I just finished up the long and rewarding work of making maple syrup. It was a last minute effort and I had to remember that time, patience, belief and Spiritual guidance was on my side.
Our tribal worlds and communities are in bad shape. Alot of people despise the white man but they live and choose to live in a system in which that same white man dictates everything from; our means of waking up, what foods we eat, our forms of entertainment,what is hip and cool and last but not least, the way our communities function!
Being in the bush is always a treat and learning experience. Maple tapping, was a community project that I wanted to re-initiate. Plus, I was driven by the spiritual process's that go into the time frame of "iskegamizigewin."
Being a Spiritual being is very hard and rewarding at the same time. So, when it came to tapping Maple trees, I had to envision my plan and start with the most basic needs and work up to the more less important needs.
The first two things I needed were negwakwaanan and mukukoon, taps and pails. I estimated that I could tap(ninozhiga'ige) about 50 ininatigoog (Maples). So, instead of bring more trash and white mans garbage onto the reservation, I kept in mind that i wanted to use what resources were already established and what were available.
Upon looking for pails, sap buckets and cans- I found myself starting to look for milk containers. Because Milk containers can keep the rain and extra water accumulation out, I had to break my personal code of ethics and purchase band new water containers. It was a safety concern a long with a health concern, because if you have bad milk, chances are the container that was used, if it were plastic, tends to hide and harbor that bad milk. Plus, i found out, that the milk taste tends to leak into the sap water.
At the same time I was spreading the word into the community about containers, I was thinking about Opwaaganatiigoog or Sumac trees. I needed Sumac to make my taps. I remembered seeing some in the community, where, I didn't quite remember. Too my embarrassment, there was some right behind my mother in laws house.
Next, was the process of producing 50 plus taps and shaping them down to a particular size and shape. So, I got a grinder from an elder( who was very supportive of my efforts ) not to forget to mention; two containers that held a total of 80 gallons, a few chains, a power saw and a hand saw.
So, by now I had pretty much everything I needed to get the ball bouncing, just by the gesture of that one elder, a lot of roadblocks were prevented.
My brother Jerry Smith was the individual person that got me interested into Iskegamizigewin. Looking back on some of my college days, he and a few other people helped shape me into the individual that I am. Being me is very hard. I am a human in a very Spiritual travel and sometimes the Spirit of living things can communicate certain knowledge, to which there is no guide, blueprint or trail. Just overwhelming feelings that get entangled into modern day living, desires wants, needs,etc.
And that is the whole point of being in the bush, to listen and get a new identity of self, surroundings and natural life's.
I believe that we are in hard times. Many of our children and adults can not make it in the bush. When you are in the bush, you give up many western luxuries. Most of theses things are pretty basic; water, food, electricity, etc.
I have finally came to the conclusion that most of our Aboriginal peoples lifestyles, that are reservation based are doomed. There are a labyrinth of complacent attitudes, beliefs and ideas, that reinforce the blueprint of this country in regards to what a citizen is and what it means. I mean, everybody wants answers, but no-one wants to put there ideas forward. So, when it comes to the Elders, the elders are so complacent to society's demands and attitudes , that they, in all retrospect have no unified voice and Warrior like motivation.
For example, just recently the community of Inger was told that they had arsenic in their water supply. Now as a Aboriginal person, i have to ask myself a few things about this situation: 1.) What is this arsenic and how did it get their? 2.) Is this propaganda to keep the status quo of Fear tactics? 3.) Does this mean their is going to be more fluoride introduced into the water system? ( If you don't know about fluoride and it's devastating effects, Google " fluoride " or look into the e-book @ policestateplanning.com and look up chapter 14 and read about " population control " 4.) Why aren't the elders of the community praying for this matter? Why are they not having some type of community gathering and feast?
To be Continued.....
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