A little bit about Aboriginal Culture and Spirituality

Boozhoo’ my name is Neal and I’ve written down a few things for you that may help you understand more about Aboriginal Culture and its purpose as it pertains to the incarcerated Native person. First Boo-zhoo’ is the Ojibwe word for Hello and A-nish-in-a-be means "The People" and is what Ojibwe call themselves, where the literal meaning is "From whence lowered the male of the species." Among Aboriginal peoples each nation has its own name with which they are recognised today some are Abenaki (Ab-eh-na-kee), Blackfoot, Cherokee (Chair-oh-key), Iroquois (Ear-oh-kwah), Micmac (Mihk-mahk), Navajo (Nav-uh-ho), Pawnee (Paw-nee), Sioux (Su) and Mohawk (Mo-hawk). This paper is in by no means meant to be a complete cultural treatise only a very brief overview and reminder of some topics discussed during your visit to the Whispering Pines Sacred Grounds located at Beavercreek Institution.

If you wish to further research Aboriginal culture, spiritual beliefs and practices you may wish to start with these books: The Mishomis Book by Edward Benton-Banai, or Walk in Balance by Sun Bear. Both books are written by Native Elders, the former being the book used to teach the Brotherhood here at BCI about Ojibwe spirituality and the latter being a one written in the self-help format in the context of Aboriginal holistic practices and lifestyles. Should you wish to learn more or simply discuss any of these subjects in further detail I am available, provided my calendar is clear, through appointment with Ian Mackenzie, my office hours are flexible and I’m here all week.

In the beginning Creator, called Gi’tchie Man-i-to, made the Ah-ki (the Earth), and thereafter Nee-ba-gee’sis (the Moon) and Gee’sis (the Sun). That may be going back a little too far for our purposes today, so we’ll skip along to the really interesting stuff: mankind and the teachings you glimpsed during your visit here.

Sem-ma (tobacco) is used in all prayers, just pinch is necessary, and it is in this respectful way that our thoughts are carried to Creator. It is my belief that the act of offering Semma isn’t so much about trading something, in this case tobacco, for the ear of Creator when you pray, but rather more about being humble and in a sense self-sufficient. The various theological texts of world religions also teach that the Gods will help you if you are willing to help yourself, in other words they will meet us halfway and further they won’t just magically fix all our problems. For in doing so they leave us without having learned through experience the best way for each of us to live our lives in order to obtain our own predestined happiness and self enlightenment, so they ask us to try and they promise to be there if we do. So as Anishinabe we are asked by Gi’tchie Manito to bring some tobacco and hold it in our left hands when we pray, and the amount doesn’t matter as long as it is even a few shreds of tobacco for the point being here: is to try.

Semma is offered in many forms, the most common way being a pinch lightly sprinkled over a fire, then there are Tobacco Ties, which come in various colours, shapes and sizes. A tobacco offering can also come in the form of a pouch of tobacco or a cigarette, although in prayer most people remove the filter and then place the tobacco in the fire. Semma is also used when making requests of someone, as well as giving thanks to him or her for something they’ve done for you such as, but not limited to, teaching, guidance, a helping hand, or just listening to you. Baring in mind of course that Semma is a sacred Medicine given to Anishinabe by Creator and therefore not to be taken lightly or otherwise disrespected.

Tobacco is also used in Smudging, a practice by the way not exclusive to Aboriginal people, it is also found in the Catholic, Buddhist and Muslim religions as well as most others world-wide. Smudging is done with Sage (Mush’-ko-day-wushk’), Sweetgrass (We-skwu’ ma-shko-seh’), Cedar (Gi-shee-kan’-dug), and a variety of other herbs, I’ve heard of people smudging with Rose petals, Lilac and Lavender, although I’ve yet to see it.

Anishinabe uses the smoke of a Smudge in many different ways and there doesn’t appear to be any wrong way of using it, the practice is done as you’ve experienced simply by brushing the smoke over yourself. Smudging can of course be as complex as you wish it to be, the fundamental point of Smudging is after all that of purification, cleansing of the heart, soul and mind, and too that of focusing the heart, body, spirit and mind to the matter at hand.

