Albert Dumont

A couple of days now have passed since an extraordinary event occurred. April 8, 2024, Mishòmis (grandfather) Sun and Kòkomis (grandmother) Moon had a date. They got together, not to idly pass the time of day over tea but to dedicate themselves to a conversation of extreme importance to them, to us and to All Our Relations. Mishòmis and Kòkomis had a lot to talk about with each other. Questions, such as “What have you been up to since our last meeting took place that helps to bring peace and wellness to Mother Earth?” Questions were posed and they were answered. Mishòmis and Kòkomis do their part to keep Mother Earth healthy and well. We too, are expected to help out as best we can!

The conversation Mishòmis and Kòkomis had was deep and profound. They did not want it interfered with nor interrupted by anyone or anything. Their’s was a sacred time. They do not get together very often. Let us leave them in peace when they gather for a visit.

On the day of the eclipse, I was awakened at 6 AM by the sound of Papichì (robin) singing outside my window. What spiritual joy filled my heart when I heard it! I had been anxiously awaiting the robins to make their way north, to finally grace my sanctuary with their presence. Papichì is one of my major spirit helpers/messengers! When I heard the song, I raced down the stairs (from my loft, where I had slept that night) and scooped sacred tobacco from my bundle and exited the house, tobacco in hand. The robin was sitting on the branch of Shingwàk, the pine. He flew from there towards a place spiritually special to me and again alighted onto the branch of a tree. As I laid my gift of tobacco down, Papichì sang the song given to him by Creator so long ago when the robin first drew his breath as a bird. I have adopted Papichì as a spiritual ally and even as a role model. The robin is independent, you won’t see him at a bird feeder!

What came to me after returning into the warmth (provided by a woodstove) of my home, I pondered the power of song. We, the Anishinabe, have songs for all occasions. My first elder, Walter Linklater, taught me an encouragement song way back in the early 1990’s. “The song is many thousands of years old,” said Walter back then. I fasted for 4 days and nights in a forest circle in recognition of the song and for those times I would sing it for family, friends, community and nations when I felt the spiritual nudge to do so. Another ‘elder’ for whom I had great respect for and who also came into my life in the early 1990’s was Bobby Woods. Lame Buffalo (Bobby) shared a traditional teaching story with me about never claiming anyone else’s song as your own without first getting permission. The story goes that a heron wanted to feast his creation story but had yet to be given a song to honour it by Creator. The heron had been invited to the bear lodge to be part of a celebration. There he heard the bear’s song which he immensely enjoyed. “Hey,” he thought, “I’ll sing the bear’s creation song and all will be well.” Not so fast. When he began to sing it, his feet caught on fire and he had to run to the lake to quench them. And there he is to this very day. There is a price to pay and it’s not pretty!

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)

The sun had yet to brighten the sky when I stood by the side of glorious trees. The energy of their caress, warm and reassuring, defeated that of a cold breeze making its way southward. I am confident that my prayer, though spoken in whispers, was heard clearly by All My Relations. Tobacco left my hand, an offering of gratitude to spirit for the goodness it promotes in our troubled world.

My daily ceremony begins with the skin of my feet touching the earth. It ends as the sacred tobacco from my bundle does likewise. When we stand near the trees and ponder the years they live and then reflect on the length of time the heart of a human being will last, we begin to understand why ceremony is necessary.

A great thing occurs when the physical communicates with the spiritual. A greater occurrence comes to pass however, when the spiritual communicates with the physical. Water spirit and that of a loving and supportive ancestor brought their healing gifts to my side after my accident (April 1991) and restored movement in my left arm. A nerve specialist had declared that my arm would never move again. The power of ceremony objected! My arm began to slowly return to the health it had known before life left it for a while.”Never give up, my friend, never give up.” Hear the words of an encouragement song, thousands of years old.

I bought a jacket a few months ago (see photo on FB). Never wore it anywhere but somehow it disappeared. I searched for it high and low but to no avail! I was sure that it was gone forever. One day, after weeks had passed since the mystery of the jacket began, I opened a closet in my home to retrieve a coat on the rack. As I pulled it free of the bar, something on the floor of the closet caught my eye. It was the arm of the missing jacket. Wow! The jacket had fallen from its hanger after I placed it there weeks ago. I had searched the bar of the closet (very crowded) but not the floor. The jacket was found! And I was happy as a lark!

