Iskigamizige-giizis/Ziisibaakwadoke-giizis (Boiling Sap Moon/Sugar Making Moon; April 5, 2024)
Aaniin! Biindigen miinawaa nindaadizooke wigamigong; enji-zaagi'iding miinawaa gikendaasong. Ninga-aadizooke noongom giizhigad!
Hi! Welcome back in my Storytelling Lodge where there is love and learning. Let's tell a sacred story today!*
One day, many strings of lives ago, Wenabozho was standing on top of a bluff looking over at the countryside. He was looking over at his people, the Anishinaabeg. His People were sad and depressed, and Wenabozho, taking pity on them, wondered what he could do to help them. He took out his pipe, lit him, and smoked. He blew the smoke to the four corners of the world, waiting for an answer.
Way off in the distance someone was walking. From the East he was walking toward the bluff. He kept walking. Wenabozho didn't know him. Didn't recognize him at all. As he got closer, Wenabozho could see he was beat up. He looked awful! As the man got closer, Wenabozho started to recognize him. He was Chee-Zoos, God of the Dawn Lights! "Aaniin my brother Chee-Zoos, what happened to you?" Wenabozho asked. Jesus was all beat up and blooded! Jesus told him, "Ah Wenabozh, if you permit me to rest a while on this hill, I will tell you what happened. I would like to sit here and smoke the pipe with you. You see, Wenabozh, the White Man never asked for permission to enter your lands…. They just walked right on in and took everything. They spread their bad medicine, their diseases, and false beliefs all across your Turtle Island…They stole the land and waters and everything that is in, beneath, and above the land in my name. To make up for the White Men's misdeeds and also to come clean with you, I want to ask you for permission to walk beyond these hills as I am on my last journey toward the place of Sunset."
Wenabozho, realizing Jesus came with good intent, nodded, and gestured him to sit. They smoked the pipe together. Wenabozho told Jesus the story of "Mishoomis" (Grandfather), as he called his pipe. Then, both men discussed spirituality and the white man's concept of repentance. After a while of smoking and storytelling, Wenabozho, being Wenabozho, could not contain his curiosity any longer. Clearing his throat, he asked Jesus what the heck had happened to him. Had he been run over by a herd of bizhikiwag (buffalo)?
"Gaawiin niiji (No my friend!)" Jesus responded. "My people did this to me! They beat me, they whipped me. They stoned me. They crucified me." Wenabozho, a little baffled, answered, "Aanish na! But why?!" "Because my people were not satisfied" Jesus responded. "I healed the sick, made the blind see, and fed the hungry - and yet, they hated me." Then, after a brief pause, he sighed and added: "Eventually they killed me."
"Aaniin danaa! What the heck?!" Wenabozho said. "You were good to your People. Why would they hate you? I myself can be a bit of a teaser and a prankster, geget sa, that’s for sure, but my People would never hate me. On the contrary, they love me." "You see, Wenabozh," Jesus replied. "This is where your and my people differ. It was the religious leaders, who saw in me a threat to their position who sentenced me to death because my ideas were contrary to theirs. I threatened their position and their wealth. Greed is their god. They are never satisfied with what they have and will destroy everything in their path that keeps them from gaining political and economic power, from increasing their material wealth. Eventually they only love themselves. Your People, however, do not think in terms of economic power and material wealth. Power and wealth, to you, are merely spiritual concepts. There is only spiritual power, and the more someone shares his wealth with his kin the more powerful he will become. To your people, power is in the spiritual things. In fact, your people have put into practice the teachings that I have been preaching all my life..."
A sad smile formed on Jesus' face as he took a puff of smoke from Wenabozho's pipe, then continued: "I believe you call this teaching "mino-bimaadiziwin": Living a good and upright life. As I understand it, this mino-bimaadiziwin means that reciprocal responsibilities and mutual obligations, not only between humans, but also in connection with all life forces and beings of the world, are taken very seriously. Mino-bimaadiziwin is a simple teaching to understand and all one needs to do is to take a good look at themselves and see what one truly needs in this life."
"My people, on the other hand," Jesus continued, "never understood my teachings. They are never satisfied with what they have. They had their place, their way of life, their home. But they were not happy so that's when they went off to take things. They took everything...they took my life...Then they went on their ships and landed on your shores. In my name, they spread out their hands to you. One hand gave you their prayers and bibles and crosses and churches and Fire and Brimstone and the other hand took your land and your way of life and your language and your children and, eventually, your spirit and your self-worth... "
Jesus took a last puff from the pipe and stood up, groaning. He looked at his counterpart one last time and, in a dragging way, started to continue his journey toward the West. It was the walk of a dead man. He turned back one last time and said in a frail voice: "You see, Wenabozh, your people love you because you are a mirror to them. They need you to be there for them. They need you to remind them of their spirit, to help them regain the spirit that my people took from them. This is why they love you even more than they love themselves. Take diligent care of your people my friend. They deserve you..."
Mii sa ekoozid. Miigwech gibizindaw noongom mii dash gidibaajimotoon a’aw aadizookaan. And that is the end of the story. Thank you for listening to me today, for allowing me to relate to you this tale. Giga-waabamin wayiiba, I hope to see you again soon.
Mino bimaadizin! Live well! Migwechewendan akina gegoo ahaw! Be thankful for everything!
*The story is inspired by, and a free rendering of, "CONFESSIONS OF AN OJIBWAY: Native Perspective of Ojibway Indian in Canada. Sharing thoughts on politics, activism, spirituality, community changes, urban Indians, identity, and Life in the Reserve."