How Wolf became the brother of humankind, and the foretelling of the Seventh Fire
My Anishinaabe name is Rising Sun. It was given to me by a Bad River elder many years ago. I am Eagle Clan... I'm of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, and a member of the Grand Medicine Lodge, the Midewin. It's good to be here with you today.
I've been given 'semaa, Indian tobacco, and asked to speak about our brother Ma'iingan. Maybe I should start by talking about the creation.
The Great Spirit came down to Mother Earth... took dust, took it back to the sky world, breathed life into the dust of Mother Earth, creating Anishinaabe--spontaneous or original man. Then Gitchi-Manidoo lowered Anishinaabe down to meet his mother. And so the first steps that he ever took was out of love and honor and respect, because the earth was his mother. And so it was the Great Spirit who sent a companion then, to travel with Anishinaabe: Ma'iingan.
And so the Great Spirit Gitchi-Manidoo told Anishinaabe and Ma'iingan, "In many ways the two of you are alike. When you take a mate, it will be for life. Both of you will be excellent hunters. Then Gitchi Manidoo also spoke of prophecy, telling of a time when others may come among you. Both of you will be hunted for your hair. Ma'iingan for his fur; Anishinaabe for his scalp.
The Great Spirit told both Anishinaabe and Ma'iingan of seven prophecies. And so today we've entered into the age of the seventh fire: niizhwashkaa ishkodegwan:
When human beings encroach upon Ma'iingan's territory, Ma'iingan retreats further and further into the wilderness. And so the time may come when there will be no wilderness. If that time comes, you, Ma'iingan, you'll pass out of existence; you'll become extinct. And so you, Anishinaabe, if your brother Ma'iingan passes out of existence, you will soon follow; you will die of great loneliness of spirit.
And so in those prophecies, the Great Spirit said that in the age of the Seventh Fire a new people would arise. The New People would turn and look back. They would retrace their footsteps... that would take them back to ancient times and ancient knowledge. They'd pick up the sacred bundles that had fallen by the wayside. To get the teachings and the meanings of these bundles, they'd go to certain elders, who had taken them underground for generations because of persecution.
So they say that Anishinaabeg were given a very special gift. We refer to it as mashkiki. Loosely interpreted in our language it means 'medicine'. Along with that medicine goes a responsibility, and that is to go out and educate others as to how to live in harmony and balance with the natural world.
And so we're living in very historic times now. And as predicted-- that in the age of the Seventh Fire, that all humankind would come to a fork in the road and would be confronted with a choice: it was said that one fork in the road would be a hard surface, and the other fork in the road would be a more natural path. Today we see that hard surface that pollutes and destroys and upsets the natural balance--Mother Earth, the plants, the animals, the water, the air... %r%rIn this eleventh hour of a very serious environmental crisis, we say, "Gaawiin," and that means: No, it's not going to happen. We will win this battle.
