|
ALGONQUIN ELDER WILLIAM COMMANDA’S GREETINGS TO THE HEALING OURSELVES, HEALING THE HUMAN FAMILY CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
I AM PLEASED TO SEND MY GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES FOR THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE.
LAST YEAR, I MENTIONED THE SEVEN FIRES PROPHECY WAMPUM BELT THAT I CARRY FOR THE PEOPLE AND I SAID THAT “WE ARE NOW LIVING AT THE TIME OF THE SEVENTH FIRE, WHERE THE CRUCIAL CHOICE OF RESPECT FOR MOTHER EARTH AND ALL HUMANITY IS BEING PRESENTED WITH GREAT URGENCY. BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE SCARCELY HEEDING THE MESSAGES OF MOTHER EARTH, AND HER PROCESS OF CLEANSING IS TAKING ON GREATER STRENGTH.” YOU HAVE SEEN HOW DRAMATICALLY THIS HAS ESCALATED OVER THE PAST YEAR, AND HOW THE WORLD HAS BEEN DEVASTATED BY THIS CLEANSING PROCESS. I ALSO MENTIONED THE THREE FIGURE WAMPUM BELT THAT DATES BACK TO THE 1700S – THIS BELT SIGNIFIES THE SACRED AGREEMENT MY ANCESTORS MADE WITH THE EARLY NEWCOMERS, THE FRENCH AND THE ENGLISH, TO SHARE THE GRAND NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE CONTINENT OF NORTH AMERICA, OUR VALUES AND CULTURE, IN THREE EQUAL PARTS. OUR PEOPLE WERE TO STAND IN THE CENTRE AND SAFEGUARD THIS VISION OF UNITY. BUT AS WE BECAME DISTANCED FROM OUR HERITAGE AND TRADITIONS, AND EXPLOITED AND MARGINALIZED, WE LOST OUR SPIRIT, AND WE WERE NOT ABLE TO ASSUME OUR RIGHTFUL PLACE AND TAKE ON OUR RIGHTFUL RESPONSIBILITIES. FOR A LONG TIME WE HAVE BEEN ASHAMED OF OUR HERITAGE; THERE WERE DARK MOMENTS WHEN I MYSELF FELT IT WAS A SHAME TO BE BORN INDIAN AND WISHED I WAS DEAD. BUT A DEEPER STRENGTH OF MY ANCESTORS KEPT ME ALIVE, AND TAUGHT ME TO WORK FOR THE TWO IMPORTANT THINGS THEY BELIEVED IN: FIRST, ABSOLUTE RESPECT FOR MOTHER EARTH AND THE WATERS, AIR AND FIRE, AND THE ANIMAL TEACHERS. TODAY, WE SEE WHERE OUR COLLECTIVE DISRESPECT FOR MOTHER EARTH HAS BROUGHT US – TO THE DESTRUCTION OF LIFE AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT; TODAY WE WORRY DAILY ABOUT NATURAL DISASTERS, CANCERS AND NEW DISEASES. MY ANCESTORS ALSO TAUGHT THAT WE WERE ALL RELATED, AND SO WE LEARNED TO TREAT EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING ON THE EARTH WITH RESPECT, GENEROSITY AND LOVE – AS A RELATIVE. AS WE MOVED AWAY FROM THOSE VALUES, EXPLOITATION, HATRED, VIOLENCE AND CRIME POISONED OUR LIVES AND DESTROYED OUR WORLD. AS I LEARNED TO FIND MY PATH BACK TO THE VALUES OF MY ANCESTORS, SO I GRADUALLY BUILT MY WORLD AROUND THE VISON OF A CIRCLE OF ALL NATIONS, A CULTURE OF PEACE. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THAT ON OCTOBER 30, 2005, I WAS PRESENTED WITH AN HONORARY DOCTORATE DEGREE BY THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA. I ACCEPTED THIS HONOUR ON BEHALF OF MY INDIGENOUS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, OUR ANCESTORS AND OUR CHILDREN. THIS HONORARY DEGREE IS SPECIAL TO ME BECAUSE I AM A KINDERGARTEN DROPOUT, AND IT IS REALLY AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE DEEP WISDOM OF OUR ANCESTORS. WE ARE FINALLY MOVING FROM THE MARGINS TO THE CENTRE IN THIS LAND OF OUR ANCESTORS. IT IS OF CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES TO RECOGNIZE AND REALIZE THE STRENGTHS AND WISDOM WITHIN OUR HERITAGE, AND TO ALSO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO LEARN AND VALUE THE TEACHINGS OF TURTLE ISLAND, THE PLACE THEY NOW ALL CALL HOME. IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO QUICKLY HEAL THE WOUNDS THAT HAVE LEFT US IMMOBILIZED, AND BRING OUR UNIQUE UNDERSTANDING OF RESPECT AND LOVE FOR MOTHER EARTH AND GENEROSITY AND SHARING IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OTHERS. I THANK THE CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO ADVANCE THIS VISION, AND I PRAY THAT WE WILL ALL BE STRENGTHENED BY THIS HEALING JOURNEY, AND THAT WE WILL CREATE ACIRCLE OF ALL NATIONS, A CULTURE OF PEACE. .
MEGWETCH. MERCI.
WILLIAM COMMANDA |