In my view, too many people of this world have lost the natural connection they have with ceremony. They wonder about it. They search for it. They want it! “Where is it?” they ask themselves. It’s there, it’s waiting, look a little deeper, you’ll find it! I did and if I can find again my connection to ceremony after it had left me during all the years I lived in the grips of severe addiction, then cousin, so can you.

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)

The forest is alive at this time of year with energy and the extraordinary blessings sent to us by Creator. A wondrous passage of moon orbits occurs for those of us who regard spring as the starting whistle for new adventures and as an open door leading us to exploring new horizons. What spiritually fills the winds around us now, takes time to get used to, such is its power. As a great variety of bird nests are being constructed outdoors and as the sap of maples flows, our sleep can be broken, telling that our dreams will be strong in their spiritual messages. Please never doubt it!

Spring is when bricklayers (my trade, over 40 years) feel an itch in their fingers. They are eager once again, to skillfully temper mortar before scooping it up and rolling it off the steel of the trowel, forming the perfect mortar beds onto which a row of bricks will lay. Spring was always a happy time for me on the jobsite.

A few nights ago, during hours of sleeplessness I wrote these words:

The love for humanity
Living now in my heart
Is neither old nor young
It is not male
Nor is it female
It is aware that life for it
Will live only till
The last human heart
Of this world
Sends forth the warmth
Of its final heartbeat

Love, it is always present in the human heart. Its vibration is especially strong in spring. Some of us embrace its warmth and its love for humanity, while others shun it. So it will be until the end for humankind comes, some dark day in the fast approaching future. The words of the poem above were brought to me from somewhere far from Algonquin territory (Ottawa River watershed), this I know! From where? The places on this world now, are numerous! There are countries on Mother Earth, as these words are written, where unspeakable horrors are being heaped on innocent human beings. The innocent who perish now under the weight of oppression do not deserve what is happening to them. We as human beings must care about it and make a stand against it. Spring, the generous season, the one of rejuvenation and spiritual wonder demands it of us. Our definition (people of kind hearts) of what is humanity, is at stake.

Spring, it is a time of reflection and new beginnings. It is a time where expressions of love should be made daily for the emotional and spiritual benefit of our loved ones. Words of gratitude for the good things the kindness of others brings to us should be prominent when we pray in the days of spring season. It is a time when I, as a man, wash the feet of the woman I respect honour with cedar water. I do so as an act, demonstrating how humble I feel in her presence. Men should never forget that it is women who taught us about the sacredness of the heartbeat. It is women who are the true leaders. When men take the power of women away from them, then we can expect untold catastrophes to occur. Spring season teaches us these things.

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)

Kwey dear readers,

I write to let you know that I wish all of you emotional rejuvenation and much spiritual enrichment during the time of the Sugar Moon (coming soon to a sky near you).

Also, I will be hosting a poetry and short story writing workshop on Sunday, March 17, 2024 from 5 pm to 7 pm at Westboro Books at 314 Richmond Road. See poster below.

This event is brought to you by A New Dawn. To learn more about A New Dawn go to https://www.healingbeginsnow.ca.

All the best,

South Wind

“The Kichi Zibi (Ottawa River) is as much part of my identity as is the blood travelling through the vessels of my heart. The many places on the Kichi Zibi where spirits are active, reach deep into my soul with their healing energy when I go to its shore and make a request through a tobacco offering, for it do so.

When my physical life ends, my spirit will continue to live on in a sacred land where the waters of Kichi Zibi flow eternal, strong, pure and free and be ever present for me.”

The above words are for me, a spiritual reality as an Anishinabe Algonquin man. All Algonquins should feel the same way. Actually, if it was up to me, all good people living  within the perimeters of the Ottawa River watershed (Algonquin Territory) today, would feel as I do about the Kichi Zibi. No matter the colour of their skin, no matter where the beginnings of their bloodlines are, they have much to lose as a community and as a society, if some kind of catastrophe ever befalls the Kichi Zibi.

A nuclear waste dump in Anishinabe Algonquin Territory? I’ll tell you what I know about it.

18 years ago an ‘elder’ from Manitoba (I knew only slightly at the time) contacted me via a phone call and let me know that representatives of a nuclear waste organization were hoping to have a meeting with me. When I asked what it was about, the elder replied that he wasn’t sure but urged me to oblige the nuclear waste people with their meeting request. I did!

