Spirit of Asinabka

Posted on November 15, 2015 by South Wind
Albert & William Commanda at a rally to protect the South March Highlands, 2011

Albert & William Commanda at a rally to protect the South March Highlands, 2011

After a friendly discussion with Romola, I will, hence of this day, when speaking of our most sacred site on the Grand River of the Anishinabe Kichesipirini Nation (Algonquin), refer to said place as Asinabka. It is a word which translates to ‘Place of Glare Rock’ in the language of my noble forebears. Deceased Elder and Spiritual Guide of many thousands of people, William Commanda who lived to be 97 years of age, knew our sacred place to be called Asinabka. Out of respect and to honour Morning Star (William Commanda) whose vision we stand in defence of, we should embrace the name Asinabka when referring to Victoria, Albert, and Chaudière Islands and Chaudière Falls. Let us be united in this, so as not to be bothersome to our cause. For some of the good people who protest the disfigurement of a sacred place to claim they defend Asinabka and another group of allies to call the same space Akikodjiwan, only serves to confuse our supporters.

Asinabka has been lost to us for too long. Let us look to the teachings of the turtle, bear and hawk for guidance on how we should proceed from here to retrieve it. If we are always sensible with our plans and push forward slowly and cautiously and soar with joy in our hearts as we celebrate even the smallest of victories by acknowledging spirit, we will overcome the power and influence of money and win out at the end of the day. Let us trust in Creator and in all things of creation to inspire and motivate us.

Hundreds of years ago, before settlers from Europe arrived, Asinabka brought healing and hope to the Peoples. The energy of the waters there carried our songs of honour and praise for all things Creator placed here, into the valleys and hills of our territories so all life could find peace and joy in it. Only kind spirits emitting goodness and health danced in the wind around the Falls of Asinabka at that precious time of our past. How can anyone not want to restore such a place today, as all of us can gain from it again, emotionally and spiritually?

I remember myself as a troubled young man, my mind empty back then of thoughts of wonder at what is the purpose of life, my heart hollow of spiritual substances, my spirit in a constant state of despair, feeling helpless because of not knowing what to do to assist my physical self in regaining my balance. I was lost in my state of confusion. My heart, mind and spirit were unable to show me the true glory of what it is to be a human being. In how many ways would Asinabka have helped me back then? I am not sure of the answer, I only know that within the spirit and energy of its sacredness, the life of a reckless and wild young man who did not care whether he lived or died would have changed for the better. He would have shunned a wasteful and destructive lifestyle and become a good son of his nation long before I did in the early autumn of my years.

I learned long ago that a young man with a chip on his shoulder and a 40 pounder of Canadian Club are two things which just don’t mix. When the two get together, there will most certainly be hell to pay. Two more things which don’t mix with any more promise than that, so far as I’m concerned, is money and sacredness. It is impossible to mix the two. Those who try, will find that the devil will sooner or later, take time to collect his due. To see the proof of this, only look at the world’s history, recent and ancient.

For Windmill to tell us, “Oh yes, there will be a piece of space at Zibi left open for spirituality,” is like the carnival barker who shouts to the rube, “The cost? Just one dollar, my friend, even if you miss your shot you win this wonderful kewpie doll, no one loses here,” except for one thing, the carny paid only 10¢ for each of the dolls the suckers have just paid one dollar to ‘win’.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind

What you can do to help protect our sacred site:
-> Read, act upon, and share this call for support from Four Algonquin Communities: http://bit.ly/1RJB5d2
-> Sign and share this petition: http://chn.ge/1VB6x3w

Prayer and opening for 13 Nov "Anishnabe Cultural Demo to Protect our Sacred Site"

Prayer and opening for 13 Nov “Anishnabe Cultural Demo to Protect our Sacred Site,” on Victoria Island (Asinabka)

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Zibi Condo Sales – A Clarification

Posted on November 9, 2015 by South Wind

I want to clarify here and now to readers of my blog that I do not feel I was badly treated by anyone last Saturday, November 7, while participating in a protest at the Zibi condo sales site. Jeff Westeinde and Wanda Thusky were gracious, polite and exhibited no signs of disrespect to me whatsoever. I shook hands with both Jeff and Wanda. There are no ill feelings between us so far as I am concerned. (Here is the Citizen article with the video about the encounter.) I do not see the pro-Zibi supporters, whoever they are, as my enemies. They do what they believe is the best for the Algonquin Nation. It is their right to do so and I respect that fact. I ask only that my right to object is also respected by them. I wish all Algonquin Peoples well. There is no cause or issue which would ever make me condemn them.