Some people begin by washing their hands in the smoke of the Smudge, this is to purify their hands and thus their body, the more metaphorical of aspects being everything they touch is done so with cleansed hands and body. The heart is then washed the purpose being to purify your heart of negative energy, as is the washing of your mouth and hair, where the fore insures you speak only with respect and the latter protects your spirit. At the very least the scent of the Smudge is pleasant and somehow soothing, which too is part of the point in bringing oneself into balance, for as we all know calm people make better choices and a person in balance within is one who is ready to act.

Finally Smudging itself as an act is one of respect, even if you participate without faith in the spiritual beliefs, the fact that you participate indicates you are acting with respect of another person’s spiritual beliefs and there is no other way to interpret such an action except as good.

During prayer and smudging it is polite to introduce yourself, not only to the people gathered together in the circle, but also to the deity or spirit you wish to pray to. This act of introduction allows the spirits, and deity to know who you are and to prepare them to hear your prayer or your request, the deeper thought being everyone finds it easier to do a favour for someone they know.

As you may have noticed during the prayer portion of your visit some of us introduced ourselves by our Spiritual Name, and some of us used the name we were given by our parents, both names are proper. The point of using our Spirit Name is in the meaning of the name itself for all names have meanings. For instance Neal is ancient Gaelic and means Champion, and Freeland is old and means, uh . . . Free . . . um, Land, heh, heh? Okay, maybe that was bad example, anyway the point is our names have meaning, such as Oshkabay’wis meaning Helper in the Anishinabe language.

So what does the Spiritual Name mean and why do we obtain them to begin with, well I was taught that the name is actually given to us by Gi’tchie Manito before we are born, and Creator passes this name onto us through a Name Giver or Elder. This name will represent who we are meant to be in our lives, and it is therefore our guide as we travel along our Red Road, that path being the one to our own self-enlightenment. This means that anyone named "Brings a Beautiful Day" will have the most success and happiness in their lives if that is what they try to do everyday for everyone they encounter, where the beautiful day is only a metaphor. I was given the name of Oshkabay’wis and therefore I am to try and be of help to everyone, this doesn’t mean that I force my help onto others, it means I offer my assistance and allow the other person the freedom of choice to accept or decline. So to close about names and their significance not only to Aboriginals, but also to all people, we all understand that knowing a person’s name brings us closer together and therefore shows us that we are not alone in life.

Sometimes a prayer will be opened with the greeting and thanking of the six directions, those being Wa-bun-noong’ (East), Zha-wa-noong’ (South), Ning-ga-be-uh-noong’ (West), Gi-way-din-noong’ (North), Father Sky and Mother Earth as well as Gi’tchie Manito (baaad to leave the big guy out). These are more formal of prayer types and usually reserved to really heavy times in our lives and ceremonies, of course if one wished to always pray in such a manner there is nothing wrong with that, after all to each his own.

The Four Directions were given to Mankind as a way to aid them in finding balance within them and with the Earth, for without balance there is chaos and that generally isn’t a good thing. The Four Directions being the points of the compass and each having a corresponding colour and totem spirit: O-za-wahn’ (yellow) for the East, Mis-skwa’ (red) for the South, Muk-a-day’ (black) for the West, and Wa-bish-ka’ (white) for the North.

The spirits of the Four Directions being the Eagle in the East, the Wolf in the South, Buffalo in the West and Bear in the North, these spirit animals change depending on the Aboriginal nation that you come to converse with. The East holds wisdom, renewal and new beginnings as well as knowledge of self, life in general and of those around us. The South brings change, renewal, birth and rebirth both of each of us as individuals and as part of the whole of creation. In the West sits our strength physical and spiritual, mental and emotional, there in the West also rests wisdom of the spirit, the soul, and of the other world. In the North stamina and endurance and the medicines through which Creator has given to us to heal ourselves of physical ailments and mental, emotional and spiritual wounds.

The Seven sacred teachings we tried to tell you about during your visit are as follows, (I thought I’d write them down so I wouldn’t forget) Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility and Truth. There are many levels to the these seven teachings and the essentials I’ll give here, although I know that each of you will be able to provide even more examples of the meaning of these teachings.

