Teachings from the Tree of Life, part 11: The Mirror

zhaawano
Jun 14, 2022
5 min read

Updated: Jun 22

Ode'imiini-giizis (Strawberry Moon)/Baashkaabigonii-giizis (Blooming Moon), June 14, 2022

Updated: June 22, 2025

Naanaagadawendamowin ("Introspection") by Zhaawano Giizhik

~ WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT WHO WE ARE ~

Boozhoo, aaniin! Biindigen miinawaa nindaadizooke wigamigong; enji-zaagi'iding miinawaa gikendaasong. Ninga-aawechige noongom giizhigad! "Hello my relatives, I greet you in a good way. Welcome back in my Storytelling Lodge, a place of love and knowing. Let's share a teaching today!

We, the Original Peoples of Mikinaakominis, the Great Turtle Island now known as America, really need to start looking at who we are. We need to create a visual, mental, and spiritual mirror for ourselves and closely inspect the reflection we see. What do we observe? Do we only see ourselves, or do we also see our ancestors, those who came before us? Does it reflect only our egos, demons, and immediate desires, or does it also show the lessons passed down to us through oral storytelling and manidoo-minjimendamowin, our blood memory—valuable elements that may have been lost and erased throughout our troubled history?

LOVE, THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT OF LIFE

Inaabin zaaga’igan gawaakamig.
Gaawiin gii-waabandanziin
gimazinaatebiigishinowin.
Giiwaabandaan
igiwe aazha gaapime ayaawaad.

“Look into the clear lake.
The image you see in the water is not yours.
What you see is the reflection of those who came before you.”*

As we gaze into the water, we should seek the wisdom of our ancestors who imparted to us a crucial life lesson: love. Zaagi'idiwin, meaning Mutual Love, is the second Grandmother/Grandfather Teaching of the Anishinaabeg peoples. But why is it so vital, and what does it truly mean to love someone or something?

To address this question, I would like to begin by quoting a good friend of mine, Michel Sutherland from Fort Albany, Nishnawbe-aski in Northeastern Ontario, who shared this with me recently:

"I remember a time when at age 8 years old I hung around with my Grandmother. She asked if I knew what love was? My whole body said “No.” ...Our language contains root words. Undress the descriptions, put aside the prefix and suffix, and there it is. Say the word for love, “sakahewin”, say I love you, “Kesakihetin”, say I love my mother,” Nesakihow Negawe.” The word that is constant is “saki”, a seed that sprouts out of the earth. The root word is “sprout.” Our language grew out the earth’s environment, deep in and out wide. She sent me out, it took me a while and I found the sprouts. There I walked out, touched by so many definitions, expressions, meanings of “love” from many different sources. My root word from nature holds me and grounds me. Even when it is difficult, knowing that a powerful society changed the original meaning (slightly), it’s root and meaning of “Innino,” my Grandmother’s ancestral root word, her identity, her people’s lives, her grand children, the future generation, her teacher, her mother. My whole body says “yes,” my tear is water…. B’he."

I don't think anyone could have expressed it better than my Ininew friend from the distant northeastern swamps, and for this reason, I respectfully -- virtually -- offer him asemaa (tobacco).

To our ancestors, Love (saki, or zaagi) was intended to be an outward expression. Today, however, we have transformed love into a self-centered act, focusing on what we love personally—money, food, pleasure, and so on. We want it immediately. Yet, according to the second Grandfather teaching, we should return to the selfless, outward expression of love that our language imparts, extending our love to others, our relatives, and all creatures of the earth, water, and sky.

Here are a few examples in Anishinaabemowin, our language, showcasing the outward expression of zaagi that my friend mentioned:

Zaagidenenaniwetaw: "stick out one's tongue at someone"

Zaagidin: "put someone out"

Zaagidinan: "Put something out"

Zaagidoode: "crawl out"

However, the concept of outwardness is perhaps most beautifully conveyed through the verbs 'zaagigi,' 'zaagibagaa,' and 'zaagijiwan': meaning 'sprout, grow out,' 'leaves bud,' and 'flow out,' respectively. It's as if love were a tree shoot that naturally, spontaneously, emerges from the human heart-mind, or a river flowing toward its mouth, winding through the landscape and enriching its banks with floods, creating lakes and enhancing the fertility of the land...

Aayaanikaaj Mishoomis Zagibidooniwin ("Ancestral Connection") painting by Zhaawano Giizhik


~~ LOOK WITHIN YOURSELF FIRST ~~

Ganawaabandizon zhawenigewining, awiyag. 

Gaawiin gidaa-zhawenimaasii awiya baamaa giishawenidizoyan. 

Onjida ji-nisidotaman aanind ningodwaaswi gagiikwewinan jibwaazhawenjigeyan. 

Gidaa-anokiitaan zhawenjigewin. 

Gidaa-baabiitoon zhawenjigewin. 

Zhawenjigwe mino-bimaadiziwin. 

Gaawiin wiikaa gidaa-wiimaashkaziin gizhewaadiziwin gaye. 

Gaawiin gigakendanziin gizhewaadiziwin zoongendaman. 

Gaawiin gigakendanziin gizhewaadiziwin gwayakwaadiziyan. 

Gizhewaadiziwin ayaa gwayakwendamowining weweni ji-nisidotaadizoyan gaye.

Inaadiziwin ji-nisidawinaman zhaagwaadiziwinan gaye gichi-apiitenidizoyan. 

Gizhewaadiziwin naawisin gagiikwewinan. 

Gaabizhiwaadizide’e gidizhibimiwidaasomin. 


"Look within yourself for Love. Love yourself, and then love others. 

You cannot love another until you first learn to love yourself. 

You must understand and live the other six Teachings before you can love. 

Love is worth working for. 

Love is worth waiting for. 

Love is the key to life. 

There is no shortcut to achieving the state of love 

You cannot know love unless you are courageous. 

You cannot know love unless you are honest. 

Love is based on the wisdom to understand one’s self and the humility to accept weaknesses as well as being proud of one’s strengths. 

Love has as its very core the other Teachings. 

The loving heart center of each true-hearted person lies within each of us."*

THE NEED TO RECLAIM OUR MEMORY

Ahaaw. To conclude, I'll share a quote from the late Dakota poet, actor, and recording artist John Trudell (1946-2015). In the final phase of his life on aki, he spoke about confronting our demons, accepting our responsibilities, and recovering our memory:

"I'm 70. I'm on my way out, and I don't have a problem with that, that's natural. But when I look at my descendants, our young people, I just kinda think we have to reclaim our memory. The genocide of civilization is there to erase that memory -- we don't remember we're human beings anymore. That's why there's all the false prides. That's why there's the drug use, the alcoholism. Those are symptoms of it. It's the genocide itself. It's denied itself. It's the genocide that's created these conditions. We've forgotten that we're human beings, and we're passing this diseased perception of reality amongst ourselves. We really need to look at who we are. It's not enough to say that 'I'm a traditionalist.' It's not enough to say 'I can speak the language.' It's not enough to say 'We're all about respect.' It's not enough anymore. We have to understand what we're saying. We have to understand tradition, culture, sharing, love. That's the way it was a long time ago. That was our way of life."

Ahaaw sa. Mii sa ekoozid. Miigwech gibizindaw noongom. That concludes today's lesson. Thank you for listening to me. Giga-waabamin wayiiba giishpin manidoo inendang, I will see you again soon, if the Great Mystery wills it. Mino bimaadizin! Live well!