PATHLIGHT: Recognizing the Wisdom of Generations Past
Originally from the U.S., Annie earned her Canadian Citizenship in 2013. Annie & her Husband live in Pic River First Nation. She works as full-time as an Adult Mental Health and Addictions Therapist at the Marathon office of North of Superior Counseling Programs. Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW has been a cinical social worker since 1979 working in mental health, family therapy, and addictions services. She is a doctoral candidate at Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON. Annie also works part-time as a consultant for LYNX, owned by her husband Herb Nabigon, MSW. Herb provides traditional Anishnabek teachings and healing workshops for both Native and non-Native organizations. Together he and Annie provide training and education to professionals on a wide range of topics blending mainstream and traditional approaches in healing. They also provide cultural safety and anti-racism training. Do you have questions re: mental health, living a good life, relationships, etc. ?Annie would love to hear them and may even include your questions in a future column (published by-monthly exclusively on OntarioNewsNorth.com) Send your comments or questions to Annie via email to Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com
Author of Pathlight; Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW
This past weekend I celebrated Aboriginal Day, and Summer Solstice, with family and friends in Peterborough, ON. It was a beautiful sunny day. My husband and I drove a long time to get there, partly by the light of the moon, and enjoyed the long hours of scenery change. It was good to watch Grandmother Moon and think about the meaning of Summer Solstice which has been celebrated for so many thousands of years in so many different ways around the globe. When I was growing up I never learned much about either Summer Solstice or Aboriginal (Indigenous) peoples, and I suspect that many of our readers, also, never learned about these things as children. I wonder what that means? In the timeline of human history a thousand years is a very short time, and surely the wisdom of the many millennia before our current era could teach us something about how to be connected to the natural world and to each other. At some point in time, some humans began to turn away from the wisdom of the natural world, from the celebration of momentous events like the longest day of the year, and the full moon, and the deep knowledge of the earth. This turning away eventually developed another whole way of life, sometimes referred to as “Western”. After a while, many people from regions dominated by “Western” thinking began to act hatefully toward the earth and earth wisdom and the indigenous keepers of earth wisdom. That is why today we still see so much racism and hatred toward Indigenous peoples, and so much destruction of the earth with negative impacts on the climate. Indigenous peoples around the world are among those humans who hold some of the last deep knowledge of earth ways and wisdom. Many are helping to restore that knowledge along with human beings on every continent who are returning to celebrating ancient traditions, such as celebration of solstice events, among others. This does not necessarily mean they are rejecting science, or Christianity, or other forms of knowledge that have brought many changes to human life and the world. It means they are seeking to find ways to connect with each other and the earth in healing, not damaging, ways. Greed, selfishness, envy, hatred, jealousy, a sense of entitlement to have something that does not belong to you – all these problems are human problems. They are not confined to “Western” ways, nor can they all be solved by returning to Solstice ceremonies or other ancient ways. The beauty about humans is that they are constantly adapting to a changing world, a changing Earth Mother, and they develop stories to tell about what works to make adaptations good. The Anishnaabe ancient wisdoms of the Seven Grandfather (Wisdom) Teachings tell us a lot about how to overcome the “rascals” of greed, envy, inferiority, apathy, etc., just as the more recent teachings of Jesus, or Ghandi, or others, also show us ways to overcome these problems in ourselves. This past weekend I was reminded about some of the wisdoms from the Indigenous teachings, such as sharing. I also had an opportunity to go for a walk alone along a river and watch the wildlife living there. I was happy to see that in the city the natural world still had a powerful place, but sad to see that the river was so polluted that the algae bloom is starting already this early in the summer. I stopped and watched a duck and a groundhog (called a “whistle pig” by some people) sharing space in a beautiful green lawn stretching out beside the river. They were very peacefully eating grass together in the same space and to my view seemed oblivious to the fact that they were two different species with entirely different relationships to the natural world around them, yet still adapting to the city environment, and eating grass peacefully together as their ancestors before them had done from time immemorial. We humans could learn a lot from ducks and groundhogs! Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com ANNIE RECOMMENDS:
- The Hollow Tree by Herb Nabigon
- EldersTeachings.blogspot.com
- Pathlight: Journey to a Good Life archives
____________________ *Health themed columns found on OntarioNewsNorth.com provide general information about medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. If you have any specific questions about any mental health or other medical matter, please consult your family physician, primary health care team or other professional healthcare provider. Opinions and information contained in any column on OntarioNewsNorth.com are not intended to replace medical advice from your doctor or other professional health care provider. If you feel you are suffering from a mental or physical health issue, you should seek medical attention immediately. The information shared in this column or anywhere on OntarioNewsNorth.com does not constitute medical advice nor should any person delay seeking, disregard or discontinue medical treatment because of information contained in PATHLIGHT: Journey to a Good Life or on OntarioNewsNorth.com. The opinions provided by contributors on OntarioNewsNorth.com do not necessarily those of OntarioNewsNorth.com its advertisers or other contributors on the site