Wisdom: is knowing the outcome of your actions before you act, it is understanding the difference between the ideals of Good and Evil, it is the knowledge that what you do what you say, what you don’t do or say is important. Everything matters, because this moment leads you into the next and therefore everything is vital.

Love: is unconditional and in being so it is given without asking for anything in return, it is given when the person you love is weak, because that is when they need it the most, it is shown when you fight, because it is then that love can be doubted.

Respect: is given to others without the expectation that it will be given back, respect is the act of respecting someone in the face of their rage, bitterness, callousness, and unjust behaviour, and respect is showing respect when they are respectful of you when you are at your worst. Respect is honouring their healthy beliefs even if yours are different, and it is acknowledging their right to freewill and thereby choice to be right or wrong, healthy or unhealthy, respect is also being so for your own self.

Bravery: is to do the right thing even if you know it’s going to hurt you, it is being true to who you are no matter what may happen to you, it is facing the future on your own healthy terms. Perhaps the bravest thing anyone can do in their life is to ask for help when they need it, then again it maybe to change their mind and do the right thing before it is too late even if that means they stand alone: a social pariah.

Honesty: is the act of being honest with yourself about who you really are, it is about being honest about what you do and why you do it, it is about being honest with your aspirations for your physical, spiritual, psychological and emotional lives. Honesty begins and ends with you, from within it flows to affect all those around you and thus the world in which you live, for we all hold within us the cause and effect of our environmental worlds.

Humility: is coming to understand that you don’t know everything for anyone but yourself, and it is also knowing that to unlock that knowledge you may have to look with out yourself first and then look within. Humility is recognising that sometimes you’re wrong, even when everything tells you that you are right, it is being penitent, and it is accepting success with pride and not arrogance. Humility is allowing others to speak and act even if you could do so just as well, about knowing that sometimes what you want needs to be set aside for the needs of another.

Truth: is to speak the truth even when you don’t wish to, to walk through life truthfully with yourself and with others, it is to live with truth in your heart, soul, mind and body, and it is to learn what being true is for you and you alone. It is the ability coupled with the willingness to recognise the truth in the physical actions of another as well as their emotional, psychological and spiritual actions along with your own.

Throughout all of these teachings, as with every single healthy religious faith, the fundamental intent is to show you how and why it is vitally important to know who you are, as an individual connected to the whole of humanity and the world we all live in. This is the function of introducing and encouraging the practice of Aboriginal spiritual beliefs to inmates: to get them to look within for the reasons why they are the way they are currently, historically and thereby the Tao of who best to be in the future.

The Sweatlodge is one such way to do just that, for it is a very personal experience and yet one that symbiotically joins the participants as a cohesive whole, while maintaining and promoting individuality. Another way is drumming, dancing and singing, either at a family get together or Pow Wow or sometimes with friends. The sound of the drum is said to represent the heartbeat of Mother Earth and when we listen to it we cannot help but to be moved. Both singing and dancing bring the participants together providing another sense of unity, of being tied to all things. The Pipe Ceremony and Medicine Wheel are other ceremonies as is the Vision Quest and like other ceremonies they bring people together at their root.

There are other tools used throughout Aboriginal culture some of them are, and again I must point out that this is by far a non-exhaustive list, Dreamcatchers, Medicine Pouches, Feathers, Eagle Feathers and Fans, Staves, Shakers, Rattles and Medicine Bundles.

The following is an example of a Sioux prayer, there are variations within the nations of Aboriginal People, but I rather like this one.

Prayer by Yellow Hawk, Sioux Chief

Animals as well as trees, rocks, water and the wind, in Aboriginal beliefs have spirits and are known to be our brothers and sisters therefore they can be our guides, and teachers here are some animals and some meanings attributed to them.