The meeting was in a suite of an Ottawa hotel. As I recall, there were three representatives of the nuclear waste group present in the room, two men and one woman. All of them unknown to me. They let me know it was their hope that I would endorse their plan of building a nuclear waste dump in Algonquin Territory.

Keep in mind that this was 18 years ago, shortly after I was first asked to attend the Kumik Lodge as a visiting elder. Also, at the time, I was already established in the territory as a human being who dedicated many hours of his life to activism. I suspect that these are likely the reasons why the nuclear waste people thought it important to have my support.

I let them know right away that not I, nor any other Algonquin, male or female, young or old, would ever endorse any plan to have a nuclear waste dump to be constructed on our traditional lands. They asked about gifts. “What gift,” they wanted to know, “might be given to leaders of the Algonquin Nation to persuade them to sign up with their plan?” – “No Chief will ever agree to nuclear waste being brought into our lands,” is what I told them.

To be truthful, I really don’t know much about nuclear energy. However, I do know what the word ‘waste’ is connected to. ‘Excrement’ is ‘waste’. It is poison! I don’t want excrement ending up in the Kichi Zibi. And I do not want nuclear waste in it either.

Fast forward 18 years and lo and behold, a nuclear waste dump is at this time, been given to go-ahead in Chalk River, Ontario, Algonquin Territory. The Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) are supporting it. A ceremony was held at the site not long ago. A man, (wearing a ribbon shirt) Dan Ross who identifies as an Algonquin elder, was there with representatives of the AOO (see photo). The AOO have even given the nuclear waste site a name: ‘Minwamon Building’.

The leadership at Pikwàkanagàn is supporting the plan for a major nuclear waste disposal site to be built in Anishinabe territory (Chalk River, ON). All other Bands who make up the Nation are against it. It makes my blood boil that one Algonquin community can decide to stand in support of a deal which can potentially, at some point in the future, kill the waters of Kichi Zibi. Did the Algonquin Nation give the Chief and Band Council of Pikwàkanagàn that kind of power? No, it did not! So where the hell do they get off doing it? The leadership at Pikwàkanagàn does not speak for me nor for all other Algonquins of our Nation. I wonder how the citizens of Pikwàkanagàn feel about what their Chief and Band Council are getting them into?

Chalk River is in an earthquake zone! It is very likely that there will come a time in the future when the earth will tremble violently around where the nuclear waste dump is, causing the walls of the storage place to crack. The waste will then surely make its way to the Kichi Zibi (only a kilometre away). Such a catastrophe might happen! If I’m wrong, tell me where I am!

Do they (nuclear waste people) know with all certainty that it will never happen? Fifty years from now? A hundred years from now? When it does and I believe it surely will, the people of our bloodlines living at that time in the future, will condemn us, their ancestors, for not stopping this project to be built.

I object to this project taking place. I condemn it! My spirit instructs me to do so as well. Can we even continue to call ourselves Anishinabe Algonquin if we do not at least vigorously protest the bringing of nuclear waste into our territory? The setter community needs to fight this, too.

Only our people who respect the notion that ‘water is life’ will not be OK with the nuclear waste dump being built on Algonquin Territory.

We should file a class action lawsuit against the Province of Ontario and the nuclear waste company for bringing poison near the Kichi Zibi.

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)

Years ago, when I was still “working the trowel” (bricklaying), on a fine summer day I found myself repairing a chimney for a Pontiac County farmer. Soon after arriving on the jobsite, I noticed that the farmer had a dog who walked on three legs. The fourth leg was kept bent upwards about 6 inches off the ground by the otherwise fit-looking dog. I noticed too that when the dog was in a state of excitement such as at times when he chased after a squirrel or groundhog or when a strange car drove into the yard, the dog would, as if by some miracle, run towards the object of his curiosity on all four legs.

“What’s the story on the dog?” I asked the farmer. My employer explained that the dog had been hit by a car when he was young. The vet had tended to the dog’s injuries, a splint was applied. Over the period of time his broken bones healed, the dog “got used to walking on three legs,” said the farmer. After the leg was all healed up, the dog, who was now as fit as he had ever been, chose to continue to walk on three legs as he had been doing during the weeks of his recovery. The helpless mind, traumatic memories, surrounding influences, the inability to be sensible, whatever the case, make man or beast believe that he can never truly heal.

