We, the elders, have done our best to represent our Red Nation as Ojibwa, Cree, and Dakota. We present this story knowing it is an attempt to capture the richness and beauty of the Red Nation-a people of the heart and the land. We are an oral people. We
THE JOURNEY OF THE SPIRIT OF THE RED MAN
A MESSAGE FROM THE ELDERSBy Harry Bone Sherry Copenace Dave Courchene William Easter Robert Greene Henry SkywaterTrafford Publishing
Copyright © 2012 Turtle Lodge
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4669-3798-7Contents
1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................32. THE GREAT BEGINNING..............................................................6• Before the Creator...........................................................6• The Creation Story...........................................................73. JOURNEY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT......................................................12• The Four Elements of Nature..................................................12Earth...............................................................................12Air.................................................................................13Water...............................................................................14Fire................................................................................14• The Four Elements of the Human Being.........................................15• The Four Stages of Life......................................................16• The Duties and Responsibilities of the Women and the Men.....................184. SACRED LAWS......................................................................19• Laws of Creator..............................................................20The Great Binding Law...............................................................20The Seven Teachings.................................................................21• Laws of the Land.............................................................28• Laws of the People...........................................................31Language............................................................................31Way of Life.........................................................................33Teachings...........................................................................33Ceremonies..........................................................................345. GIFTS OF THE RED PEOPLE..........................................................36Pipe................................................................................36Rattle..............................................................................37Drum................................................................................376. PROPHECIES.......................................................................38• The 8th Fire Prophecy........................................................38• Warriors of the Rainbow Prophecy.............................................39• Crazy Horse's Prophecy.......................................................42• Black Elk's Prophecy.........................................................437. HUMANITY – 4 RACES COMING TOGETHER.........................................448. Image Index......................................................................469. ABOUT THE AUTHORS................................................................48
Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
We, the Elders, have done our best to represent our Red Nation as Ojibway, Cree and Dakota. We take full responsibility for what we have shared and written in the following pages. We present this story knowing it is an attempt to capture the fullness, richness and beauty of the Red Nation.
We have attempted to share our understanding as the Red People. We acknowledge the fact that we could never transfer our way of life through written words alone. We are an oral people. Sacred law cannot be written. It must be spoken and heard. Our way of life is meant to be lived and experienced. Our words are meant to inspire and guide our fellow human beings to follow the path of the heart.
We believe that the Creator has always been within our reach and that we have to connect to the Earth to be guided to our true purpose.
We believe that the spirit of the original Red Man was lowered to Mother Earth and our spirit chose to be born on Turtle Island. In all our languages, the Red People are referred to as the People of the Heart and the Land.
We do not own the Earth. How can anyone own their Mother? We owe our existence to Mother Earth.
This story tells of our human life and journey until our return back to the spirit world.
We believe that the Creator has always been within our reach and that we have to return to the Earth to be guided to our true purpose.
There are many Creation stories. We are told that every Creation story is true. How do we know this? We know this because the Creator told us this. The Creator comes to us through our dreams and our visions, and through the actual voice of the Earth itself. The trees speak to us, the animals speak to us. For us as the Red People, we regard nature as the voice and face of the Creator.
This book has been written by those of us residing very close to the geographical centre of the continent of Turtle Island (North America). At the very centre lies a very ancient sacred site, Manito Api, which the Red People of this area refer to as "Where the Creator Sits." It is located in the Whiteshell Provincial Park at Bannock Point, Manitoba, Canada.
Since time immemorial our nations have gathered on our sacred sites. They gathered to share knowledge, ceremonies, prophecies and dreams, dreams that affected all peoples.
"Where the Creator Sits" is a very significant sacred site of pilgrimage where the people had gathered to stay connected to the spirit and the land. When we activate the sacred site through our prayers and connection, we activate our own spirit as we connect to the spirit of the Creator in the land.
