Ojibway Revelations: Indian Stuff. Not for phoney Indians with zero funny. Important, this could very well be the greatest blog on Indian stuff. Note may not please anal bleached perspectives. So read on Neechies, Blacks, P0C and White folk. Comments appreciated.
My sister is sick, and has been for sometime now. She lives in our parents old house on the Reserve. After my Dad died, I let her stay there because she was looking after her grandkids. So she has been living there about 12 or 11 years. My Dad was in the local care home before he died. He had cancer, lived alone and had dementia. My parents had given me the Reserve House. They believed youngest son was to get things from them, but I believe it was because I was their favorite. My siblings will all say they were the favorite. My sister has had her struggles. I won't bother with the details. We all have issues and struggles.
The reason I am a villain is because of my actions. I have told my sister she has to leave the house. Her daughter is upset with me and I know it is hard for them. I have my reasons for kicking them out. They have not moved out yet. So a battle is going on between me and niece. She is hurt and angry with me.
My Mom and Dad have, had a beautiful home. It is on the south side of the Winnipeg River, which runs through our Reserve. We spent lot of time swimming in the River as kids. We did a lot of fishing and what a view from the house. Mom, especially, had a welcoming way to our home. She would make tea right away for visitors and would sit at the kitchen table. A patio door was in the kitchen, so a great view of the river. Mom's children and mom's grandchildren were all happily received at the house. So when we think of the home, we think of Mom and Dad. Dad sitting at his spot with a coffee in the morning and tea all day long.
That is not the way it is at the house anymore. Far gone is the welcome feeling at the home. Far gone is the well keep yard. Far gone is the well keep house. I go there and get a dreadful feeling. The welcoming Spirit of my parents doesn't exist in the house. Far gone is the welcoming arms of Granny to her small grandkids. Far gone is the good feelings of a home filled with blessings.
I am a villain. I kick my oldest sister in her time of need out of the home. My sister's grandchildren have many issues; mental health, physical disabilities, social ills. My sister's children (not all) are struggling with addictions issues. The issues spread throughout the household.
Do I feel good doing it, no. I have made a decision after years of repeating issues, activities and incidents. If being a villain is what I have to be, then it is so. I have been villain in cases before. It's not a good place to find yourself, but villains are part of life. I am comfortable being a villain.
August 25 is coming up. This year will 19 years since my Boy hung himself in his mother's closet. I live with the memory, the aftermath and the situations leading to his killing himself. I think about the day he was found and remember his life as a small child. My son was 20 when he took his life. He had been struggling with a drug addiction. It was CRACK. It was difficult for him and for us as well. I was working in Vancouver, British Columbia. I had gotten him to come stay with me, hoping he would get work and climb out of the addiction. Addiction is a vicious creature, with an appetite that can't be satisfied. So I think about how his future might have turned out had he not made the choice that he did.
A friend of mine has Parkinson's disease. He used to make documentaries when he lived in Japan. He and his wife moved to Canada as she went to work as a professor at the University. Tadashi is/was a very good person. The disease hit him very quickly. I haven't seen him for a number of years now. I spoke to him on the phone this winter. He lives in a Care facility and is very limited at what he can do. I speak to his wife every once in a while. The odds of a partner having Parkinson's is astronomical. Turns out she has Parkinson's. Unreal. She still lives in an apartment with their grown child. I spoke to her a few weeks ago, but had to cut the visit quick as I was driving in the car with grandkids. She was hoping that she could call along with her husband. He has lucid moments for a short period in the mornings. I remember when he used to exercise and try to get ahead of the disease. I think of the famous actor, Michael J. Fox and how long he has been fighting Parkinson's. I wonder what the difference is between my friend and the actor, and how the actor seems to fairing better than my friend?