As a long time human-rights activist (since 1993), I have seen many times when the cause at hand was placed on the back burner while personal attacks, destructive to both the opposing and pro camps, took the forefront. When a cause goes into such an area it signals a mistake so great that it brings suffering even to the kind and supportive spirits in the outer world. Let us tread carefully in the future. There is no need for name-calling or personal attacks. We are, after all, a community, and however things play out with Asinabka (Akikodjiwan), we will have no choice but to live together as friends, associates, and neighbours. Let us place wisdom and tolerance in the forefront of our actions and wish each other wellness.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind.

What you can do to help protect our sacred site:
-> Read, act upon, and share this call for support from Four Algonquin Communities: http://bit.ly/1RJB5d2
-> Sign and share this petition: http://chn.ge/1VB6x3w

Douglas Cardinal & myself after our peaceful encounter with Windmill supporters

Douglas Cardinal & myself after our peaceful encounter with Windmill supporters

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Zibi Condo Sales – An Objection

Posted on November 8, 2015 by South Wind
Thanking the youngest picketer

Thanking the youngest picketer

It was important for me, as an Algonquin, to stand yesterday (Nov. 7) with the good people who object to the planned destruction of Asinabka (Akikodjiwan), our ancient sacred space, at the ‘Zibi’ sales site (3 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Québec). I wanted my protest to be documented so my grandchildren’s grandchildren will know something about me which will spiritually endear them to me long after the drumming of my heart has disappeared forever from this domain. My many faults are what they are. Like all of us I need a place to heal from a world, often seemingly to me, gone totally mad.

Asinabka (Akikodjiwan), our most sacred site, was stolen from us at a time when no one except the good spirit Mino Manido and Creator cared what the Algonquins had to say about it. We are told over and over again in recent times that a “new relationship of honour and mutual respect is at hand” between us, the First Nations and the settler communities. If Canadians are OK with a sacred site such as Asinabka (Akikodjiwan) being violated in the most despicable manner by the construction of highrise buildings upon it, then their warped definition of ‘reconciliation’ is very different than mine. My mind is not strong enough to even imagine what will be lost to us spiritually if highrises do end up getting built there. I only know with all certainty that our future generations, yours and mine, will suffer the most because of us allowing a place of prayer and ceremony to be raped before our very eyes.

Akikodjiwan_7Nov2015

Akikodjiwan. Will we choose profit or sacredness?

I stand in full support with Algonquin elder Evelyn Commanda’s statement, “Mother Earth is not for sale. If someone was to offer me all the money around the world, no.” Money is nice to have, but when we see our children’s minds swallowed up and destroyed by technology or see them hopelessly addicted to a party and drug lifestyle, what good will money do us then? Would we spread money on the floor and roll in it in the hope of it bringing us peace? When we replace a spiritual base, the natural thing to do on our earth walk, with the one laid before us like a snake in the throes of anguish by the almighty dollar, we will find at the end of our time what a terrible mistake we made. What explanation will we give? “I did it for the money” won’t impress anyone in the land of our noble forebears!

I find the strength occasionally to travel into the swirling darkness, where my life’s most painful memories live like grotesque birds waiting for the opportunity to consume what is left of my sanity. God knows I was brought to the edge of mental breakdown many times by what severe alcohol addiction and the acts connected to it did to my mind. What I survived is not something I ever want my descendants to experience. The spiritual beliefs of my beautiful ancestors saved my life and I became a fit parent because of it. I want spirituality, and the healing it can do, to be there for my loved ones, now, always and forevermore. Akikodjiwan must return again to us as a place of sacredness.

