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Teachings from the Tree of Life, part 26: Our Role as Storytellers

  • Writer: zhaawano
    zhaawano
  • Apr 29, 2024
  • 5 min read

Updated: 7 days ago

Iskigamizige-giizis/Ziisibaakwadoke-giizis (Boiling Sap Moon/Sugar Making Moon; April 29, 2024)

Updated: Baashkaabigonii-giizis/Ode’imini-giizis (Blooming Moon/Strawberry Moon; June 14, 2025)


Waabandizowin ("The Mirror") Illustration by Zhwaawano Giizhik
Waabandizowin ("The Mirror") © 2022-2024 Zhaawano Giizhik

"The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Before long the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was. The world around it will forget even faster...The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." - Milan Kundera
"Listen to no heart but your own. As it beats, so will you be. As you are, so will your People remember you." - Zhaawano Giizhik

Boozhoo, aaniin,


Today, I chose to share a reflection with you.


At times, I find myself pondering my role as an artist, not only in the broader world but specifically within a Native context.


Just a thought... People often say that an artist's job is to create harmony out of chaos. This might be accurate. But what about the place of Indigenous artists – or rather, storytellers – within their own communities? 


I tend to believe that artists are actually storytellers whose narratives are meant to heal.


Is it possible that being storytellers or artists enables us to see the world from a broader perspective?


I'd like to believe that.


Over a period of 400 years, the traditional Anishinaabe/Indigenous worldview evolved into a belief system that became contradictory, if not paradoxical, influenced by the Europeans and their dualistic, patriarchal mindset.


While the Anishinaabeg resisted Christianity for a long period, at least until the mid-19th century when they were confined to reservations/reserves, many 19th-century Mideg (members of the Midewiwin) were actually part of Christian churches. Mide rituals were significantly influenced by Scottish Freemasonry, which introduced a patriarchal and "vertical" perspective on society and the world to the Midewiwin. The terror inflicted on successive generations of Indigenous children by the Boarding School and Residential School system (established from the mid-19th century to the 1970s with the primary goal of "civilizing" or assimilating Indigenous children and youth into Anglo-American/Canadian culture) only exacerbated the physical and psychological trauma – which, in a modern psychological context, has resulted in what could be described as cognitive dissonance.


Cognitive dissonance, in psychology, is defined as "mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time."


Similar to anyone else, Indigenous individuals who face cognitive dissonance often feel psychological discomfort. As a result, many of us are naturally driven to alleviate stress-related issues such as depression, anxiety, and intense identity conflicts caused by these conflicting belief systems. We seek internal psychological harmony to function mentally in the "real world" by altering the contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values we hold so they align. In essence, rather than recognizing and confronting these conflicting beliefs, ideas, and values directly, we tend to deceive our psyche. To avoid living in a perpetual state of mental and emotional turmoil, it becomes easier to adopt values that differ from our own traditional Indigenous values and belief systems.


Consequently, many of us adopt the prevailing societal perspective, which is based on the Christian concept of good versus evil. Alternatively, to cope with the inner turmoil, we might resort to sexual or substance abuse. By neglecting and fleeing from the pain, and causing harm to those innocent individuals we are accountable for, we merely heighten the confusion and suffering, both personally and collectively. This inevitably results in increased cognitive dissonance within ourselves, our children, and the wider community, perpetuating the vicious cycle.


I like to think it's an artist's role to stop our People from continuing to avoid situations and narratives that amplify the culturally-religious-Boarding/Residential School-induced fears, shame, and self-hatred that have trapped our communities for generations. I believe that by challenging, through storytelling or visual arts, the Christian-influenced perspective that has been corrupting and confusing the hearts, minds, ceremonies, and stories of our Peoples for many generations, we can achieve cleansing and healing over time. I also believe it is our duty to remind our people of the importance of learning the language our grandparents knew—a culturally specific, unique form of communication that has been nearly replaced by the dominant languages like English, French, and Spanish. And the songs! Our language and songs define who we are, reflecting our cultural identity and worldview, and when we lose them, we lose a whole way of thinking that was unique to our cultural and spiritual identity. An artist's task is not just to create images. A good artist generates ideas, and beyond images, language, words, and songs are powerful tools in conveying these ideas. The words and songs are invaluable, offering insight into us, the world, and our unique connection to it.


Geget sa go, I firmly believe we must return to narrating our own story through images, words, and songs.


Miigwech gibizindaw noongom. Thank you for listening to me today.


AN OVERVIEW OF THE 'TEACHING FROM THE TREE OF LIFE' SERIES PUBLISHED THUS FAR:






 
 
 

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