My Sister-in-Law posted a note the other day, Her brother died. No details, just a note saying she will cherish his memory. My wife told me, he might have sought MAID, Medical Assisted In Dying. I don't know the details of what he suffered from. There was to be no service. I believe in MAID. I also believe in Suicide Prevention. A contradiction, I know. On the one finger I am supporting killing yourself, but in the other finger, I don't want anyone to kill themselves. It doesn't add up to two fingers does it?
An uncle of mine had ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. From what is written about ALS, it is no doubt a horrible disease with no cure. Your body becomes a coffin with your mind knowing what's going on. I cannot imagine the madness which comes with the disease. I took my Dad to go visit Uncle and it was too much for my Dad, he didn't every want to go back. He spoke to Uncle in Ojibwe and we left. I don't know how long Uncle lasted in a state of not being able to move, to speak, to communicate in any way. Can't imagine how it was for him, my Aunt and his kids.
I was in a situation where I had control over the last moments of my Dad's life. He was suffering from dementia and cancer. I signed the papers for no medical treatment on my Dad. It was a hard decision but the alternative was to let him continue to live not knowing what was going on and living in pain. So when I think about my Boy, I wonder about his suffering. Could he or would he have been able to win over the addiction? Or would it have gotten worse with the surge of Meth in society? My Boy was suffering and so were people who loved him. His addiction made him do things he could not live with.
I am wondering if it is selfish of me to think maybe, just maybe it was the right choice for him? The other selfish part of me wants him to be here. If he was here at least he would be breathing, perhaps enjoying a good life. I don't know. Or maybe he would be sharing needles, living and walking the streets, being avoided by all those who love him? Maybe he would get seriously sick from the life of an addict. I don't know. So maybe it was a blessing he doesn't suffer today? Or maybe it is still the most devastating thing to happen in our life?
So that's the thing isn't it, can we see a Blessing where we feel misery?
"We are still here." This is the sentiment of many Indigenous people out there. The destruction caused by colonialism, Christianity, is immeasurable. Who knows what has been lost due to the greed of White people. It pains me that we live a life of "what if's." The destruction caused by Wendigo is right in front of us and still it continues like it is as a good thing. Whole civilizations have been destroyed, been wiped off the face of the Earth because of White society. It is not a racist statement, just a fact of their way of life; the accumulation of everything.
“There’s no winning for us. We’re screwed. We were born into a system we don’t agree with, and we got caught. Here, out there, it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing left for us.”
Most societies in the World now measure things with price, cost and monetary value. From the Forest to the Oceans, there is a dollar amount assigned to them. It is a weird way of looking at things. I remember entering the off-ramp at Calgary Airport and seeing a poster on the wall; it said "water our valuable resource." We put money value on anything and that is how people can relate to things, "what it costs."
On BBC television there is a show called Us, I watched a few moments of season one, episode two. The scene was at the food buffet in some hotel. A young Asian Woman was taking a couple of jam spreads when an older White British man said "the buffet is based on trust and you should just take one jam spread." So she puts one back and goes sit down. He says to his wife, "a bit much with the truth thing?" The episode went on where the Asian Woman was outside the restaurant and says to the Whiteman, "Hey it's me, the thief," and she pulled out a couple of bread roles from her pockets to show off, and then she went on her way. This is interesting little scene. It was meant to be funny but made me think about the Whiteman's audacity. How can he admonish someone for "theft?" This is where I think of our own currency. Do we have currency to scold, to begrudge, to critique, to pass judgement? The White British dude had no currency to speak of, and to chastise young woman about taking an extra jar of jam. The guy comes from a society which built unimaginable wealth through theft. So it's really takes some real "nerve" to be the message of the trust virtue.
We can just about question the value, the currency of most societies, governments and companies. This past week we drove out to Alberta from Manitoba. We went to visit a brother and his family, along with a cousin. The week was to end with us going to Jasper Park and a train ride into the mountains. Turns out Jasper was burning up. Alberta is a province in Canada where the Right political ideology reigns supreme. With the Right thinkers in power, there is no thought to public services and there has been more support to private business. Alberta was ravaged last summer with Forest Fires, and it has not changed much this summer. The Premier of Alberta, Daniel Smith said "we won't always have a $2.9-billion disaster like we did last year." So you might say that Smith has no legitimacy in what she says, or in other words, she has no currency to share with anyone. How can the government share "thoughts and prayers" to a situation they have helped to occur?