Thinking about the wretched 3-legged dog (he had 4 good ones but …) years later and realized I too had convinced myself emotionally and spiritually that I was crippled because of negative situations which had come into my life during my youthful years. “Alcohol”, dear, dear alcohol, how I convinced myself that I needed it in my life to relieve the pain of past sufferings. It made sense to me or so I thought that alcohol, the good medicine, was a friend I could rely on to see me through the day. How wrong I was!

I always had and always will have, the ability to cure myself of any circumstance bringing emotional distress into my life, it’s just that I was unaware of it when I had convinced myself otherwise. My mind is strong, it was never weak, but like the farm dog, I fooled myself into believing that I was an emotional cripple. A dog is a dog, a man is a man, Creator help me, if ever the day comes when I feel helpless, useless, worthless, dumb, and in the need of a mental crutch to lean on. Never! It just won’t happen, not to this kid. Nope! Not in a million years! My bloodline is strong.

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)

Life “it is the flash of a firefly in the night” (Chief Crowfoot, as he lay dying in 1890)

It’s not a long life that we have. All too soon it will be “dust to dust, ashes to ashes” time, for all of us. In the short space of time we live, we should at least do our best to instill in the minds and hearts of our children, a true sense of what justice and fairness is all about. Isn’t it what the human heart expects of us?

As a human being whose culture directs its people to be sensible in how they live today, to assure that health and wellbeing will be a fact for our generations 7-fold from today, I do all I can to defend the right we all have to live in peace and in a dignified manner. To what degree would I go to defend my bloodline 7 generations from now? Let your actions now, signal to me that you plan to severely oppress their human rights at some point in the future and you’ll find out.

“If the Indians are starving, let them eat grass or their own dung,” so said a settler when told in the 1800’s that Indigenous Peoples had no food to eat. The innocent children in Gaza have no food, no water, no medicine, what are they to do?

I offer a view now of the world I see around me. It is an observation from an old man whose family lineage has faced prejudice and oppression on their traditional territory since even before Canada was a Confederation. My dad and his dad, my mom and her mom were people who never gave a thought (so it seems) to the idea of violent protest to put a stop to the oppressive laws and policies many governments heaped on them throughout their lives. They endured the pass system, the outlawing of their original spiritual beliefs, the right to vote and so on.

Not so for me. An oppressor would only push me so far before an ugly rebellious response came from me. I fight back! I believe in self-defence. I stand against oppression and will do what I feel needs to be done to put an end to it if my family suffered greatly in mind, body and spirit because of it. Rest assured however, that I would never harm the innocent, even if they were being used as human shields by my oppressor.

I saw film footage the other day of a little Palestinian girl about 3 years of age. She was sitting on rubble created from an exploded bomb. Her tiny body covered in dust, vibrated in a way I would never have imagined was possible. In between gasping breath, she shrieked in horror, her eyes wild and panic-stricken. It was a sight from the worst of nightmares!

Do I believe that Israel has a right to defend itself? Yes, I do. 

Do I believe that Hamas terrorists committed war crimes on October 7^th. Yes, I do. 

Do I believe that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza today? Yes, I do.

The son of an Israeli general recently said, “To stop terrorism, you must first stop oppression.” He is a man who believes Israel’s actions have gone way too far, now and in the past, in how they treat Palestinians. Do I believe that Israel is guilty of oppressing the people of Palestine? Yes, I do.

Do I believe that Palestinians have a right to defend themselves against oppression? Yes, I do.

Who is responsible for the terror of the 3-year-old Palestinian child? Who will Creator hold into account for the horrors the child witnessed before someone filmed her?

I know that Israel has the fourth mightiest military force on planet earth. I know that Palestine has no air force, or navy, nor do they even have bomb shelters to run to when bombs fall. I know that Stuart Seldowitz (a former advisor to Barack Obama) said, “killing 4,000 Palestinian children wasn’t enough” (that’s what the count was at the time he said it). Link: Ex-Obama Advisor Arrested Over Harassing Food Vendor, Islamophobic Rant In Manhattan

Children are being slaughtered. A blood bath, that of innocent children, is occurring before our very eyes. And we do nothing! The Holy Land at this time, is soaked in the blood of children. And yet there are people like Stuart Seldowitz who sleep well at night and are at peace with it.

The Hamas terrorists who attacked Israel on October 7^th will not steal my soul but Benjamin Netanyahu will not claim it either. Powerful politicians in the western world have given their souls to Netanyahu and his war cabinet. When you stand in solidarity with a war monger, his sins become your sins. Let there be no doubt about it.

