Honoring Indigenous People’s Day
Image Descriptor: Image caption on earthen colored background: Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Respecting, Honoring & Reflecting on Indigenous Wisdom
Aaniin* (Greetings),
Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day— it is a day to honor, reflect, learn, recognize, and appreciate Indigenous Peoples and the many contributions they have and continue to make to society today. The contributions, ways of knowing and being are vast, deep, and rich in understanding of our interconnection and interdependence.
We hope the people and resources below serve as places to begin your reflection and appreciation, while also unlearning some of what we may have been taught incorrectly.
We begin by looking at language.
Above you see the greeting Aaniin. As you’ll learn in more detail below, this is an informal greeting that translates to “I see your light”. As explained in the tutorial, it is often thought of as a replacement for hello but it means much more than hello. Lessons such as the one shared below offer us space to reflect on the impact language has on how we interact and function. This may also make us wonder what other words from various Indigenous languages have to teach us and perhaps spark our curiosity about where English does not have the words to adequately translate.
1) How to Say Hello and Goodbye in Ojibwe (Sault College: Let’s Learn Ojibwe- Lesson 2- Hello Goodbye)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6v-8QCU-Cw
2) Robin Wall Kimmerer- Reciprocity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wisxnOgOlFo
Robin Wall Kimmerer offers insights and understanding of concepts, such as reciprocity, which are integral to Indigenous ways of being. In this conversation she talks about language, gratitude, our interconnectedness and so much more. She is also the author of Braiding Sweetgrass, Gathering Moss and other books that provide an understanding of what plants have to teach us from the lens of Indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge.
Deeper Reading and Understanding of Past, Present and Future
3) Birchbark Books
This Minneapolis, MN based bookstore offers many resources for deeper understanding and appreciation of Indigenous cultures. One such book can be found in the link below and will benefit children and adults alike. It offers activities, games and crafts from Indigenous cultures of 9 different regions in America.
4) The Sioux Chef
Per The Sioux Chef’s website— This modern Indigenous restaurant is located in downtown Minneapolis on the banks of the sacred Haha Wakpa (Mississippi) River. The food is naturally gluten free, dairy free, cane sugar free, soy free and pork free as colonial ingredients such as wheat, dairy, cane sugar, pork and chicken are not used in this cooking. The restaurant offers a space in a sacred place to celebrate and experience the food, story, and music of diverse Indigenous cultures.
5) Understanding the Indigenous History of the Land You Live On
In the article below, you will find a link to guide you to help you learn more about the land on which you live to guide your understanding of the Indigenous people near each of us.
6) Hoċokata Ti— Shakopee, MN
For an in person, immersive experience or links to further resources to understand and appreciate the Mdewakanton Dakota people and their history.
7) Creators Garden
Based out of Ontario, Canada— this small business is owned by Joseph and Kristy Pitawanakwat, where they teach about Indigenous plant based medicine and sustainable harvest. Many educational videos can be found on their social media page. One example of their teachings can be found below.
8) Lakota Made, LLC
Indigenous Traditional Herbalist, Megan L. Schnitker, has a retail shop in Mankato, MN that offers sustainably harvested wild plant remedies and eco-friendly personal care products. This Indigenous and Women Owned small business also is a beautiful store to shop in and order from online.
Bringing Indigenous Wisdom into Modern Day Solutions for Caring for One Another
9) Healing Our Protectors
This toolkit offers insights and tools for understanding how we care for tribal law enforcement officers through cultural interventions. It also offers wisdom for what else we may consider in healing needs for all those engaged in similar roles in their communities. This is a collaboration among occupational therapist, Dr. LaVonne Fox, now retired law enforcement officer, Leo Belgarde, Sr., and MSW, Thomasine Heitkamp.
https://mhttcnetwork.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/healing-our-protectors-toolkit-updated.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3hChPY_nZ3fFpchaY15dB-kItU2Jc_MuW4TXmq4Ws8Reb7TzwP_erGWMw
An Invitation for Further Reflection
As we learn more about the wisdom of Indigenous People, where do you see the impact of Indigenous wisdom and teachings? What areas of daily living might benefit from greater focus or learning more?
We invite you to join us as we take time to notice and reflect on the contributions of Indigenous People— there is much to unlearn and learn so perhaps October 11 marks an annual day to begin doing so vs. considering once a year. Today we begin with pausing to learn, reflect, and express deep gratitude for Indigenous ways of being and ongoing contributions to our world.
As we reflect at Team Solidago we continue to think about how we got to this point where the visible representation of Indigenous people is so lacking? What do those answers have to teach us about creating the future we wish to build for society and future generations? What are we missing when Indigenous cultures are not fully expressed? How does this impact all living beings?
Miigwech* (Thank you) -- we look forward to continuing this journey of growing together.
*Note: Introductory and closing greetings are from the Ojibwe language.
