New program at TJ Stables offers learning experience on Indigenous culture and history
A transformative change is taking place at a Chatham-Kent horse farm where a unique experience to “awake your spirit” is now available.
The program at TJ Stables is the first of its kind and offers people a place to learn and experience authentic Indigenous culture and history.
“We always considered our farm a healing place,” says TJ Stables co-owner John Basden.
Earlier this month, the recreational and therapeutic horse farm started offering three hour Indigenous experiences with a chance to surround yourself with gentle wild spirit horses welcomed to the farm two years ago.
“The horses are just our common denominator between all of us. The Métis, the First Nations people and all of Canadians,” Basden says.
“Our ultimate goal is to get them back to their people and in order to do that we’ve got to up their numbers,” says TJ Stables co-owner Terry Jenkins.
An authentic Métis camp is also set up so people can see first-hand how things were. Overnight stays are available.
“We let the people that know what they’re doing, do what they’re doing and so we’re just a small cog in this awesome wheel of education and awareness,” Jenkins says.
John Basden, owner of TJ Stables in Chatham-Kent, Ont. on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)
John Basden, owner of TJ Stables in Chatham-Kent, Ont. on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)“I love this! I love this for the fact that it’s going to introduce people to something that is dear to my heart this is my culture,” says David Wilson, a knowledge keeper for Indigenous people in the area.
Wilson shares generational wisdom and insight, and now wants to share his culture with others.
“For somebody to come here and have a taste of that culture and experience that culture, that’s going to generate allies,” Wilson says. “That’s going to generate understanding and peace and kindness and what comes out of all those things? A lot of love.”
Basden says the program is for those who need to experience the tranquility of nature
“Anyone that needs to experience peace,” he says. “Anyone that needs to come and just experience nature, of course these horses are the epitome of nature.”
“These horses need to do their work and their work is that healing work,” Wilson adds.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.