This is what I would have told the people in the Zibi sales office (sales staff and potential buyers) had I had the opportunity to do so. But when Douglas Cardinal and I, two old men, made our way towards the building housing Zibi’s sales office, we were blockaded by Zibi owners, the police, and members of the Memengweshii Council (see the second video on the page, titled “Protesters and Zibi employees share their views”). Still, the experience was worthwhile. Next time, and there will definitely be a next time, I call on our supporters to come out. This is just too important. If you really care about the spiritual wellness of our future generations, then take the time to make a stand.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind.

What you can do to help protect our sacred site:
-> Read, act upon, and share this call for support from Four Algonquin Communities: http://bit.ly/1RJB5d2
-> Sign and share this petition: http://chn.ge/1VB6x3w

9 Nov Update: I posted “A Clarification” here. Please read it. I did not feel disrespected on Nov 7. And I hope everyone, regardless of their views on the future of our sacred site, will be treated with respect.  There is no need for personal attacks.

Douglas Cardinal & myself after our peaceful encounter with Windmill supporters

Douglas Cardinal & myself after our peaceful encounter with Windmill supporters

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Asinabka (Akikodjiwan)

Posted on November 2, 2015 by South Wind

If at the end of it all, condos 12 storeys high do get erected at Asinabka (Chaudière Falls and its Islands), it will be a great setback to plans honourable people have made in bringing a sensible and lasting process of reconciliation between our country’s Indigenous Peoples and its settler communities. How will we reconcile then, after such an outrage? It will only prove that the overtures of reconciliation made by our political representatives (federal, provincial, municipal) were only sugar-coated words without real empathy attached to them. It will make us (Indigenous Peoples) doubt that reconciliation will ever occur, for our spirituality was our ‘way of life’ long ago and we need to return it as such today. It will also signal to the world that Canada’s claim to be a beacon from which other countries can learn why and how they should protect the human rights of their Peoples is nothing more than a half-baked dirty joke here in the never-surrendered land of the Algonquin Anishinabeg.

Prayer Ribbons on Victoria IslandWe have a right as human beings to access a circle containing the many things we believe are sacred to us. The circle, which we enter with humility and peaceful hearts, is the keeper of all life thriving in the fields and forests of our territories. It is a place where we go to pray for the health of the winds and waters our children must breathe and consume to assure these things will be there for them, all the seasons of their lives. And it is where ceremonies are done to honour the rising sun for the richness of light and warmth it gifts to the land. Our circle holds special places for human beings to go to, such as where the trees grow and the birds sing, so they can communicate to Creator through honour songs their respect for all which has been placed here for human beings to live well. There is no place more sacred in my ancestral land than Asinabka (Akikodjiwan). People have gathered there at the waterfall since time immemorial to better themselves in their spirituality. In a weakened state we were driven from Akikodjiwan by land-hungry settlers. No one among them spoke for us. The only voices heard were those of men who encouraged abuse upon abuse of our rights as human beings on our own land.

Our human rights – to what limit would we go to defend them? What Canadian with a righteous heart would sit idly by as the basic human rights of their fellow citizens were being trampled by municipal, provincial or federal governments? The greatest right we have is the right to have ready and open access to a site we believe is integral to our spiritual wellbeing.

Our right as human beings is to a circle which surrounds the sacred circles of our spiritual beliefs. When we fail to realize this, we prove that the warmth of the scriptures of our holy books cannot lower the temperature found in the coldness of our hearts and we must then ask ourselves why this is so.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind.

What you can do:
-> Read, act upon, and share this call for support from Four Algonquin Communities: http://bit.ly/1RJB5d2
-> Sign and share this petition: http://chn.ge/1VB6x3w

