Jillian Morris is Kanien’kehá:ka, turtle clan and band member of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory now living in Collingwood. She will be sharing stories and experience passed down through the oral traditions of Kanien’kehá:ka culture in her regular column, entitled Ka’nikonhrí:io, (The Good Mind) published on CollingwoodToday.ca.
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Shé:kon sewakwé:kon, special greetings to everyone during this festive season.
Mother nature has brought us into the winter season with ferociousness. I am left in awe by her. I speak often of her teachings of love and generosity. She reminds us of her dynamism – she is not to be reckoned with. She is beauty that can be displayed in ugliness.
As I look back at this year that is coming to a close, it seems fitting that it goes out with a bang. I look around and see varying degrees of social, emotional, financial, and professional recovery in this (semi) post-pandemic world. We have gone about our duties, finding our way back to normal – or at least a sense of normal. Full steam ahead to bootstrap pulling, rat race positioning, and dog-eat-dogging. I’m sure I’m not the only one coming to a crashing halt as the nation slows down for the holidays.
Weren’t we told to expect a new normal? Didn’t we hear from many about pandemic reflections and the blessings of slowing down? Weren’t we reminded of how important connection and relationships are?
This storm felt to me like a snowball to the forehead. In the quiet of the afterward, I wonder what was learned. As calls to work are replaced by togetherness, I feel guilt for having to be reminded yet again.
With the new year only a couple of days off, it is time for me to consider what to pick up and what to let go of.
The past year included significant events. The Pope’s visit and his carefully crafted apology to Indigenous people. The death of a monarch – leader of the Church of England that ran three dozen residential schools in Canada - that supported the genocide of Indigenous culture. More of our children recovered from the grounds of residential schools. A ruling that the federal government discriminated against Indigenous children in the child welfare system. To name a few of the heavy issues.
It is difficult not to feel othered in the midst of some of this. As many praise the Pope for this overdue gesture; grieve the loss of a long-reigning queen; and resent the allocation of billions of dollars as reparations for the removal of children from their families, communities, lands, and culture.
Still, I am grateful for the generational strength and love that keeps my people looking forward. Awareness is growing, necessary discussions are taking place, and many are committing to doing better.
I am letting go of being palatable. I am letting go of the fear that interferes with truth. I am letting go of relationships that have run their course.
I am picking up the hope that the momentum to learn together continues. I am picking up the teachings left by my ancestors that remind me of my responsibilities. I am picking up the love of my family and friends that encourage me to keep growing. I am picking up the many lessons that our Mother Earth has given us these past few years – I will love hard, I will be generous, and I will be fierce.
Niá:wen, thank you for sharing in my words and for supporting my writing over the past year.
Skén:nen, Peace.
