Wadena-(h)

Some time ago, my mother asked me to take my given birth name, before my original father had changed it. " Jason lee wadena." Yeah, it sounds good to me and always has. There are many wadena families- from Millelacs to WhiteEarth to Buffalo Bay. On the resevation of Mille Lacs, there was a time when there were 13 brothers and one sister who lived in the Mille Lacs area. For some of you who might not know, a Wadena in Anishinabe language means " captured sioux or Lakota."

Eventually, 7 out of the 13 brothers left the Mille Lacs area and left for White Earth. The Wadena's who had inhabited the Buffalo bay area, were about 5 families. I do not know how many members there are left in the Buffalo Bay area. One thing "cool" about the original Wadena, was that he could speak both Anishinabe and Lakota. Imagine having this gift in the time of war? How did he feel towards having Lakota blood and yet, having Anishinabeg family, friends and children. How strong did original Wadena have to be against himself. Wadena could easily sneak to enemy Lakota-Dakota war parties, be spotted and play it off as a captured relative or friend. He than could witness what Anishinabeg Villages and bands were going to be attacked and who would be counted as " coup."

Later on the Great Anishinabeg Chief Wadena, always had his Anishinabeg people in mind. He always wanted the best for his bands and people. Many Anishinabeg, never understood his ideas and concerns for his people. Yet, it never distracted his decisions and personal feelings when it came to making wise decisions and yes, mistakes as well.

Foxy and WhiteFoxy

The clock is ticking. In less than a week, my community of Round Lake,Wisconsin which resides in the county of Polk, will once again have it's share of "portable" self-contained, aboriginal junkies. These Junkies, are on the prowl and search for "new blood." These Junkies are vampires and they claim to be Spiritual beings. In all retrospect, they are false prophets. The leader of their school is named Foxy. This being is the worst to man kind. Not only is foxy a half breed, but foxy is neither sly or slick. He will go to the extreme when he does not get his way. Take me for example, him and his white twin (though, they are really not twins) tried to put their modern day post elite school mentality and mannerisms on me. SHIT. It didn't work on me, matter of factly, it just motivated me. However, because I am an advocate for principals that are forgotten and misrepresented and I can see what Foxy and his twin are up to, I had to be sacrificed and so called "ridiculed." Funny thing about Foxy and his white attitude and brother, is that, they miss the genuineness and purity of what I possess and personify. Foxy and White Foxy represent the educated, feeble and complacent individuals. Foxy and White foxy have gone to post elite schools. Some of the ideas and principals they have brought en back from these institutes is 1) Complacency- They will fight and Mame their own kind( but they are half breeds half white-half Aboriginal) but, when it comes to Aboriginal struggles and activism, you will not see Foxy or White Foxy stand up against the Government,Corporations or anything that is Euro-centric related, because they would be "dishonoring" the main piece of their being. Plus, if they really used their tools that they were given, they would "fear" losing their jobs. Now tell me, who are the cowards and backstabbers??? 2) Ideal beliefs and attitudes- In post secondary institutes, there is no room for mishaps,problems or mistakes. When these attitudes are adopted and personified, you have a pumped up Foxy and White Foxy. So, than the common people are looked upon as all "mishaps, degenerates, feeble and scum." It is a good thing we have Fox and White Foxy to save us from the Government and it's ever reaching tentacles. Shit, Foxy and White Fox are one of the Tentacle's of the government-designed to manipulate overtly and covertly the people they are destined to "conquer." Hmmmm. I think they think, we are related to the Iraq people and we need to be liberated by them, because they bring elitism and it's principals to our communities. But, would Foxy and White Foxy ever think of sacrificing their reputations and selves to even oppose the war? HELL NO! They are wimps and buffoons. Plus they already get to "feast" on the commoners.

They want people to approve what they are doing. Even if that means they have to build lies, deception and deceit(sound familiar). Hell, these two guys are stand up people and could do no wrong, because people worship them. Unlike them, i do not believe in Jesus and his philosophies. I do not carry an ounce of his teachings in my soul or in my everyday life. However, Foxy and white foxy covertly hang on to Jesus. They do not think I know, but I can see Jesus in them.

Foxy and White Foxy claim to know the "people." They think by knowing the people, they have to Spiritually guide and befriend the common people.

TO BE CONTINUED>>>>>>

Fishing for the Right Feeling

Well that time of year has come around. The time of year where our precious ceremonies start to reveal themselves, along with the hypocrites and wannabe medicine men.
I am an advocate for the poor, the Spiritually naive, the aboriginal people who have lost their ability to express themselves and their opinions. Some people look at me as a trouble maker, a person who is jealous of others,etc. However, I happen to see people for who they really are, wheather they are poor or come from a well to do family or background. One of the reality's of the rich and poor are their outlook on life and what it means to them. A person of a poor background will share their last meal with the rich or well to do. However, a person who is well off, selfish and " better " than the poor, will not even associate themselves with that particular poor person and they would horde their last meal.......waiting for an economic emergency. That is the way they would justify their cause.
So, in a month or so, my community of Round Lake, Wisconsin will be inundated by a few select wanna be Spiritual Guru's and their predecessors. This is the time of year where these false prophets hate to see my face. These false prophets are in no way different from the huge pharmaceutical-military guru's out there in our first nations-they make their livelihood and well being from the poor and naive. Most of these same individuals hide behind the scope of Jesus and Christianity. In real-Aboriginal teachings and gifts, there is no room for Jesus or Catholicism, not out of disrespect but those things belong in the old world, not here on Turtle Island. So, in all actuality, if one of these gurus makes a mistake from a Aboriginal-Spiritual sense, well, what the hell, JESUS will protect them and forgive them for their sins. This sounds extreme, but somebody has to expose these " First nation " junkies.