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Once Upon A Time

Posted on October 21, 2015 by South Wind

Once upon a time there lived an emperor who believed himself heaven sent by God to look after the needs of the richest and most powerful men of the land. The emperor’s castle had many rooms, all of them filled with a vast selection of mirrors. In the second greatest room of the castle (the first grandest room was reserved for the emperor himself) there lived the emperor’s sorcerers. The sorcerers were many. In fact, there were as many sorcerers in the castle as there were mirrors. The sorcerers’ attire consisted of a long flowing gown with deep, deep pockets. The pockets were filled with small dime-sized balls. When thrown by a sorcerer, the balls, on contact with the floor, would explode, filling any hall with a thick mesmerizing purple smoke. On command of the emperor, the sorcerers would leave the castle, each carrying a mirror and go out into the towns and villages where the common folks lived. The common folk would gather around a sorcerer whom they themselves had voted in to represent them at the castle, to hear what good news he might have to report. “My dear friends,” the sorcerer would say (always the same), “all is well, your tax dollars are being well spent.” Before any of the common folk could demand an explanation of what that actually meant, the sorcerer would quickly throw one of his balls to the ground and quick as lightning the space would fill with smoke. The sorcerer would then hold up his mirror, rocking it back and forth in the purple smoke, causing the smoke to sway like an intoxicated dancer. “Abra Gazoo, I fooled you!” he would chant over and over again. The common folk would leave the gathering space at that point, dazed, eyes drooping but happy as larks, and heaping praise to God at being blessed with having such a good sorcerer to represent them at the castle.

But enough about Stephen Harper and his caucus. He has taken the Omnibus to Kokomo. “See you later,” he said as he boarded the bus, “not if I see you first,” responded I.

Let’s vow today to demand that our politicians represent us in an honourable way. Our concerns for the wellbeing of our families and for new immigrants must be addressed. “A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian” as Justin Trudeau said on the campaign trail. The earth under our feet and the life in the forests of our country must be kept healthy. The waters must be fit to drink and the winds clean enough to take into our lungs. Our basic human right to access a spiritual belief we feel will guide us to a place of equality and wellness after we leave the world of technology must be protected at all cost.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to be made aware immediately about the plan of developers to destroy the sacred Chaudière Falls site. For many thousands of years, Chaudière Falls was sacred to the First Peoples of the Ottawa region. What a great act of reconciliation it would be if parliament decreed that the falls and islands live again as a sacred place of healing, not only for us, the Algonquin, but for all Canadians. Let us write to the Prime Minister and advocate for this.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind

What you can do:
->Sign and share this petition to Trudeau and Federal Party Leaders
->Watch and share this video, which advocates retuning the Chaudière Falls site to indigenous stewardship as an act of reconciliation:

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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 Nation, continues to be raped and pillaged. What can we do about it? Apparently nothing! This is what I was told at the Arboretum Festival. Asinabka (Chaudière & Albert Islands), a site sacred to the Algonquins for thousands of years is now ‘private land’ and the ‘owner’ of it can ‘do with it what he pleases.’ How can our sacred space be privately owned by anyone other than Algonquins if it’s never been given up? Can someone please explain this to me in a language I understand? The owners of our sacred site (white business men with millions of dollars) I was told, don’t need the support of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan or the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO; whoever they are) but just the same, they point to Pikwakanagan and AOO as offering blessings to them and their development plans. It is the AOO members who will undoubtedly line up for any forthcoming benefits when the time comes. Promises the developer has made to chiefs and community leaders were thrown around by some panel speakers like confetti at an old-time wedding. Someone asked, “Are the Algonquins taking the developer at his word that he’ll keep the promises or will a contract be drawn up?” The answer was a bit fuzzy. Maybe someone with better hearing than I picked it up. Let me know.

Opening Blessing before Arboretum PanelWhen I had the opportunity to speak during the panel discussions, I asked why the return of Asinabka to the Algonquin Nation was not entered as a demand in the Ontario land claims by whomever is negotiating on behalf of our people. I asked why, if the Chief of Pikwakanagan is so concerned for jobs, mentorship and training of young Algonquins, did his negotiator not demand these things for them in a land claim settlement. Canadians are fed up with hearing us say that Canada’s Parliament Buildings stand on stolen land (what an embarrassment it is for righteous Canadians to hear this). They want the land claim settled a.s.a.p. and we, the Algonquins are holding all the cards! It appears that an unqualified negotiator has convinced some of our leadership otherwise. The negotiator, so it seems to me, has convinced the Algonquins that it is us who need to bend over backwards for the Feds and be happy with whatever crumbs are offered to us for our resource-rich lands.

It wasn’t made clear by anyone on the two panels how or when the mentoring, training, jobs, etc. for Algonquins would occur or how the labour boards in Québec could ever be convinced to allow workers without proper certification into their job sites. Work on the Ontario side – the islands – won’t happen anytime soon (never, I hope!). But work on the shore of the Québec side will start soon. Québec workers with the proper certification aren’t going to just say to the Algonquin workers, “You want my bread and butter? Sure! Enjoy!”

