By Chadd Cawson   Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Keepers of the Seasons owners Jenny and Darcy Fisher know the importance of health and wellbeing for people and earth. Keepers of the Seasons offers three online workshops: Walking Through the Seasons, Wild Foraging and Healing on the Land, and All Living Things: Journey to Wellness, through our Ancestors Footsteps. Their prerequisite course is Indigenous Connectedness and will be offered online on Aug. 15.

“This course is an Introduction to mindfulness,” says Jenny Fisher. “We teach of our connection to ancestral teachings with a focus on overall wellness through introspection and the development of a personal or individual wellness plan.”

While many businesses were shutting down as COVID-19 was off and running, Keepers of the Season was just getting started. “We started our business, June 5, 2020, and originally called ourselves Air Bean N Beez,” said Fisher. “We always had a desire to promote health and wellness through the work we do. We started the business to facilitate positive change in our communities by marrying our skill set and creating courses and workshops that are our own and honour our ancestral teachings.”

Jenny (Kootenai) Fisher is from the Salish and Pend d’Oreilles First Nation, also known as the Kalispel people in Northwest Plateau and Montana. Darcy, born in Canada, is Ktunaxa and from the ?akisq?nuk First Nation, where he is an acting elected council member. Keepers of the Seasons, LLC operates out of Arlee, MT, which is a part of the Flathead Indian Reservation and part of the Ktunaxa Traditional Territory, which runs along the Columbia River.

“We have been offering our courses digitally for approximately two years now. Our online teaching started with an opportunity to work with the Confederated Salish and Kootenay Tribes (CSKT) for professional development through the Education Department,” says Fisher. “Additionally, we have worked with the Ktunaxa Nation Social Investment Sector and Lands and Resources Sector and soon will be working with the Traditional Knowledge and Language Sector. Our Lands and Resources and Traditional Knowledge and Language Sector Workshops will be offered in person and on the land.”

Delving into personal and professional growth, the workshops and courses offered though Keepers of the Seasons aim to inspire and influence positive change and healing. The introductory and prerequisite workshop Indigenous Connectedness being offered online on Aug. 15 explores strengths, gifts, barriers, and self-determination as people.

The workshop aims to give participants the ability to begin manifesting positive change and they will learn as well as start to unpack their minds and remove barriers that clutter their surroundings and dampen their personal growth. The on-the-land training teaches about healing through the land, being advocates for indigenous land management and stewardship, ethnobotany and learning the language of the plants. All costs of the courses, programs, and workshops that Keepers of the Seasons offer throughout the year go toward the cost of operating their business allowing the Fishers to continue building their product and reaching more communities.

Jenny Fisher co-founder of Keepers of the Season sits with her daughter Ayla. Submitted Photo

“We think all people should take a chance at attending our events or workshops. Whether it is our online or in-person courses and workshops, we believe that you will leave with a new or refreshed outlook, a better perception of self and a plan for one’s personal wellness,” says Fisher. “Our plant and ethnobotany workshops allow one to better understand their connection to all living things, the beauty and respect of having a reciprocal relationship with the natural world. Ultimately, we teach new learners to value the footprints they leave, the stories they share, all land is sacred, and each person has a gift.”

For more information on these life changing workshops visit Keepers of the Seasons.