TO BE CONTINUED........

Arsenic in the Water

Can anyone or does anyone want to believe that the Federal government cares about it's citizens, let alone the first nations people who inhabit it's state boundaries?
We or I have just found out recently that there are traces of arsenic in the small community of Inger's water supply.
I will digest that thought more later.

Now, I ask the people out there in the larger world and First Nations, how come our Elders are not as they once were? How come the modern day education system has run them over and laughed at our Elders, all in plain sight?
Why have we allowed our elders to be silenced? Why do we teach our children that school is more important than an Elder?
Why has not our Elders of Inger and the surrounding community's BANDED together and discussed, meditated and prayed on this important matter??........Arsenic?
How can we call our selves by Tribal affiliation, if we do not empower, utilize and help resurrect our Elders words of guidance and wisdom?

Who are the hypocrites out there?

I know I am not a hypocrite, are you?

Native Sugar- Where is everyone? Part one

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.....

Old White Bird Part Nizh (2)

As I sat there and ate my lunch, my first intuition was to move my self to a table in which two elderly men sat. But, I stayed where I sat and visited with some young Native guy about his some of his experiences in California. As i sat and listened to this other Native, I could not help but wonder why he needed to continually say that he was bored and that he needed to move back to Cali. As if Cali. was going to solve all his problems and make him not " bored " anymore. As soon as our conversation started it had ended, that fast. He was on a mission, it seemed as if my gesture of good thoughts did not phase him, he was not impressed by old people and the Native ways, they were not the answer he need in life. So, away he went-looking for what he desired.
So, I sat there at a table alone. Wondering if i should include myself with the elderly men that sat behind me. What the hell, i grabbed my plate and silverware and moved myself to their table.
" Aaniin " i said. That's a friendly gesture meaning hello or hi. Both elders looked at me and said hi and hello. Old white Bird asked me where I was from. I replied St. Croix., Wisconsin and that I was enrolled in White Earth. He asked me who my relatives were in White Earth and I said the Wadena's and Durant's. He than said he was a White bird and that he had some relatives in Bad River,Wisconsin. I asked him if he was related to the White birds in Cass Lake,Minnesota. He sarcastically replied " hell No " those White birds are from Canada or something. But it seems like there was some type of history in the past with the Cass Lake White birds and the White birds he was originating from.
He than went on to say that most of his relatives passed through Sandy lake, Minnesota and that they traveled the old water ways. I told him that was great knowledge to know and have and that nobody really has that type of information anymore. He than surprisingly said " History is no good- it doesn't get you anywhere and you have to make a living. " Shit- I thought, this elder is really brainwashed into the American life form.
So, I continued to eat my lunch and listen to other Shinobs converse. As I listened, i could tell that old White bird was trying to direct certain comments to me and that he felt threatened by my presence. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't there to prove anything-but I happen to threaten people a lot in my life. My Great G-pa termed it once as " Being strong in the Traditional way of thinking and discipline."
But it was time to leave, my professional business was finished and I got to eat lunch with some elders. What a splendid day. As I was getting ready to leave, I grabbed my Jacket, pipe bag and work bag. My pipe bag is made from an Otter pelt and has leather fringes. As, I was ready to leave out the door, I heard someone say;" where did you get your otter ? " I said that it was my pipe bag and someone gave it to me years ago. Not to my surprise it was Old White bird and he than said " your lucky those old people that use to be around here never saw you put your pipe bag on the ground, they would have had your hide. " I than replied " you know I asked my grandpa about that once, when my brother had a pipe bag made from an otter. I asked my Grandpa- is it okay that my brother puts his otter pipe bag on the ground-is that disrespectful? NO, NO, NO. My grandpa went on- THINK ABOUT AN OTTER-HE SWIMS, EATS FISH AND ROLLS AROUND IN THE MUD, DO YOU THINK IT IS DISRESPECTFUL TO HIM IF YOU PUT HIM ON THE GROUND?
What I did not really think of, at that particular time, was that my Grandpa was instilling me to think and think wisely on all matters in my life regarding Spirituality and not so important events.
So, when it came to Old White bird and challenging me, in the form of a threat, I replied what my Grandpa gave me and let Old White bird have some new knowledge. As I left, I told the rest of the group-Thank you and hopefully I can have this experience again.
GaBeK

Old White Bird Part Nizh (2)