That is the thing isn't it, who has the currency to be critical of what is happening in the world? Israel has no currency when they speak of democracy, human rights and discrimination. Israel is demonstrating to the world what an absence of moral currency or decency looks like. The United States is another example of the utter lack of human decency. They are actively supporting a Genocide and actively attacking everyone who speaks against the horrors of slaughtering children. So many different places and situations where there are questions as to who "has the right" to be speak. I can understand to a degree why some folk are loud when it comes to issues. For certain, I support Indigenous people and are willing the support for them. Do we support with every situation? What if, for example, a group of Ojibway people went and slaughtered a 24-pack of Bears. It is a horrible act and should be condemned. But would I condemn it? I would among our group but not publicly to outsiders of our group.
So I think this is what is happening in the public sphere, people are not willing to voice against things because they want to be supportive, even when children are having their limbs and heads blown off.
The epoch of Wenabozho in "oral history", aadizookaanan (sacred stories). Traveled Turtle Island gives names to everything on it. On his journey, hungry, mischievous, & tricking/helping many beings on the way by shaping and molding them, Wenabozho played a major role in the evolution of creation.
"Gaagige-minawaanigoziwining" means the "Land of Everlasting Happiness." The Milky Way is known by many names in the Anishinaabeg language, including Jiibay Mikana, Mashkiki Miikana, Jiibay Ziibi, and Mashkiki Ziibi. The clusters of stars and many constellations represent the Anishinaabeg clans, or "gidoodeminaanig." In the night sky, our clans shine brightly in the Milky Way, forever telling our stories and those of our ancestors. Our ancestors gather and shine down onto the Earth, connecting us to the loved ones who have gone home. As I put out the spirit plate they put out stuff out for us too. Has we sleep in the night they come and visit us and offer us gifts. We call them into our ceremony. Everyday we have an opportunity to share with each other our stories.
The Anishinaabeg teaching emphasizes that we must always prepare for the future, considering the well-being of others. We think about our children and the environment, which includes the spirits of the trees, water, and wind. When we contemplate the future, we include these elements because they are a part of us. Our actions reflect in the outcomes we experience. For example, yelling at a child can instill resentment, hurt, fear, or low self-esteem. Such actions affect not only the individual but also the community, as a traumatized child can impact the well-being of everyone. Similarly, destroying our environment makes it toxic, affecting our health and the health of the animals and other beings we share the world with.
More can be said... I ask myself should I share my whole insight. But it remains on a thought that was in another and shared with me long ago ..
"Gookomisinaan, Our Grandmother" the namer... Dibiki-giizis the moon...
Gookomisinaan, our beloved grandmother, was the first to bestow names upon us. As Wenabozho grew older, she passed this sacred gift to him. In our tradition, it is the role of our grandparents to give names. When Wenabozho and his siblings were born, gookomisinaan our grandmother, gimishoomisinaan our grandfather, was the one who named them.
One night, Gookomisinaan fell asleep and, in her dreams, she traveled to visit her daughter, Wenabozho's mother Wiininowaa. In the dream, she saw her daughter holding the newborn Wenabozho. As she watched, an amazing rabbit appeared, playing in the woods and naming everything it saw. Inspired by this vision, Gookomisinaan knew the perfect name for her grandchild.
She called upon the trees, inviting them to be niiyawen'enyag, which means "partaking in becoming family." Among them was the birch tree, known as wiigwaasaatig. This tree became Wenabozho's namesake, niiyawen'enh, symbolizing "partaking in becoming family." Wenabozho, in turn, called the birch tree Wen’enh.
