Where have the Ojibwa gone?
“Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.”
Where have the Ojibwa gone?
I am 1/4 Ojibwa and my Ojibwa grandmother raised me. She was took from her reservation at six years old. The government school cut her long black hair, they told her, do not speak your language, no-more. They changed her name and forced a life upon her. She told me. I don’t hold revenge, I have forgiven the white people. But I do not forget. I remember everything.
Now I live on the Ojibwa land, once Ojibwa land in the past and now the only remembrance of the great nation. The names of the public schools.
Where are the great forest, that never-ended. Where are the great tribes? The great tribes were put into reservations.
Once Michigan and Ohio were forest states and the white men destroyed the great forest. Now the forest is small and the cities are everywhere.
Where do the free animals go when the land is no-more?
Once my dear Grandmother was told to forget her language, become civilized and she taught me.
We are the people of the forest, once a great nation and now we have become quiet. Please teach your children, please teach your grandchildren to love the Big lake, the Great forest and befriend the free animals. Please don’t forget where you came from. We are the people of the forest.
Today I pray a Ojibwa prayer.
“Please be kind to the Big water,
please allow the trees to grow and touch the sky,
please allow the free animals to have free land to roam and live.
Please allow the children to dance with the Big water and
to find peace in the great forest.
Please Great Spirit,
give me more days to dance with the moon and the sun.”
Coyote
”Every animal knows more than you do.”
“Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we didn’t have any kind of prison. Because of this, we had no delinquents. Without a prison, there can be no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys and therefore, among us there were no thieves.”
Dancing Coyote
That’s one reason I love your writing Coyote–i’m part Native America too, from Connecticut back in the 1600s. My granddad wrote a book about this, “Arrows and Snakeskin.” It’s from my Indian ancestors that I inherited my spiritual gifts. Thank you Brother
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William, we must remember the forgotten people. I would love to read the book “Arrows and snakeskins.”
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Miigwech. We’re still here. ❤️ I love that you’re sharing the teachings, Johnny.
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The Ojibwa keep private. I learn about my history from the Apache and the Cheyenne on the highways near Fort Hood, Texas. I wish the Ojibwa would teach the people in Michigan. This was Ojibwa land once. Thank you Jennifer for reading and the comment.
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I feel very blessed to be in an area in Michigan where I’m learning a lot. I also have connections to my rez. I will pray & send up smoke so you can feel connected again. 🙏💚
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I burn the sage and I have my rock gardens. I show my grandchildren the Ojibwa ways. Allow the children to run, allow them to discover, allow them to live. Hello dear Jennifer. I was lucky. The Apaches adopted me in Texas. We must teach our children. They came from great people. I left the service. Once was Pow Wows in my Macomb county. Maybe when the warms days come. I will go the Upper Michigan.
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I feel you are a great teacher then, passing on the knowledge to the little ones.
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We must dear Jennifer. Native American believe. The old people teach the children and one day. The children will teach the teacher.
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