Bear - great healing powers, strength, and fearless power, intuition, introspection, and loner, family

Beaver - building, shaping, industriousness, and structure

Hawk - messenger, visionary, guardianship, strong, observant, awareness, inner truth

Spider - communication, creativity, divine inspiration, mystery, wisdom, magic, balance, written word, dream weaver

Coyote - trickster, teaches through humour and tricks, clever and cunning

Crow - council, wisdom, resourcefulness

Deer - gentleness, love, alertness, camouflage, sensitivity, peace

Butterfly - transformation, joy, colour, lightness, grace, beauty, balance

Raven - mystery, exploration of the unknown, sacred keeper of magic, the one who guards the spiritual teachings

Fox - clever, discrete, subtle, cunning, witty, ingenious, agile, unpredictable

Ladybug - renewal, regeneration, spiritual idealism, delicate and loving nature, messenger of promise

Frog - cleansing, peace, sensitive, emotional healing, metamorphosis

Ant - patience, hard work, togetherness, order, rules

Here is an example of the Anishinabe story of how maple syrup was invented or discovered by man.

A long, long time ago when the world was young and new, when the air was pure and sweet, when the waters ran freely and sang of Mother Earth’s love Gi’tchie Manito made things so that life was easy for the Anishinabe.

There was plenty of game in the great woods where the trees stretched to the farthest reaches of the eyes and their leaves swayed with whispering voices. The weather was always good and beautiful, warm and when it rained the tears of Father Sky fell lightly as if to wash us of our daily woes and tides within.

The maple trees were filled with thick sweet syrup and whenever anyone wanted to taste it all they had to do was break off a twig and drink it as it dripped forth. One day, following a breeze that was neither cool nor warm Manabozho (Ma-na-boo-zhoo), the elder spirit of first man went walking around wherever the breeze led him and so it was to be that he spoke in his wanderings.

The village lay empty, quiet and still, as if there had never been any people there at all. Manabozho looked high and low throughout the village, into each tipi he peeked, under every blanket and fur he looked, by the stream he went and all through the day he found nothing, he saw no one. The village was deserted and all that remained of the people were their bowls, tools, and their beds and blankets, their fires had burned low and echoes of where they once stood breathed through the village on the quiet wind.

Frustrated and beginning to grow worried Manabozho sighed heavily for the Anishinabe were a playful people and it occurred to him that they were playing a game on him, they were hiding for there were no signs of a battle in the village.

"Very well, I shall search you out and win this game!" So it was that Manabozho searched through the fields, but the Anishinabe were not there tending to their crops, so he searched the berry bushes, but they were not there and when the sun was beginning to set he found them. They were all lying on their backs beneath the maple trees with their mouths open and drop after drop of maple syrup fell into their mouths with a drip, drip, dripping.

"What is this?" said Manabozho with frown and shake of his head. "This will not do, my people are all going to get fat and lazy if they keep on living this way."

He began to stomp his feet and make lots of noise, but the Anishinabe would not get up, they just kept their mouths open to the drip, drip, dripping of the Maple syrup. Manabozho stopped his pacing and stewed instead deep in thought.

"I’ve got to do something about that syrup, but I don’t want to take it away because I like it too!" and as he spoke Manabozho rubbed his belly. "Mmm, Maple syrup on Bannock, Maple syrup on bacon, Maple syrup on apples, Maple syrup on pancakes, on snow, on roasted buffalo, and maple syrup all by itself . . . sigh!" His shoulders slumped with his heavy sigh and so it was with much regret that Manabozho left the Maple grove and the Anishinabe where they lay.

He went to the river and there he plucked reeds and made himself a big basket, big enough to hold a quarter of the water in the river and this he filled to the brim. On his back Manabozho carried the basket full of water up the hill to the village, and across the fields of corn, past the berry bushes and into the grove of Maple trees until he stood before the greatest of Maple trees.

"Woo, this basket is heavy," Manabozho said wiping the sweat from his brow, and with a long heavy sigh he climbed up the tree carrying the water filled basket. "The things I do for my people, carry heavy baskets up trees this week, next week another basket, last week it was show them how to make fire, the day before how to tend the fields, oh this basket is heavy. . . ah, here I am."

Manabozho said reaching the top of the great Maple tree, he took a breather and admired the stars and Grandmother Moon who was sitting in her field of stars looking down with amusement at her grandson.

"You seen this coming huh?" Manabozho said wryly to his Grandmother, but the moon said nothing.

So it was after a brief rest Manabozho poured the water from the big basket into the great tree and then did so for every other tree in the grove. It was dawn by the time he was done and he was tired, for climbing up and down each tree carrying a basket full of water was tiring work even for Manabozho.

