My Dearest Little Birds
Little Birds,
Your ancestors dreamt you down from the stars *1
Your ancestors exist in the saskatoon berries in the sweat lodge, picked by the hand of your relatives, their gift to cleanse your blood. Perhaps they can guide in the cleansing of all that you have come to carry in your blood- trauma, neglect, confusion, the daggers of colonialism that have made a home in your mind and body. Saskatoons offer us cleansing, your ancestors know this. Meet the berries by the river, speak to them with aseema and greet them the bush the way your ancestors did. Share them with your relatives.
Little birds, your ancestors live in the sweat lodge. They live in the rocks and the water and the medicines. They live in the willow and the feast and in the flames of that sacred fire. Meet them there. Your ancestors live in moosomin berries and in the waters of the river that moves at a swift walking pace- visit them in slowness. Ask them to guide you and to teach you. Honor their life and their existence that continues to care for your family and all the more-than-human animals in their company. Thank them for their gift, for the life they continue to support.
Little birds, your ancestors live in the medicines. Harvest sage and seek the balance they offer. Meet diamond willow in the depths of the bush and allow them to tame your worried mind. Visit grandmother cedar and bring her a gift. Soak your hands in her sacred oil and raise them up to your face to begin anew. Meet your ancestors in the tender braid of sweetgrass who weaves your mind, body, and spirit. Whose scent brings you peace and love.
Little birds, your ancestors live in the stories. Ask for them, search for them, offer aseema to them, listen to them, learn from them. Your ancestors live in the songs, listen with your spirit, learn them, and when you are no longer a young person, teach the young people all you have learned. Teach them their songs and their stories.
Your ancestors live in the sky. In the timekeeper of the moon, who tells us which plants are ready to harvest, when the berries can be picked, when our babies will be birthed, when the leaves fall off, the ground freezes, when the raspberries are ripe, and the eggs are hatching.
Your ancestors live amongst the star people, in the great sky stories, amongst the seven siblings and the lifegiver of light. Your ancestors live in your language- Anishinaabemowin, Nêhiyawêwin, Ojibwe, Blackfoot. They live in the verbs, the concepts, and the wisdom embedded in your language- of animals other than ourselves, of the land and their gifts. They live in the words that tell us a story and teach us whole lessons. In words that interconnect in webs of kinship and knowledge that teach us how to understand the place we are in and greet them as our relatives.
Little birds, your ancestors live in your name- in the name, gift, and responsibility given to you by the great spirit. Your ancestors live within you- you will find them when you honour the life all around you. When you meet your ancestors, you meet yourself.
1*- I Sang You Down from the Stars Book by Tasha Spillett-Sumner
