Category Archives: Nature

Arboretum Festival Panel

Posted on August 24, 2015 by South Wind

I learned stuff this past weekend at the Arboretum Festival’s UNCEDED OTTAWA Panel (on 22 August), but I can’t wrap my head around where some of it makes any sense. This territory, the never surrendered ancestral lands of the Algonquin … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Idle No More, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Akikodjiwan, Albert Island, Algonquin, Anishinabe, Arboretum Festival, Asinabka, Chaudière Falls, Chaudière Island, condos, OMB, Ottawa, sacred land, sacred waters, unceded, Victoria Island, Westeinde, Windmill Development Group | 7 Comments

Life’s Highway, A Collision In The Making

Posted on July 15, 2015 by South Wind

I was clipping along in my Jeep a few days ago on a straight stretch of road about 50 km east of Bancroft, Ont. when I was shaken up a bit by an unexpected experience. Let me tell you about … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Aboriginal, Anishinabe, Canada, ceremony, Mamawi Together, Moose, Ottawa, spirituality | 3 Comments

Chaudière Falls: Unceded Territory

Posted on June 16, 2015 by South Wind

Sacredness is present everywhere! The birds singing their welcoming songs for the early morning sun and the dew-covered berries of early summer know it. All things in the fertile fields of our grand valleys and stirring on the rocky landscape … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Akikpautik, Albert Island, Asinabka, Chaudière Falls, Chaudière Island, condos, Jeff Westeinde, OMB, sacred land, sacred waters, Victoria Island, Windmill Development Group | 7 Comments

Reconciliation: Pleasant Park School

Posted on June 15, 2015 by South Wind

Reconciliation – that’s what June 10th at Pleasant Park Elementary School was truly all about. The First Peoples have had a rough ride of it in this country for quite a while. We only began reclaiming our spirituality in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Aboriginal, Canada, ceremony, Mamawi Together, Ottawa, Pleasant Park School, sacred, seasons, teachings, TRC, Truth and Reconciliation Commission | Leave a comment

Development On The Chaudière Falls? No!

Posted on June 8, 2015 by South Wind

The Chaudière Falls – so many thoughts come to mind when I see and hear them. ‘The Kettle of Boiling Waters,’ for me, always provokes thoughts of life and its purpose and of the world waiting for us after our … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Idle No More, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Albert Island, Asinabka, Chaudière Falls, Chaudière Island, condos, OMB, sacred land, sacred waters, Victoria Island, Windmill Development Group | 4 Comments

Where’s the Snow?

Posted on January 3, 2015 by South Wind

Where’s the snow? What effect would a snowless winter have on the plants, birds and animals of our territory? My beekeeper friend also farms garlic. The crop won’t do well if snow doesn’t come soon, he tells me. Garlic needs … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Aboriginal, Algonquin, Anishinabe, climate change, First Nation, Indigenous, snow, tracks, weather, Winter, wolverine | 1 Comment

The Chaudière Falls – a Truly Sacred Site

Posted on October 19, 2014 by South Wind

The prophecy, so I am told, speaks of a time yet to come, when human beings will find themselves at a crossroads. A choice will then need to be made. If the wrong path is chosen, destruction, mayhem and death … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Idle No More, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Aboriginal, Algonquin, Anishinabe, Asinabka, ceremony, Chaudière Falls, Chaudière Island, Domtar, Gatineau, Kichi Sipi, Ottawa, Ottawa River, prayer, sacred, tobacco, Victoria Island, Vision, William Commanda, Windmill Development Group | Leave a comment

Free the Falls

Posted on May 26, 2014 by South Wind

I received a call a day ago from Lindsay Lambert. Lindsay is a friend of the community and a lover of the natural world. He called to notify me of a site on the City of Ottawa website (http://www.ottawa2017.ca/ideas/) where … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Idle No More, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Aboriginal, Algonquin, Anishinabe, Asinabka, ceremony, Chaudière Falls, Chaudière Island, Domtar, Gatineau, Kichi Sipi, Ottawa, Ottawa River, prayer, sacred, tobacco, Victoria Island, William Commanda, Windmill Development Group | 4 Comments

In Defence of the Sacredness of the “Kettle of Boiling Waters”

Posted on January 6, 2014 by South Wind

I sometimes feel an ache in the centre of my heart. It is not because of blood trying to squeeze itself through arteries clogged by the over-abundance of fat in my diet that the pain shows itself! The ache … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Idle No More, Nature | Tagged Aboriginal, Algonquin, Anishinabe, Asinabka, Chaudière Falls, Chaudière Island, Domtar, Gatineau, Kichi Sipi, Mohawk, Ottawa, Ottawa River, prayer, sacred, tobacco, Victoria Island | 6 Comments

The Kettle of Boiling Waters: Chaudière Falls, Algonquin Territory

Posted on December 28, 2013 by South Wind

I recall many years ago, standing on the Chaudière Bridge in Ottawa with an elder from Pyramid Lake, Nevada. She was in the territory to share teachings of her people, the Paiute Nation. I had been delegated to assist her … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Nature, Spirituality | Tagged Aboriginal, Algonquin, Anishinabe, Asinabka, ceremony, Chaudière Falls, Chaudière Island, Domtar, Gatineau, Kichi Sipi, Ottawa, Ottawa River, prayer, sacred, tobacco, Victoria Island, William Commanda, Windmill Development Group | 17 Comments