A song for Mother Earth
Tracey King, Miigiis Kwe (Little Shell Woman), is the Indigenous Human Resources Lead at Ryerson.
"Mother Earth you give me all that I need. The spirit in you is the spirit in me. The spirit is all surrounding....We are all one in this mystery. I'm a part of you. You're a part of me...."
The "Mother Earth" song by Ojibway artist Shingoose brings a smile to my face. I heard Shingoose sing this song on the television show called Indian Time in the early ’90s. You can view and listen to the Mother Earth song at vimeo.com/265581787 (external link) .
I thought it would be a good time to share with you this song of hope and love. Since our world seems like it has been at a standstill for many of us. We have been shocked and saddened recently to see the suffering caused from one human being to another.
When I was a young adult, I heard this song Mother Earth. At the time, my eyes were drawn to seeing Shingoose, a talented Anishinaabe man, in his ribbon shirt on stage singing about his honour and respect for Mother Earth.
The song meant so much to me then as it does now. We, as human beings, need to pause and just see the beauty all around us. Isn't Mother Earth beautiful and breathtaking? She gives us life. She gives us everything. We are all able to learn great lessons in life from Mother Earth if we just listened to her, treated her respectfully, thanked her and all the living and spirit beings - the plant life, the fish life, the insect life, and the animal life to name a few.
Ojibway artist Shingoose singing the Mother Earth song on the television show Indian Time.
In traditional teachings by the old ones, we were in relationship with all life beings. We had a way of life, not a religion, with life instructions originating from our culture and language. We were in a peaceful, respectful, relationship with all living beings, because we believed we were all interconnected.
This weekend, I was thinking of my late mother. She was a community activist. She read a lot of books. One of the first books she shared excerpts from with me was in the book entitled, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by author Dee Brown. In December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee was a place of a most tragic massacre of over 300 men, women and children. Back then, I had no idea mom was teaching me about Indigenous history and its implications on my identity and my life as an Anishinaabe Kwe. My mom would say to me, I don't want you to grow up ignorant about life and your place in it.
This was my start in life, I had to be responsible in my life and to my community, like many community members we do what we can to help our community. I recall, mom took me when I was a little girl in the early ’70s to the Indian Caravan at the Toronto City Hall, she dressed me in regalia to demonstrate/support our Aboriginal Rights as a peoples, and to support the American Indian Movement which was widespread in the United States and Canada.
Looking back, as an Ojibway and Pottawatomi woman, mother and auntie today, these community gatherings were some of the most defining moments of my life. I learned during my work and life for the vast majority of Indigenous Peoples we had and still have a difficult life to navigate in western society. We need helpers, supporters and allies to let us come in with our moccasins on through the door.
This weekend, thinking of mom and Wounded Knee, I watched and listened to videos of the late Oglala and Lakota Sioux activist Russell Means and one quote really spoke to me in which he said, we had a "purity of heart and a beauty of mind." Let us just ponder this. We lived this way of life.
Every day brings us something new to learn. We come across and engage with people who are different from us. Our ancestors knew the settlers were coming even before they arrived. How can we strive to have that good life for ourselves, our families, our communities, together? We need to come together with a good heart and a good mind.
Did you know? Before the colonial period, there were more than 60 million Indigenous Peoples inhabiting Turtle Island, known as North America. I find this so incredibly beautiful beyond words.
Ryerson Aboriginal Student Services (RASS) has organized a week of celebration for National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21. Please visit the RASS website for a full events listing.