It wasn’t made clear how many jobs would actually be forthcoming for Algonquin workers. There are many young Algonquin workers hoping to get employment out of this. AOO (whoever they are) members will certainly be applying for, what amount of jobs is that again? Is it 10 jobs? Is it 50 jobs? Somebody please tell me!

Not much was made clear. Only one thing was made clear as glass by the panel participants and that is (I hate repeating this) Windmill Development Group doesn’t need the blessing from any Algonquin community. “It is private land, Windmill can do with it what it wants.” The words ring in my ears yet! I’m frustrated. I left the festival feeling like I just had my nose rubbed in the caca spilling from the almighty dollar’s rear-end. I don’t like it!

We need more information. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Demand answers! Somebody on the panel mentioned that we are at the time of the 7th Fire. The crossroads await our steps. Let’s choose the right one!

View of Parliament from Asinabka. ©juliecomber.com

View of Parliament from Asinabka. ©juliecomber.com

I learned too, at the panel, that there are varying reasons why people are in opposition to condos being built on a sacred site. Some stand against it because they see it as the greed and tyranny connected to capitalism going too far. Some people on board with us are environmentalists who want a pristine and safe space in the city where families can go for meditation and relaxation and to learn about cultures not their own. There are other reasons as well as the one I stand with, which is protecting the spiritual beliefs passed on to me by my Algonquin forbearers. I welcome all good people as supporters to this cause. I’m glad they’re there, God bless them for taking the time out of their busy lives to stand with us. The folks who are OK with condos being built on a sacred site have non-Algonquin supporters, too. Not all of their supporters though, are from the grassroots community, most are from the elite of the corporate world (Windmill Development Group and its affiliates). Some thought should be given to this by the Algonquins.

The so-called almighty dollar will fail at some point in the future, spirituality and its benefits will hold strong into and beyond the end of time. Let us as one, at least accept that this is true.

Spirituality is what it is for human beings. The trust we have in it is ours to benefit from. If we recognize that our spirituality is a cure for addiction and dysfunction, then let us stand in a circle and wish the best of everything there for our future generations. Like the roots of the trees of the forest reaching under the earth for the support of those of the neighbouring trees, we shall intertwine the dreams and hopes of our children with the decisions we make today. With spirituality as its base, we will not fail them. Let us be confident that Creator will weigh our actions of this life as we enter into a new beginning after death stops the drumming of our hearts in this domain for the final time.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind.

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Surviving Storm

Posted on August 17, 2015 by South Wind

A short while ago a ferocious wind touched down close to where my cabin stands on Bitobi Lake. The storm was a wild one! It performed its dance and sang its song and took away with it, the spirits of many trees when it departed. Its power was such that the trees which fell to its rage did not do so because of being uprooted as is usually the case, but did so because of their trunks breaking at the level where their roots begin. Imagine the force of the wind to do this! One of the trees I speak about was an ash. The ash had stood only about 25 ft. from my shack and when it came down, it missed the corner of my cabin by only several feet. Upon seeing the near miss, I offered up my tobacco with a sincere heartfelt ‘migwech’ (thank you) to my lucky star for this.

fallen treeThe trail leading to my cabin is one km long. On the day my granddaughter Madeline was born five years ago this past July, I walked the bush road to where my car was parked so I could go to the city to greet her. Not a sound did I hear, not a bird or animal did I see around me as I walked along. Because of this, I gave my granddaughter the name ‘Quiet Trail Morning’. It was along this very pathway that the brunt of the storm was felt by the trees of the forest. Trees a hundred feet tall lay on the ground. All broken at the trunk, all of them poplars – all had rips in them from trunk to at least 20 to 30 ft. into their stems. The wind produced by the storm caused the trees to swirl, making circles only the eagle high in the sky could see. And when the trunk of the tree could no longer tolerate the demands made of it by the storm, it broke. Some of the trees fell with their canopies pointed to the south, others with their leaf-covered branches pointing to the west. The fragrance of their sap spilled from their torn bark and engulfed the forest. One could breathe it in a half km away! They lay where the storm willed them to be. Time will travel by, generations of our people will be born while others will die as the poplars slowly decay until at last they will be consumed by the very earth which gave them life. And the people who will walk the trail in the distant future, will they wonder about such things as the weakness of poplar trees and the power of a roaming wind? I hope they do!

