The Wolf Ceremony

[kreeden]

[size=+1] I wanted to give something of my past to my grandson.[/size][size=+1]So I took him into the woods, to a quiet spot.[/size][size=+1]Seated at my feet he listened as I told him[/size][size=+1]of the powers that were given to each creature.[/size][size=+1]He moved not a muscle as I explained[/size][size=+1]how the woods had always provided us[/size][size=+1]with food, homes, comfort, and religion.[/size][size=+1]He was awed when I related to him[/size][size=+1]how the wolf became our guardian,[/size][size=+1]and when I told him that I would sing[/size][size=+1]the sacred wolf song over him, he was overjoyed.[/size]
In my song, I appealed to the wolf to come and preside over us while I would perform the wolf ceremony so that the bondage between my grandsonand the wolf would be lifelong.
I sang.In my voice was the hope that clings to every heartbeat.
I sang.In my words were the powers I inherited from my forefathers.
I sang.In my cupped hands lay a spruce seed-- the link to creation.
I sang.In my eyes sparkled love.
I sang.And the song floated on the sun's rays from tree to tree.When I had ended,it was if the whole world listened with usto hear the wolf's reply.We waited a long time but none came.Again I sang,humbly but as invitingly as I could,until my throat ached and my voice gave out.All of a sudden I realized why no wolves had heard my sacred song.There were none left!My heart filled with tears.I could no longer give mygrandson faithin the past, our past.
At last I could whisper to him: " It is finished!""Can I go home now?" He asked,checking his watch to see if hewould still be in time tocatch his favorite program on TV.I watched him disappear and wept in silence.All is finished!

The words of Geswanouth Slahoot , also known as Chief Dan George .




{ sorry if these posts are messed up , the forum doesn't appear to like me copy and pasteing them }

 

[kreeden]

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"How long have I known you, oh Canada? A hundred years? Yes, a hundred years. And many many 'seelanum" more. And today, when you celebrate your hundred years, oh Canada, I am sad for all the Indian people throughout the land.

For I have known you when your forests were mine; when they gave me my meat and my clothing. I have known you in your streams and rivers where your fish flashed and danced in the sun, where the waters said come, come and eat of my abundance. I have known you in the freedom of your winds. And my spirit, like the winds, once roamed your good lands.

But in the long hundred years since the white man came, I have seen my freedom disappear like the salmon going mysteriously out to sea. The white man's strange customs which I could not understand, pressed down upon me until I could no longer breathe.

When I fought to protect my land and my home, I was called a savage. When I neither understood nor welcomed this way of life, I was called lazy. When I tried to rule my people, I was stripped of my authority.​

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My nation was ignored in your history textbooks - they were little more important in the history of Canada than the buffalo that ranged the plains. I was ridiculed in your plays and motion pictures, when I drank you fire water, I got drunk -- very, very drunk. And I forgot.​

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Oh Canada, how can I celebrate with you this Centenary, this hundred years? Shall I thank you for the reserves that are left to me of my beautiful forests? Fore the canned fish of my rivers? For the loss of my pride and authority, even among my own people? For the lack of my will to fight back? No! I must forget what's past and gone.​

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Oh, God in Heaven! Give me back the courage of the olden Chiefs. Let me wrestle with my surroundings. Let me again, as in the days of old, dominate my environment. Let me humbly accept this new culture and through it rise up and go on. ​

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Oh, God! Like the Thunderbird of old I shall rise again out of the sea; I shall grab the instruments of the white man's success---his education, his skills, and with these new tools I shall build my race into the proudest segment of your society. Before I follow the great Chiefs who have gone before us, oh Canada, I shall see these things come to pass.​

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I shall see our young braves and our chiefs sitting in the houses of law and government, ruling and being ruled by the knowledge and freedom of our great land. So shall we shatter the barriers of our isolation. So shall the next hundred years be the greatest and proudest in the proud history of our tribes and nations."​

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This speech was given at Canada's centennial celebration in Vancouver in 1967 , by Chief Dan George , so perhaps all isn't finished afterall ? ​

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[Shadow Wolf]

All of a sudden I realized why no wolves had heard my sacred song.There were none left!My heart filled with tears.I could no longer give mygrandson faithin the past, our past.
At last I could whisper to him: " It is finished!""Can I go home now?" He asked,checking his watch to see if hewould still be in time tocatch his favorite program on TV.I watched him disappear and wept in silence.All is finished!

That is sad. It saddens me knowing many people don't respect nature. How they would rather be watching TV than admiring and caring for the beuty that the earth provides. I am glad that wolves are starting to make a comeback thought.

 

[kreeden]

That is sad. It saddens me knowing many people don't respect nature. How they would rather be watching TV than admiring and caring for the beuty that the earth provides. I am glad that wolves are starting to make a comeback thought.

They are unlikely to " comeback " to George's area Luke . Too close to the city .

But my point wasn't really to talk about wolves . Dan George's writings are those of a man who lived in two cultures . The lost and saddness , but also the hope of a man who's people are going throught major changes . Whose very culture is changing , out of control . But they carry his hopes for the future ...

Here is a link to some more of his writting , if you are interested ...
http://www.umilta.net/chief.html

My Heart Soars , and My Spirit Soars are his two best known books . And " Little Big Man " is likely his best known movie . No , he wasn't a " Hollywood Indian ". He was in his sixties before he started acting .

 

[michel]

Thanks for sharing that; it beautiful, however I do find it sad. When will man stop thinking he's the best thing since sliced bread ?

 

[painted wolf]

Its wonderful to watch children learning again... after so much darkness things are starting to finally look brighter.

wa:do

 

[kreeden]

It is wonderful to watch children learn . They are so full of wonder ...

But it is just as wonderful to see that hint of light that comes from an adult who finually understands too PW . It has takes a little more pantience for that reward .


Yes Michel , George's work is sad . But if you had seen Elijiah Harper set in the Manitoba legislature and vote down the Meech Lake Accord in 1987 with the wave of an eagle feather ... { The Accord did not guarantee the rights of First Nation People , and Harper is often credited with single-handly defeating the accord } Aaah , the finual words of George's second speech is nothing short of pure prophesy .

 

[painted wolf]

heh... I'm one of those adults..

I have to say though that seeing children who won't have to go through all the struggle I did is very heartwarming. Helping adults learn is very satisfying to be true, but I'm a sucker for kids.:jiggy:

wa:do

 

[kreeden]

Me too . And so was Dan George ... Hmmm , never thought of it before but yea , his love of children and the hope they bring for the future is one of the things I like about his writings .

Many seem to think that children have become an " expense " in today's world . Perhaps there is something we all can learn from George's writings ?

BTW PW , your struggles are what made you who you are . You should thank them . { But not repeat them , if you know what I mean . Often we do . }