"There," he said proudly as the first rays of day peeked over the horizon. "This is how it will be from now on, no longer will syrup drip from the Maple trees. Now there will be only this watery sap, when people want to make Maple syrup they will have to gather many buckets full of sap. Then gather up wood and make fires so they can heat stones to drop into the baskets for a long time just to make even a little Maple syrup. Now my people will no longer grow fat and lazy, they will appreciate this Maple syrup Gi’tchie Manito made available to them. Oh, before I forget, now the sap will only drip from these trees at a certain time of the year, then it will not keep the people from fishing, hunting and gathering and hoeing their fields."

And this is how it is to this very day with the Maple trees and their sap. So that is an example of one of the Anishinabe stories of how things came to be, as with all stories in any spiritual belief and lifestyle, it’s a parable.

When in Aboriginal society you may come across the word Warrior and wonder what it means to Natives, does it mean a brave fighter with a tomahawk, or rifle facing an enemy? Well, there are those kinds of warriors sure, they protect the tribe examples can be those at the Oka stand-off or those protesting the imprisonment of Chief Big Bear in Manitoba each year. There are all kinds of warriors in today’s society, people who protest unfair treatment at work, they go on strike, lawyers fighting for justice for victims of crime, police officers, soldiers, and then there are those people who protect historically significant buildings and forests. All of theses are examples of warriors, but a warrior is not necessarily one who fights the physical, someone who puts their bodies on the line for land, or people, there are other kinds of warriors equally formidable and reliable.

What about your spirit, your heart and your emotions, who fights the good fight for those things, who fights for your beliefs, for your right to choose are there no warriors of this type? These kinds of warriors are also prevalent in our society, and I say "our" society for we are all connected, in this together, these warriors are Priests, Rabbi, Shaman, Monks, Medicine Men and Women, and Aboriginal Elders.

Those are the obvious warriors, others include and are not limited to, Poets, Writers, Singers, Thespians, Painters, Directors: Leonardo Da Vinci, Madonna, Holly Macnarland, Stephan King, Terry Brooks, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Brad Pitt, George Lucas, and J.J. Abrams. All of these people are warriors for they in some fashion protect and promote our dreams and what are dreams if not that which we aspire too, that which we wish were possible, in short dreams are the metaphysical incarnation of our hopes. All this is saying there are many shapes and manifestations of warriors, many meanings of the word, and the purpose of being a warrior in our everyday mundane lives for me is best encapsulated in the following poem.

I leave you with a poem as food for thought and this: all of these things I have come to learn in prison, lately some of it coalesced through my introduction into Aboriginal Spirituality, and yet the point is stated best above an ancient temple’s doorway: know thyself. What that means exactly only you can determine for you and your own self and that philosophic tenant is part of the base of Aboriginal beliefs.

Are you a Warrior?

I was asked in the quiet solitude of day

And I wondered long into the night

What does a Warrior make?

If by a Warrior you mean

One who always tries to do the right thing?

Even when doing what is right tears my heart in two

One who does the right thing just because it is right?

If by a Warrior you mean

Someone who always makes time to listen

Who brings you a smile when you least expect it?

Who laughs with you everyday, today, just like yesterday?

And cries a flood of tears so yours do not fall alone

If by a Warrior you mean

One who stands up for those in need?

Who fights for those who cannot, or will not?

One who turns the other cheek in the face of rage, hatred and bigotry?

Walks away when my blood screams out injustice,

And a fist is all it seems I have left to choose

Because walking away is the right choice!

If by a Warrior you mean

Someone who will always be there for you

Always tries to move Heaven and Hell to keep his promises to you

Someone, whose soul withers and cries when I cannot, have not

Someone who always takes your side

Supports you when you are wrong because that is when you need it the most

If by a Warrior you mean

A person of honour, of compassion, faith and humility

Someone of strength, trust, of love and respect

Someone of ethics and integrity, and the will to live by them

The courage to fight for your dreams and . . . and fight for my own

Someone, who will always apologise and say I am so, so very sorry I hurt you

If by a Warrior you mean

All of these things and more

Then all I can say to you is this, just this, only this . . .

I do not know if I am a Warrior

But I want to be . . .