Storms, they come and go! Who among us lives a life without occasionally knowing what it is like to feel alone and unsupported while society’s dysfunctions rage around us. The storms which confront us, sometimes striking without warning, test our strengths and measure the density of our willpower. Some storms are fury-filled and the weak among us find them too much to bear. They collapse under the stress of a storm they are not emotionally and spiritually equipped to deal with. It is a sad reality. Life’s pathway is such for human beings. The storm which struck the trail leading to my sanctuary, to my place of solitude and healing, claimed the poplar trees in its path. The maples and oaks who are neighbours to the poplars which fell are standing yet. They are strong and it is the depth of their strength which assured their survival. We must do all we can to assure that our young people will grow to have the strength of the oaks and maples mixing into the blood of their hearts, for if we do not, they will collapse like the poplars and in doing so, reveal to Creator that the human beings have rejected the wisdom and power of the forest.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind.

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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 it.

mooseHeading in a westwardly direction on a clear, sunny day I became aware of a blue car coming towards me. I had no reason for concern until suddenly, a young moose weighing about 500 lbs. ran from the forest, emerging from it directly in the path of the vehicle heading towards me. By this time, the blue car and I were about 100 ft. apart. I suspect the moose came into view of the other driver when the big animal was probably about 25 ft. away from him. To avoid a collision with the moose, the blue car’s driver swerved into my lane. He succeeded in avoiding contact with the 500 lb. moose but was now directly in line with rubber and steel weighing in excess of 2 tons coming at him at 90 km an hour. The blue car and my Jeep were in line and about twice the distance of my living room apart when I decided, “Buddy, this game of chicken is something I’m not into,” and steered my Jeep violently into the empty lane. My Jeep fishtailed and shook, in response to my abrupt action with the steering wheel. The blue car zoomed by! But this story is not over yet. In the other lane now (the one I’m in) I see the moose in front of me. He is laying on his side. The moose, when cut off by the blue car had put his own brakes on. His hooves slid on the hard paved surface of the road and he lost his balance and toppled over. And now I’m bearing down on him! I pressed hard on my brake pedal with both feet. Tires screeched, the moose quickly uprighted himself. In full-blown panic mode he fled into the woods leaving the highway via the same route he had chosen to enter it. I barely missed hitting his hind quarters. Whew! That was close!

From the time the moose’s hooves touched the pavement until he leapt back into the forest, I’d estimate 5 seconds went by. Some not so pretty things could have taken place in that short period of time. Human life, mine and the driver of the blue car, could have ended in a bloody mess. I’m so grateful things did not turn out that way!

Life is such though, is it not? You go along in life, feeling more or less carefree, when all of a sudden something jumps out on life’s highway demanding your immediate attention. What you do or don’t do about it could spell catastrophic results for your family and community. What to do? What to say?

On our nation’s territories, bees are disappearing, droughts and forest fires are becoming more and more commonplace, sacred sites are being developed, a sorry state of affairs to be sure. What are we doing about it? Cranking up the music, toking on a reefer and sucking on a cold brewsky, fiddling away while Rome burns. We’ve become so numb and dumb, we do nothing! It’s as if today, we are caricatures of what a human being is meant to be! Whatever catastrophe comes down on our children, it will occur because of us failing in our spiritual obligations to Creator who made all things which help human beings to live well.

I don’t like it but that’s the way it is! Those of us who do get it need to keep up with our prayers and ceremonies. If we don’t, we will surely collide with what’s on the highway and many of us will not be as fortunate as I was to escape without being harmed.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind.

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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 of distant hills confirm it simply by being alive. Only human beings are confused as to what sacredness really is!

strawberry dewOn May 15, 2015 I met with Jeff Westeinde at the Chaudière Falls. Our purpose there was to have a conversation about the future of a site, precious and sacred to many people, particularly so to the Algonquin on whose territory the Falls are located. Mr. Westeinde and I sat on a huge ancient timber, probably that of a pine, sprouted to life many hundreds of years ago when the spirit of the land was at peace. Near where we sat, a small patch of wild strawberry blossoms danced in the breeze.

