WE ALL BEAR GIFTS. This fall, the resurge/alight/burrow installation (pictured) – located near the Chippewa Valley Museum in Carson Park – will offer a new series of events for locals to attend. Jennifer Gougé, a curator for the camp, will re-introduce the value of bartering and gift giving during an all-ages, free to attend market on Oct. 24.

Traditional ways of knowing and reciprocity often lie right in front of us, often obscured because people have lost touch with the ways earlier communities lived and exchanged these values.

This fall, Jennifer Gougé returns to the resurge/alight/burrow installation – located next to the Chippewa Valley Museum in Carson Park (1204 E. Half Moon Dr., Eau Claire) – with a dynamic slate of offerings. Along with speaker sessions, co-working spaces and beadworking workshops, she is re-introducing the value of bartering.

From noon-5pm on Oct. 24, the “weight of money” will be lifted from the camp’s previously held artisan markets. In turn, participants will be encouraged to provide personal offerings – not money – in exchange for others' offerings.

Gifting has long been built into Indigenous culture. “Almost nothing happens without a gift,” Jennifer said. Anishinaabe gift-giving values – just one example of the many gifting practices among Indigenous communities of Turtle Island – center on kinship and the “release of responsibility” rather than a market-based or capitalist exchange of commodities.

Gifts take many forms, Jennifer added, often presented at community events; the burgeoning of a friendship or relationship with an elder; or the “planting of a seed” when new collaborations are just beginning to take shape.

“We’re kind of meant to arrive in this world as a gift,” Jennifer mused. “Every way you move is meant to be based in gifting.”

“Come prepared to talk about (an object's) value with somebody and have the conversations around value departed from money, commerce (and) capitalism.”

Jennifer Gougé

Anishinaabe artisan and curator of resurge/alight/burrow

Despite her own beliefs in reciprocal relationships, Jennifer acknowledges that communities have drifted away from these mutual efforts that ought to unite people – especially amid the pressures of contemporary Westernized landscapes.

Jennifer, along with familiar guests to the resurge/alight/burrow camp – Cinnamon Kills First and A Smith – will explore these ideas and possible solutions during a gifting and bartering panel slated for 2pm while the Oct. 24 market takes place.

For locals who may be new to the bartering practice, Jennifer proposes a few pointers or ways to begin:

First, you do not have to be an artisan in order to participate. Guests at the camp can bring everyday household items, curated vintage items, or simply offer your own skills and services – such as massage therapy, cooking, photography, or even fitness instruction.

Hand-beaded earrings by Jennifer Gougé, pictured above, from a previous artisan market held at the resurge/alight/burrow camp in 2025.

The bartering market can also serve as a low-pressure environment for artists who may struggle to put a monetary price on their work.

Second, she suggests it's time to depart from money-centered mindsets. Participants should come to the event prepared to have conversations about what it means to break away from a productivity-based and money-driven society.

“Come prepared to talk about (an object's) value with somebody and have the conversations around value departed from money, commerce, capitalism,” Jennifer said.

Even so, Jennifer said folks can look forward to endearing forms of haggling; these interactions are meant to make exchanges feel less cold and get new energy flowing.

Jennifer herself will participate in the bartering with beadwork and other visual art for trade. Attendees can also look forward to portrait sessions, wellness offerings and self-care kits among the diverse array belongings awaiting a new home.

Beyond any tangible items one might bring home with them, community members can leave the market with a deeper understanding of communal connection.

Chippewa Vallians can apply for a space to barter and spotlight their creative venture at the event – online through Jennifer's social media platform (@ambewiisinin) – or just come with a blanket to display your goods, ready for trade.

All are welcome at this free-to-attend, all-ages event.

The resurge/alight/burrow bartering market (free to attend) will take place from noon-5pm on Oct. 24 at the camp adjacent to the Chippewa Valley Museum in Carson Park (1204 E. Half Moon Dr., Eau Claire). See previous coverage on the resurge/alight/burrow camp, online at VolumeOne.org.