Our Grandmothers speak out for Mother Earth

By Danny Beaton

After our old Elders bring us into the Sacred Circle and Ceremony, our journey and life can take shape in the ways of our ancestors and healing way of life. Without our Elders, spiritual leaders, and teachers, it is hard to find our true strength and harmony in everyday life. Our ancestors gave us so much to move forward with in oneness with Creation and the natural world. In everyday life, the old Elders taught us to be Thanksgiving people.

Tom Porter, Spiritual Elder of the Mohawk Community of Kanatsiohareke and member of the Bear Clan of the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne, once said, “You have to walk in your moccasins first to understand our values and Way of Life.”

All our Elders had to do was be themselves in everyday life, and when we were gathered in our Sacred Circle, the offerings were put into our Sacred Fire. The words, songs, and prayers would follow, so all the young people had to do was copy the way of life our Elders were living through our sacred ceremonies.

After the Four Directions were acknowledged and all of our Elders had made their offering to our Sacred Fire, we would begin preparations to have breakfast, and afterwards Sacred Council would begin. Our oldest Elders would begin the day by sharing the culture of their homelands and bring greetings from their territories and birthplace. All Elders from across Canada and the USA at our ceremonies were focused on natural life, natural world, and all Creation was our family and extended family. Most important for our gatherings was to restore our culture and ceremonies to our communities, which were being affected by negativity and outside forces, such as a health crisis among Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Our youth had a chance to experience Elders from the Four Directions of Turtle Island come together to give Thanksgiving and honour all the life-giving forces of nature and all our relatives, fish, animals, insects, winged beings, relations, extended family, earth, air, fire, water, Mother Earth’s Blood.

Our gatherings and ceremonies were the best place for our people to be with Elders from that generation that knew many original instructions and Traditions to share and pass onto to our youth and people. In the old days when we gathered to listen to our Elders, they knew this would carry our way of life forward and help restore our traditions. The year we gathered in Onondaga Territory, New York, in 1990, was my first year with our Elders, Chiefs, and Clan Mothers. It was so important for us to restore our culture and restore ourselves. Everyone who was there knew we were in a sacred place and it was a sacred time. In reality, all of our gatherings and ceremonies are for peace, healing, Thanksgiving, and to Honour the Life-Giving Forces, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Every time we gathered, it was a oneness with Mother Earth. Our Elders never stopped being humble and gentle. Once our sacred councils began, our old ones would walk to the Sacred Fire, make their offering, then begin to share their thoughts and feelings about what was happening back home on their reserves and territories. Some of our Elders would get on their knees and kiss Mother Earth before talking. Some Elders would offer sacred tobacco to the Four Directions in the fire. Everyone listened with the utmost respect because we were talking about Mother Earth and survival, our future generations, and how we were going to protect Mother Earth from harm’s way.

At one point, our women asked to have their own circle to honour Mother Earth’s blood, water, and to have their own Sacred Pipe Ceremony with the Grandmothers. Our Grandmothers explained we are the water, rain, snow, ice, rivers, lakes, oceans, aquifers. The water is the blood of our Sacred Mother’s Body. We are made of water, they said, we belong to Mother Earth and we come from Mother Earth. The Grandmothers knew back in the day that Mother Earth was being polluted and contaminated by the mining industry and logging corporations for self-gains and big profits. Now, the fish life was being washed up on the shores and whales dying everywhere. National Geographic had front page stories about how back in the day, climate change was melting the glaciers. The violence and disrespect to Mother Earth’s blood by society was killing life and Indigenous culture.

The Grandmothers brought copper pots of pure clean water into their circle. They began to share a large basket of water among each other, drinking from the same basket of water. The whole area was filled with smoke from abalone shells, while sage burned around their circle. Their circle had grown to over a hundred women and Grandmothers. Many men could not hold back their tears as the Grandmothers held up the copper pots filled with water to the sky. The Grandmothers were crying now; their daughters were standing with them, crying, too; even babies were in their circle, and around their circle, the men’s circle surrounded them for support and protection. Soon, the daughters were speaking, saying everything here is what our Creator put here for us, his children, to look after. Everything on Mother Earth was put here for us to use and take care of: trees, plants, gardens, forests, animals, winged ones, fish life, even insects. We are human beings, the voice for all of Creation. We are the life-givers, we must respect the water, so our children can follow our footsteps, our Original Instructions. When the Grandmothers stopped talking and passing water, they began to drum and sing Water Songs. The air was filled with drumming from our women singing together; even our men joined in, the ones who knew the songs. It was all to help and heal our sacred Mother Earth because we all knew she was suffering.

All this took place in Onondaga Territory, the place where Handsome Lake was buried. We had Sweat Lodges set up ready when we would go back into the womb of our Sacred Mother Earth. It was the most beautiful thing I remember, when we all came out and the next day it all started again until our gathering was over. We had many Elders from Turtle Mountain, North Dakota, Ojibwe people who brought so many of their families to our camp back in the old days. We had so many tribes in our ceremonies back in the day. This life was passed onto us from generation to generation, Elder to Elder: we were now living our ancestors’ dream to carry on our way of life.

Our Grandmothers said the great Creator gave us Indigenous people everything we need to survive here on Turtle Island. All we need to do is give Thanksgiving and respect Creation and the natural world. Mother Earth will take care of her children as long as we take care of her.