Each tree offered part of it self, medicine, “giniginige a mixture of medicine” today instructed to use this medicine as an offering to all of life. Our "tobacco asemaa".
The bond between Wenabozho and the birch tree grew strong over time. When Wenabozho was a boy, the birch tree protected him from the Thunder Beings, offering him shelter from their fierce storms. Later, when Wenabozho needed to find his lost brother, the birch tree helped once more by offering its skin to make the first canoe, allowing Wenabozho to journey across the waters. Wenabozho wrote instructions for gete-Anishinaabeg on the birch bark, and the birch tree forever telling the story on the inside of its bark.
Despite their deep connection, Wenabozho and the birch tree had their disagreements. One day, during a particularly heated argument, Wenabozho, in a fit of anger, threw the scabs from his butt at his Wen’enh, the birch tree. These scabs clung to the tree, and today, we see them and know them as “chaga Shkitaagan.”
This story of Gookomisinaan, Wenabozho, and the birch tree teaches us about the importance of family, the tradition of naming, and the bonds that connect us, even in times of conflict. And whenever you see the chaga on the birch, you'll remember how it came to be and the deep relationship between Wenabozho and the birch tree.
“Umbilical cord odis” “odis s/he umbilical cord” in the Anishinaabe language. A sacred connection of the umbilical cord at birth. The cord is considered a direct link to the spirit world, as the womb is a sacred place for growth where the spirit connects to the body. It is believed that the spirit/baby chooses its parents. Anishinaabe tradition is to protect the womb, ensuring no negativity is brought near. The community celebrates the womb as the spirit and body develop, establishing sacred bonds. People speak to the womb not as a child but as an adult. Songs are sung, and words of wisdom are shared. Before the influence of Western ideology, the Anishinaabe understood that the heart and spirit first developed a connection, with the heart serving as the house for the spirit. The placenta is seen as the universe and a tree; it is perceived as a tree connected to the universe. An old Anishinaabe story tells how the first people climbed down a tree into this world, a symbol that continues today within the mother's womb.
At birth, the umbilical cord is cut, and it is saved along with some pieces of the umbilical cord and placenta. Family members would go out into the woods before 4 days and bury the placenta at the roots of a tree. The piece of umbilical cord connected to the child eventually falls off and is saved in a pouch alongside medicines such as cedar and other medicines. As the child grows older, they are given sacred bundles, and within these bundles, the piece of umbilical cord is placed among other sacred items such as a rattle, drum, moccasins, or ceremonial items. The child grows into an adult and wears this bundle in a medicine bag around their neck.
When you hear of Winnipeg's Main Street, images of poverty, homeless and the pitiful. There are Winnipeggers who drive around the area just to take photos of people at their most vulnerable and desperate. You can see their efforts proudly displayed on social media sites. One of those sites is People of Winnipeg on Zuckerberg's (also referred to as the world's worst human) Meta platform. This page is filled with the ugliness of being poor, being on the streets, being vulnerable, and it is a page made to show how we can make fun of the poor, how much we hate them and how we ridicule them.
We don't like to encounter the poor do we? We see them in their ragged clothes, their unclean look, the stench of rotting flesh, festering opening wounds, dripping puss, dried blood, and the indignity of not washing. We are repulsed. We don't want the stench to get on us. We don't want to touch their hands as they reach out for a "hand-out." If we do give them coin-change, we make sure to drop it in their hand or even drop it on the ground, because we fear the chance of getting the poverty touch us. We want them out of our space as quickly as possible. If we had our way, we would never see them.
We are not afraid to voice our visceral disgust of the poor. We know the majority of people share the same sentiments. The poor are to be despised, to be ridiculed, to be removed from our neighborhoods, our communities and our society. To us, the poor, the homeless, are maggots just living off the carcasses of dead streets. They are just festering scabs on the concrete which we hold dear. We do not want the reminder of how unfair the world is, and the poor remind us of the inequities of society.
