle board used many generations ago by the First Nations (Aboriginals).

It was a means for the mother to carry their babies throughout the day comfortably and more easily so they could have them with them all day.

The babies were wrapped in a moss bag and securely tucked in to a thin cushioned board. The reason for boards was to keep the child's back and legs straight, to strengthen the necks and muscles and to provide a chance for the babies to gain in sight and hearing as they would be stimulated the their environment and family.

The tikinaagans were and still are an important tool for both mother's and babies for their benefits. Just like we would use carriers and Moby Wraps, the babies benefit so much with being close to their mothers, feeling and hearing the heart beat, breathing, singing and talking, walking around even helps them fall asleep.

I used to have a Moby Wrap for my kids and loved having them so close to me. At the time I didn't know about cradle boards and I wished I had for it would benefit my babies posture.

In the image, it shows that people still use them today so the tradition is not lost in history, using pine or cedar wood laces together with thin strips of leather.

If you would like to see earlier pictures of mother's carrying their babies in their tikinaagans, I would invite you to visit @janton's post

Today what I want to share with you is the activity my kids and I got to take part in yesterday.

At the Beaver House, band office, we were welcomed to do some family crafts during this family well being week.

It came to a big surprise when finding our what we were making as I have just read @janton's post just before.

We made small versions of tikinaagans for the kids to play with for their dolls and small babies.

So it's not nearly as traditional as how it's actually made. These are mini versions made easy for the kids to make.

I would have enjoyed making an actual one with real wood work but it could never be done in just 2 hours.

We used wood glue to glue the parts together but it took too long to stick so we just used hot glue to do the trick.

Using the leather strips we weaved it through the holes in the plastic and the material as a means to sew it on.

Now I noticed I put my Knott inside the cradle area which would have me fail the test as if it was for a real baby, it would chew on the rope... Bad idea.

My son, Aaden has quite the crafty hands as he was well advanced in his project compared to me.

Emma was hard at work, concentrating on making sure it's straight and without a mess.

To finish we simply weave another leather string through the holes, kind of like a shoe. Simple enough but I'm sure its much more complicated when making it for real.

The kids had a great time learning an important part of history as they made and decorate their boards. And they are proud of it too. Good!

I kept mine simple as I couldn't decide on how I wanted it decorated. Perhaps I could add some beads to it. I hung on my wall to keep it as a decoration, a nice reminder of my cultural heritage.

Here are pics of the kids creative masterpieces.

Aadens:

Emma's:

Frankie's:

What do you think? They will make fine crafters later on when making their own 😊

This is just the beginning of my journey with my kids as we dive in to learn about our culture that was hidden from us for 2 generations.

This weekend is going to be another great adventure as we will be gathering for traditional language on the land. It will be very interesting.

Miigwech/ thank you/ merci!

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