Our prophecies tell of a time when all four races of humanity will reunite in the centre, and led by the Red People, return to the sacred ways that were given to us by the Creator. All four races of humanity will bring forward the gifts that each was given by the Creator to bring a higher understanding of what it means to be human and our purpose on this Earth.
Where the Creator sits is in the heart of all humanity. The heart is the centre of our being and the Creator sits in each of us. In the centre of the continent, we connect with our own centre, our heart, to the Creator who sits in the centre of our spirit.
Situated very close to the sacred site of "Where the Creator Sits", in the city of Winnipeg in Manitoba, lies what is known as the Forks. The meeting place of two rivers – the Red River and the Assiniboine, the Forks has been a very significant meeting place for the Red People for thousands and thousands of years. The Red Nations used to use the river systems to travel and meet at the Forks before making their journey of pilgrimage to the sacred site of "Where the Creator Sits" at the centre of the continent, located nearby.
The Forks also represents that in present time we have reached a time of decision. Do we continue to walk only a material life, or do we choose to build a world that has a spiritual foundation, a foundation that the Red People are willing to share, that is inclusive to all people?
Through ceremony, the Elders have been given the symbol of the Grandmother Turtle to be the one that will bring the story of the journey of the Red People. Our Creation Story tells us that the back of the turtle – Turtle Island – arose out of the water that covered our planet after the spirit of the Grandmother Turtle agreed to be the place to host Mother Earth.
To our people, the turtle is a symbol of truth, and the markings on her back confirm that truth. On the back of the turtle we see thirteen sections, representing the thirteen cycles of the moon that it takes for the Earth to revolve around the sun. We also see twenty-eight markings circling the shell of the turtle, representing the cycle of a woman and the cycle of the moon. The turtle carries our knowledge as a people. Her shell represents the protection of that knowledge.
It is with the help of the turtle and in the spirit of truth that we share our journey and our perspective of life with the people. We have come through a period of great darkness and endured to bring forward our contribution to humanity.
This is our story.
Chapter Two
THE GREAT BEGINNING
Before the Creator
There are many Creation stories. We are told that they are all true.
This teaching was told to Weynabooshoo, Original Man. When Weynabooshoo was doing his work of naming everything on Turtle Island he asked this question. It was the very first time the question was asked: "Where does life come from?" Who did Weynabooshoo ask? He asked the Creator. And so the Creator and Grandmother Moon sat down with him and they told him this teaching.
In the beginning there was a time before the Creator was the Creator. Weynabooshoo was told that in the beginning there was darkness, there was nothing and there was no sound.
Out of the darkness came a sound, and the sound was like the sound of a shaker, shaking the seeds of life. We know now that this was the sound of Creation. Everything in the universe came from that darkness and that sound.
The sound came forward and traveled through four levels. When it went through the first level it became thought. Then it went through the second level where it became awareness. Then it traveled through the third level where it became awareness of being. When it traveled through the fourth level it became the Spirit.
Everything that we see on Earth and in the universe – the planets, the water, rocks, trees, plants, animals – everything came from the darkness just like the sound did. The Spirit then put in place the nine planets, and he became the Creator.
The Creation Story
The Creator then asked the question, "How will our children look?" Who was he asking? He was asking himself. In our teachings we now know that there is a duality in everything, so the Creator is then male and female; a duality that is the foundation of a relationship. The female part of the Creator then said "I will go find out," so she left and went into the darkness. Sometimes it is said that the Creator sent out his thoughts into the darkness, but there was nothing out there in the darkness for his thoughts to bounce back from, so he called them back. His thoughts are the stars we see at night, returning to him.
The question "How will our children look" was still unanswered. At this time, from one of the planets, Wasi a bik came forward and said that he would help. Wasi abik is the crystal rock. So Wasi a bik stood in front of the Creator, and the Creator looked into Wasi a bik, and for the first time ever there was a reflection. What the Creator saw was a beautiful blue light. We all have that blue light inside us, because we are all a part of the Creator. So now, they knew how their children would look. The Creator, that blue light, is at the centre of everything.