The other day I was driving on Main Street, right in the heart of the poor. There was a gathering of people outside one of the shelters. As I drove by I saw ambassadors of goodwill working on a person. The person was laid out not moving, while the good will ambassadors were trying to revive the person. The ambulance and police were just arriving as I got the intersection greenlight. It is the reminder of what happens to the poor. Either they just go on with existing or they die, we don't know or do we care.
"Not In My Neighborhood" is a good clean mantra to use. The poor can exist but not around me, around us. "Out of sight, out of mind." We have so many cute idioms to keep us clean from the ugliness that we are. It is not the poor that we hate, it us we hate. We are the cruel, the ugly, the true maggots of society. The poor are the measuring sticks we use to feel we are doing well in society. We look at the rich and long to be them. We put the rich of pedestals, we worship, we watch their every move, we try to dress as they do, we carry our little Chihuahua's in bags because the rich do that. We watch tv shows and collect magazines of the "lives of the rich and famous" and it is our bible. We are the decrepit, the ugly, the morally repugnant. We look at the rich, we see we are not in their universe of decadence. We say to ourselves, at least we are not poor.
There are many beautiful things in the world. Of those beautiful things are youth. How beautiful everything and everyone is when they are young. Children should not be made to suffer. It is so refreshing to hear the laugh of a child. We don't hear laughter like that in adults (except for Indian Women at Bingo). Adults do laugh and some laugh with abandon and it is great to hear and see. But Children, there is something magical in their happiness. A child has so much to offer with their knowledge. They see the world in all its greatness. They can understand the wonder of it all. There is a Teaching of the Spirit, "we are Spirits before we become beings and we go back to Spirits." Children when they are born still remember and see they are Spirits. So they are connected until they age up and this is to the point where the kids forget their Spirit. Don't believe me? I guess. Why do small kids see people we cannot see? Imaginary? It could be the make it up, but it could be they are still connected to the Spirits. Of course there will be older children who have imaginary friends, but those children have grown past the age of remembering their Spirit.
It is fascinating how anyone can provide knowledge to others. Little kids sharing with others, and nurturing their peers, or teaching, even to adults. When I was a younger husband and father, I was not the best, actually I was a jerk. I was ranting around the house, being angry at my wife, when my three year old took my wife by the hand and took her to the bedroom, as she is walking with her mom,, the three year old says to her mom, "I'm going to tell my Daddy to shut up." Thank the Heavens for small children. They are special gifts lent to the world. I have seen the kindness in children and have often thought, it is inside them and they show us. My youngest grand-daughter always wants to go to the playground at the school by our house. I take her and when the smaller grades are out there, the girls are always first to go play with my grand daughter-Noozhis. They hover, they hold, they hug, they encourage and they smile. What a world it is to be a young child. All that goodness and they are willing to share it. They share it with everyone.
For whatever reason we tend to lose those Teachings the Children have shared, when we get older. Even the old wisest geezer doesn't carry the Teachings of the Children. We bestow our old people with titles of Elder, Wise, Teachers, Experienced, and Knowledge Keepers. We hold in high regards the Old people. Which of course they (well some of them) deserve. Living a long life has to come with some benefits. After all they must have done some positive things in their lives. Maybe with acts of collecting knowledge, skills and passing on those gifts to others. It is not always the case, the Old ones, will hoard their knowledge, they will expect all sorts of rewards, benefits, financial gain for their knowledge. They abandon any semblance of a Child's generosity of Teaching and nurturing to all. The thing is, there are situations when the Knowledge Keepers should be compensated: seminars, academic arena, lectures and other public information events. Knowledge Keepers, Teachers, should be given respect for their accumulated experience. Giving knowledge to other is the work of the generous. Can you imagine a situation where an Individual keeps his knowledge to their-self? It is the Elder, the Wise, the Experienced, the Knowledge Holder who refuses to share and they should walk with shame. It is like the person who knows how to get the copier machine to make clean copies but doesn't want to show anyone how to do it. Why be like that? It is not the children's way. The Children are Knowledge Givers and old people are Knowledge Keepers.
