Isaac Murdoch tells stories of restoring balance with the land

By Kelly Anne Smith

NIMKII AAZHIBIKONG — Connecting with the land and following the natural laws will restore balance, says renowned artist Isaac Murdoch. Murdoch is a keynote speaker at the Toronto International Storytelling Festival May 6-15.

Of the the fish clan and from Serpent River First Nation, Murdoch is honoured to speak at the festival.

“It was somebody that I know that’s really special and very amazing that gave me the invite. And I thought, ‘You know what, I’ve always been invited but I’ve never went.’ I thought it was important to go to this. I’m really lucky to be able to have that opportunity to go down there and be a part of that.”

These are exciting times for Murdoch who also tells stories through music.

“I have a new album out. It’s called Here to Stay. Right now, there is a single that I put out called, Keep it in the Ground. It’s about the natural laws that we are not to dig deeper than the depth of a shovel because we don’t want to disturb the spirits that live in the ground. Or else there is to be great destruction.

“In the spring time, people make offers to the water. They wanted to make sure that children would be safe around the water and that the fishermen would be safe. And that, as we travel with our canoes and things like that, we’d be all safe because a payment was made to the water spirit.

They say that when we do that, we restore our balance because we always take something from the water. We always make sure we have a ceremony for the water. We give to the water.

This was something I was shown in my lifetime.

I remember one time, I was out fishing on the lake and I forgot to make my offering to the water. And something was pulling on the side of my neck. And I looked down and I thought I saw a human being. And so, I got really scared and I left. They told me it was a mermaid. In my language, they call that nbinaabe kwe. And so, I made my offering and then I went and checked my neck. There were fish on the line and that being on the other end of it was gone.

We wholeheartedly believe that the water is full of spirit and life. That’s something that happened to me.”

Asked about the meaning of his name Bomgiizhik, Isaac says he received it from his Elders.

“It was my great-grandfather’s name. It means revolving sky and how the sky always turns around. It’s a really deep celestial name that I enjoy learning about. It’s really about cycles. In the celestial world, there’s constantly cycles that are happening. Part of it means, as the sky goes through cycles, the earth and the people and animals and plants goes in cycles too. We are part a bigger part of something than we can’t probably even comprehend. It’s a forever learning name. That’s why I love it so much.”

Isaac credits Christie Belcourt with stirring the interest of making art that inspires change. Asked about being an activist he said, “I guess that’s what people would call me but really, my responsibility is just being Ojibwe.”

His art accompanies global opposition to dirty energy projects, tree cutting, water wasting, etc.

“I don’t like the term activist because it is just my responsibility as a dad, as a grandpa, as an Anishinaabe. That’s just my responsibility, to help protect the lands and waters,” he says. “I find that activism and protesters and things like that, that really minimizes whats really happening. Which is, nations are saying no. Indigenous people are saying no. And it’s often just minimized to them being activists or protesters when it’s so much bigger than that. [Indigenous] people are trying to protect their land. That’s not activism. That’s something different.”

Isaac is also part of online education resources at Anishinabek Nation.

“As somebody who is actively engaging in learning the language, I feel it’s really important that we use it. Because language is what holds up our nation. It’s what holds everything together. It’s the thread that weaves everything together as Anishinaabe people. So, I believe it’s very important that we do everything we can to revitalize our language as much as we can,” he explains. “We are in critical stages and we should all be all in to learning this. I think it is a very sacred thing that we can’t let go.”

Isaac says we are in very sacred times right now.

“We’re in abrupt climate change. The world is suffering a massive ecological collapse. If we gather together and band together as a people and if we build bridges and relationships of all people, then we have a very, very good chance at protecting and saving what is left and restoring things in nature that need to be restored.”

Isaac talks of spending the majority of life in the forest on the land.

“I love that way of life. I love what nature allows us to have. I love the trading system that we have with the earth. The offerings and the relationship we have with the everything. It’s really important that we maintain our relationship with the land, the language and the ceremonies and each other. They are all interconnected.”

The language comes from the land he says.

“That’s where our animals come from. That’s where our government comes from. That’s where a lot of spirits go – the land to make offerings to. It’s really a big deal to be connected to the land,” he says. “I think that is part of the reason why things are happening to the earth, is because nobody’s really connected the way that they should be en masse. If more people were connected we would be in a much better position.”

Isaac Murdoch loves telling stories to pull them away from their desks and computers.

“I really want people to get out of being stuck. And to know that they are free. As Anishinaabe people, we are free people on our lands. And that’s not something that everybody takes advantage of. Stories and the songs, and the artwork encourage people to do that. I believe when we work together we can make a big change.”