We are all made of this blue light. The real essence of us as humans is this blue light, which is our spirit. When the Creator had the original vision of life, he created us in the image of himself. The Creator gave each of us the gift and power to have vision and to make our visions real. We are in essence mini-Creators. The central purpose of our human life is to reflect who the Creator is, which is to bring respect and love into this world.
The Creator now knew how his children would look. There would be four different colours of man – Red, Yellow, Black and White. The Creator made a place for them that was Mother Earth. He told his children, "I have prepared a beautiful place for you to go to."
The White Man chose to be placed in Europe. The Black Man chose Africa. The Yellow race chose Asia. The Red Man chose to be placed in this part of the world, on what we call Turtle Island.
All were lowered to Earth to their homelands.
The spirit of the Red Man did not want to leave the Creator. The Creator said, "I have made a place for you to go to." So the spirit of the Red Man turned and slowly walked away.
He reached the first level from the Creator. At that level he stopped and turned around and told the Creator that he did not want to leave. The Creator said, "Go, go, my son. "
"I have prepared a beautiful place for you," said the Creator. So the spirit again turned and walked away.
He reached the second level, and again he turned and looked at the Creator and said he did not want to leave. The Creator then said, "Go, go, my grandson." The spirit turned again and walked away.
He reached the third level. Again he turned and told the Creator that he did not want to leave his side. Again the Creator said, "Go, go, my nephew."
The spirit then turned again and walked away very slowly and came to the fourth level from the Creator. Here he turned again and told the Creator that he did not want to leave him. The Creator said, "Go, go, my relative."
Then the Creator said, "I have made a place for you to go to, but because you do not want to leave me, I will put someone there that will teach you how to return to me, to return home where you came from. He is the first spirit that greets you on your journey to Mother Earth and where your teachings begin." So the Creator put the Spirit of the Heart at the fourth level to sit and watch over us.
At the second level where the Red Man had stopped and looked back, the Creator placed an Everlasting Lake, and a female spirit to take care of the lake. At that level the spirit learns about the sacredness of water and that water is life. Water is the passage to life.
At the third level where the Red Man had stopped and turned around, the Creator placed Divine Spiritual Beings that would give the seven teachings on how to have a good life. These Divine Beings oversee life as it is being created and are there to greet the spirit as it arrives on Mother Earth, bringing the teachings.
At the fourth level the Creator placed the sun, the moon, the sky and the stars. Here the spirit sees the sun, the moon, the sky and the stars in relation to the significance that they will have in its human life.
The spirit of each human being has to go through all these four levels before entering the mother's womb. Already once the child has entered the mother's womb, its blue spirit comes in knowing how sacred life is, knowing all of these teachings contained in these four levels.
We are all spirits. We have already seen what we are going to do before we come to the Earth. We have already seen our challenges and our happinesses. We already know our purpose, our vision, our gifts and our destiny.
When we are born we deliberately forget what we have seen and what we have learned. Our blue spirit enters our human life learning what it means to be human. We already have all the knowledge and teachings inside us that will help us on our journey. It is our challenge as human beings to remember who we are as spirit, and to keep our blue spirit clear of all the negativities that surround us in life.
As we were being created, the Creator also gave each human spirit four gifts – its spiritual name, its clan, its way of life, and free will. In our teachings we talk of a loving Creator, not a punishing or a vengeful god, rather a beautiful spirit. The Creator provided teaching about how to live a good way of life, but loved us so much that he did not tell us we have to live that way. We can make our own choice as to how we will live this life.
The spirit was now ready to begin its journey on Mother Earth. The Creator lowered the spirit of man onto Mother Earth. She is female. This shows that woman preceded man.