Please see Bernie Sanders’ latest statement on how he feels about Israel (link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uJAhmIufZPU). Bernie Sanders, you are an awesome human being! Your good heart is most welcomed in my home now and forever will be.

Hamas terrorists! Netanyahu! They are cut from the same cloth. That’s how I see it.

If I was 20 years of age and an enemy country of the state of Israel had blown 7,000 Israeli children to bits, I would volunteer to join an army who was setting out to destroy who was guilty of doing so.

But what about Palestinian children? They are being slaughtered by Israeli bombs! What has the Nation of Palestine ever done that harmed Canada? What has the Nation of Palestine ever done to bring death and destruction to the USA? What has the Nation of Palestine ever done to Israel that her citizens should have their cities, towns, schools, hospitals levelled by Israeli bombs?

I saw film footage of a Palestinian family fleeing their bombed-out dwelling in a cart being pulled by a donkey. The Palestinians are an impoverished people who have been living under oppression for generations. 7,000 children slaughtered! Yet our political leaders remain silent. Silence = complicity! It’s pure insanity!

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)

My poetry is being studied and reflected upon by all Grade 11 students of the OCDSB (see below) as part of their Indigenous Studies Program. WOW! Poetry for me, is something solemnly/joyfully produced from the life experiences of a human being. It takes roots in the mind and oftentimes, the roots travel from there to the good heart of the person who will piece together a poem, capable of bringing emotional and spiritual wellness to those who read it.

When I was a child going to school in Pontiac County, I had the misfortune to have a mean-spirited teacher who failed me in Grade 4. She did all she possibly could “to kill the Indian in the child” as instructed to do so by Canada’s first prime minister.

There she was again when I went into Grade 5 (after repeating Grade 4). Guess what? Yup, she failed me again in Grade 5. I met up with her again in Grade 8. Wouldn’t you know it, she failed me again. I want you to be aware that when she wasn’t my teacher I did well. I only failed when she was in charge of the lessons in the classroom. In her eyes, I was dumb and did not possess the ability to learn.

I don’t know what she would say today about me being chosen English Poet Laureate of Ottawa (2021-2023) and now having my poetry being emotionally and psychologically absorbed by Grade 11 students as part of the Board’s High School Curriculum. Maybe some day in the Spirit Land she will tell me “Albert, I’m so very proud of you!”

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)

Introductory Lesson: Albert Dumont Poetry

There is deep tradition and immense beauty steeped in poetry.  Poetry is one of the oldest forms of language and is rich in storytelling and tradition.  Poetry captures beauty in a moment, an experience or in one’s life.  It can capture the essence of being, identity and important messages and knowledge to share with generations to come. 

When reading poetry, it’s important to pace your reading, to read the poem aloud, pay close attention to the words used, their individual and collective meaning and most importantly, what is the poet trying to convey.  

Albert Dumont is an Algonquin poet, storyteller, speaker, traditional teacher and spiritual advisor.  He is Ottawa’s Poet Laureate.  Read, reflect and enjoy the poems from Albert’s anthology Sitting by Rapids. 

The following five poems are written by Albert Dumont. Each has questions to answer. You will submit answers to each question and one reflection. There is one dropbox at the end to submit your answers and reflection.

Albert Dumont’s “Sitting By the Rapids”

 where is the bird

1. What effect does the repetition of the question “Where is the…” at the start of the first three verses have on the reader?  What is the poet trying to convey in repeating the question?
2. Literary devices are prevalent in this poem.  Choose 2 examples of imagery and explain the importance of the use of sensory detail.  How does imagery help to convey the poet’s experience?
3. What is meant by the following:
   1. My friend, the lake you search for/Is any of your territory….
   2. The trail leading to the circle/Is the only trail necessary…
4. What does the poem mean to you?  How does your knowledge of First Nations perspectives help you to understand this poem?

Record your answers to submit below.

To listen to Albert Dumont read his poem, press the arrow (play).

our young people

1. How does the poem “our young people” voice the strength of First Nations people?  
2. What is meant by the use of the simile “our young people…are like the dawning of a long anticipated spring?”
3. How does the poet’s voice reveal determination for the future?

Record your answers to submit below.