The soil around the Falls is in a state of sickness because of pollution. Chemical pollutants, battery acid, and the devil knows what else have made it so. Mr. Westeinde spoke about the cost his company, Windmill Development Group, would incur ‘cleaning it up’. The land though, over a period of time, has the ability to do that on its own. The appearance of blossoms there a few weeks ago is proof of this. Mr. Westeinde’s plan is to get rid of things which pollute the earth at this sacred site, and after this is done, he would erect 12-storey-high condos on a purified space. To me it is like getting rid of one form of ugliness and replacing it with another. The only difference is that what will stand there after the land is free of poisons will not be so easy to get rid of. The condos I’m afraid, if indeed they are built, will be there for as long as the grass grows! What rests on sacred land should have something to do with spirituality, yes or no! Who will be living in the condos after they become ready for occupancy? Will the homeowners at the Chaudière Falls possess any spiritual beliefs at all? Will some of the site’s residents be people who harbour hatred towards and have total disrespect for the First Peoples? We have no idea!

The Chaudière Falls should be and can be a place where people can go to cleanse their souls through the power of ceremony and prayer. We live in a world where technology is slowly robbing us of our humanity. People need a healing place to feel refreshed and invigorated again, like birds after flying swiftly through heavy rain.

The sins and mistakes of men are many! The sacred sites where we can go to find peace and healing are far too few. Who would dare go to the birthplace of Christ in Bethlehem and propose the building of 12-storey high-rises a few meters away? Out of respect for Christian spirituality, no one would! Christ was born 2000 years ago, Christians need His presence in their lives. They would defend to the death anyone who would set out to kill their beliefs. The Falls – when did they originate? Who puts their life on the line to save them? I say to my descendants, never forget that I stood against the development proposed at our sacred site. Many more feel as I do. Put your objection in writing so that the next generations will know what you did.

I hear if often that this territory is unceded, never surrendered land. Someone needs to tell me: When did we surrender the most sacred site of our homeland? Giving the green light to development to me is like agreeing to something which will assure (allow me the privilege to a play of words) ‘short-term gain for long-term pain.’

In one form or another, we leave a legacy – a good, a bad or an ugly one. What will yours be?

All my relations,
Albert Dumont, South Wind

 

Chaudiere_before_dam

Chaudière Falls before 1908 dam

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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.

mamawi_murals_10June2015

Mamawi Together murals unveiled, 10 June 2015

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 last 30 years or so, it being outlawed for many generations before that. The drum, songs and dances returned shortly after the ‘right to vote’ was granted to us in 1960. So many good things have come to pass since Creator touched us again with the messages of the land! Look at the power of our spiritual ways! Our prayers are being answered and a new dawn is now on the horizon! The oppression heaped on my parents and theirs by cruel colonizers will never occur again. My heart soars like a hawk when I see that both the indigenous and non-indigenous Peoples of this land have set a course for the future. We are reaching out and taking each other by the hand.

Today, we walk into the future together, our hearts filled with honour and respect for each other and also for the land in which we live. I know it is so! I saw it in the faces of the students at Pleasant Park Elementary School when together, we created artwork for healing’s sake. Because of a long process of dedication, commitment and the creativity of many, you can see now on the wall of the school four murals, each depicting one of the four seasons. The students have been given teachings and because of them will forevermore celebrate the season in which they were born. And with that, their love of their relatives on the land, the birds, animals, fish, trees, and rivers will grow ever stronger. They will surely be motivated to protect and defend the land, as we do, because of it.

Albert & sisters

South Wind and his sisters at the Mamawi unveiling

It is a time to sing and be proud at the fact we are human beings. People are recognizing that Canada’s national anthem and her flag are not symbols of tyranny and oppression. The anthem and flag stand against Peoples who promote hatred of the minorities in their midst. If you love Canada’s national anthem and her flag, then reject all which divides us.

Keep the Circle Strong,
South Wind.

Photo credits: Mamawi Together.

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