The Red Man was born from Mother Earth. The spirit of the Red Man was lowered into a special plant from the water for the bear to eat. Over time and evolution, the bear gave birth to the Red Man, and that special plant was no longer needed for this reason.
Chapter Three
JOURNEY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT We, the Elders, are sharing these teachings to bring forward the Red People's perspective on the journey and great potential of the human spirit. The way of life of the Red People was not destroyed – our people have persevered despite attempts to eradicate a way of life and the spirit of our people – to bring forward our contribution today.
There is a house in the heavens where I was born. It's me, it's me. The lightning beings are me. There is a house in the heavens. It's me, it's me. Ancient Dakota song
Dakota symbol for Heavens and Earth
There is a light from the heavens that enters the mother's womb (travelling from top right corner of triangle). The mother nurtures that spirit. The base of the triangle on the underside represents our walk in life. When our spirit finally returns to the spirit world, it forms the angle back up to the centre, to the house in the heavens (centre point of the triangle), before it finally makes the journey back to the Creator (the upper triangle).
The Four Elements of Nature
Every seed needs the four elements of Earth, air, water and fire to flourish into a flower, or a tree. Likewise, humanity and all of Creation depend upon the four elements of Nature for our spiritual, emotional, physical and mental survival and connection.
Earth
The Red People of Turtle Island have always been an Earth-based people. The close feelings and connection to the land has been a basis for our perspective on the meaning of and understanding of our relationship to life. "The Land is our Mother" is a simple but profound insight. It is the Earth who teaches and symbolizes the sacredness of the womb, the woman, the life-giver. It is the land that offers understanding of our beginning, our Creation, our oneness with Nature and each other as the human family. One human lifetime does not compare to the lifetime of Nature. The Earth does not belong to anyone – we all belong to the Earth. Nature operates on simple laws, that when followed, ensure a happy and balanced life.
Air
One's breath of life is a gift from the Great Spirit. The breath of life always means living in the present. How you live your life to the fullest is always determined by how you use that breath of life. It is not through recalling the past, nor through talk of future that life is meant to be enjoyed, but rather in the now, in the present. One must see and feel the blessings of the breath of the life as it passes through your whole being. As long as the breath of air passes through us, we are alive – alive to enjoy – alive to give – alive to care – alive to love.
Air is the sound. Air is the drum. The rattle is the air. The sound of the air creates vibration and connects us to the universe.
Water
Water is the blood of Mother Earth. Water is life. Water offers the passage to life; it is the passage into the physical world during the time of birth of a child. Water is recognized as an element for purification, cleansing and helping to make peace. The spirits of the Thunderbirds bring the sacred water – the rains – to help cleanse and purify Mother Earth. For the Red People, it is the woman who has been given the responsibility of looking after and seeking the blessing of water.
Fire
The element of the sacred fire is central in the life of the Red People. Since the beginning, within the teachings of the Red People has been the sacred understanding of the power of re.
The biggest fire of all is the sun, which reflects to us the symbol of our Great Creator. It is the Grandfather Sun that watches us throughout the day and then shines its light on Grandmother Moon. It is the sun that brings the greatest light. It is the sun that brings a new birth and new beginning of innocence as we awake each morning.
When we light the sacred fire we bring a part of the sun very near to us. When we look at the sun it is like a doorway that opens for us to see the Creator shine upon all of us. The sacred fire has the power to open a doorway to the spiritual world. It is fire that ignites the flame in our hearts to closely connect to spirit. Without the sacred fire, there is darkness and doubt, and a person becomes cold, uncaring and selfish. It is the power of the fire that makes a person gentle and warm. When a person has been near a sacred fire many times, you will feel their warmth and compassion. You will feel the power of their words and actions simply because the light of the fire has been transferred to that individual.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from THE JOURNEY OF THE SPIRIT OF THE RED MANby Harry Bone Sherry Copenace Dave Courchene William Easter Robert Greene Henry Skywater Copyright © 2012 by Turtle Lodge. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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