The Awesome thing about people, young and old, there are Knowledge Keepers who are also Knowledge Givers. I am glad to know and have know many, have heard some of the Knowledge Keepers. You have knowledge so less hoarding and more sharing. Be like the Children, share with no expectation of rejection, reward, condemnation, commendation. Be a Knowledge Keeper who is a Knowledge Giver.
A DECLARATION OF SPIRIT
Gathering of Indigenous Wisdom Keepers
Sending A Message to the World
May 24-27, 2012
Sagkeeng First Nation Territory, Manitoba, Canada
"Out of the lodges of our Peoples we are being told we have entered a time of great change and opportunity. The cougar, moose and eagles recently came into the community in the Sagkeeng Territory where the Gathering was to take place, and asked us to speak on their behalf about what is happening to the land. Supported by the Grandfather Drum, the Gathering of Indigenous Wisdom Keepers sends this urgent and prayerful message to the world.
We are the original free and independent Peoples of Turtle Island, extending back to the beginning of time in Spirit. In keeping with our Original Instructions given to us by the Creator we have a sacred responsibility to our ancestors and our future generations. We also have a ceremonial responsibility to the waters and to our traditional lands and territories, for the sake of Mother Earth and all living things.
Everything has a Spirit. Spirit is the life force of every human being and lasts forever. When we rise in the morning we acknowledge the sun as a way of honoring and celebrating the Spirit of Life itself. Our spirituality is our life. Our traditions contain the knowledge and wisdom accumulated by our ancestors and contained in our languages. It is one of our teachings that the beauty of nature is the face of the Creator, and results in our deep and abiding love for the land and water.
Water is Life. As humans, we are born through the water of our mother, and the women are responsible for the waters of Mother Earth. An acknowledgment of the sacred feminine is critical to the transformation needed at this time. It is one means of ending the epidemic of violence by men against women, and the neglect and abuse of children, which is destructive to our families, communities, and nations, and detrimental to our future generations.
These symptoms are the result of a human spiritual disconnection from the land and from the healing comfort and beauty of Mother Earth. Now is the time to come to the understanding that we cannot respect the future without respecting what makes the future, and what makes the future possible, specifically, our women and children.
Our healing wisdom and traditions continue to live on, carried and taught by our Elders, who are precious to us. Without the kindness and compassion of our Elders we would not be able to carry on our Spiritual Way of Life and our ceremonies, through which body, mind, spirit, and heart are more fully connected.
Through our songs and ceremonies, sacred fires, our prayers and prayer bundles, and the Original Instructions of our Sacred Laws, we are continually reminded that all Life is interconnected, and that all the colors of the human family and all forms of life are relatives.
As a result of the suppression of the cultures of our ancestors, the modern world has been prevented from understanding the wisdom to be gained from our ceremonial-based cultures and our Earth-centered traditions.
Our children need to be returned to the center of our families, communities and nations. By mentoring our children, supporting rites of passage for young men and women, we affirm our sacred balance, health and well being. Because of the thousands of years of experience with Spirit, the First Nations and Peoples of Turtle Island have unique gifts to share with the world for healing what has been wounding the human spirit.
The answer that every human being is looking for is within the Spirit in each and every one of us. We have always acknowledged that Spirit is a very significant element of our life. Spirit defines who we are. We are all bound by spiritual and natural laws.
How can we collectively connect with Spirit? Acknowledge Spirit and show our gratitude. Join us on June 21, 2012 to fulfill our responsibility to honor all Spirit and Life. We invite people throughout the world to join us on that day by making an offering of water to Mother Earth with thoughts of love and thankfulness. This sacred act will invoke the Spirit to guide us to a good life, and will let Mother Earth know we have not abandoned her."