To listen to Albert Dumont read his poem, press the arrow (play).

man of the blackberry moon

1. The poet uses many examples of personification in nature to capture the importance of its identity.  What are two examples of personification and how do they contribute to the poet’s experience?
2. What does the poet mean in the line for the balance in all things? 
3. The symbol of the circle is prevalent in many of the poet’s poems.  What do you understand it to symbolize for the author?  Does the symbolism resonate with you and your life experience? Why, why not?
4. What do you feel are the teachings of the blackberry moon? Does nature serve as a guide in your life? Reflect on your connection between the land, nature and your needs as a human.

Record your answers to submit below.

To listen to Albert Dumont read his poem, press the arrow (play).

Spring

1. The poem Spring uses many active verbs to convey the meaning of the energy that nature has in one’s life.  Choose three active verbs and detail the contribution to the poem.
2. Describe how Dumont establishes a distinctive voice in his poetry?  How does he modify language and tone skillfully to connect to the audience and convey purpose?
3. Reflect on the final line of the poem The spirits of our sacred bundles, what does it mean to you?  What do you understand the poet is trying to convey to the audience?

Record your answers to submit below.

To listen to Albert Dumont read his poem, press the arrow (play).

leaf-bearing trees

1. The first verse contrasts the second verse:
   1. What symbolism does the first verse convey?
   2. How does the second verse contrast to the first?
   3. How does the line I am as a leaf-bearing tree provide a transition.  What does the transition symbolize?

1. What does the poet mean in the line, I am a leaf-bearing tree? What hope does this metaphor provide to the audience?
2. Reflect back to the welcome video Albert shared at the start of the course. How does this poem of Albert’s connect to what was shared in the welcome video?

Record your answers to submit below.

To listen to Albert Dumont read his poem, press the arrow (play).

Reflection Questions about Albert Dumont’s poems:

1. How does the poet use words to convey his voice?
2. What questions would you ask Dumont about his approach to writing poetry?
3. How has studying Dumont’s poetry help you build understanding of his Algonquin perspective? What key ideas stand out as important to the poet and how do they connect with your own learning about Algonquin perspectives?

Submit your answers to each set of questions and a reflection Albert Dumont Poetry Dropbox.

If there is anything I’m 100% sure of in this so dysfunctional and troubled world, it is the fact that babies and toddlers are sacred representatives of the purity and wisdom of Creator. Even the most holiest of religious leaders, not the Pope, nor Imams or Rabbis, is closer spiritually to God, than is a child of only days or short months old. Our Indigenous spiritual beliefs tell us that human beings whose earth walks have just begun, are still in constant communion with the spirit world from which they came. To hurt them as an act of retaliation or vengeance, is to doom oneself to the worst of the worst of spiritual reckoning human beings will face after the hour of their death takes place.

I am compelled by my human heart, to record my feelings on the horrors ripping the emotional health of the Palestinian children in Gaza, to shreds. I can’t help but look at my grandchildren who are safe in Anishinabe Algonquin territory, and imagine with my mind’s eye, what would be going on spiritually within me if they lived where bombs are falling.

I travel spiritually to Gaza and hear the screams of a child whose body has been torn apart by a bomb. I weep! I do the best I can do for her/him, I pray, “May the power of my offering of sacred tobacco save her mind. May she recover and live long and contribute to restoring humanity to those responsible for her injuries.”

No matter what kind of horrors anyone could do to me, to my daughters or to my grandchildren, I would never, ever attack their babies and toddlers to get revenge upon them. Doing so is against the human heart and spirit.

My Indigenous spiritual beliefs tell me that there is no such place where eternal fires burn human beings whose actions in this life were against humanity in the worst of ways.

Our belief is that no one and I mean no one escapes justice. The soul/spirit lives forever. Those people who do not object to the blowing to smithereens, the bodies of little children in Gaza will answer for not speaking out, I have no doubt about that.

The eternal spiritual life of such people might be finding themselves in a dark place where sunlight never goes, where no song is heard, only the final screams of the children of Gaza, forevermore present. I would rather burn in hell’s fire for eternity than hear forever the torturous screams of children. There is a spiritual price to pay for not speaking out when little children suffer because of the actions of adults. The babies who died from shrapnel wounds will tell about how death took them from this world to Creator. Their testimonials will be spiritually acted upon.

I ask all who read this to hear the speech in Congress by Bernie Sanders (see link). I ask that you tell your political leaders how you feel about it.

At some point in the future, the bombs will stop falling on the children of Gaza. They will no longer fear starvation or dying from thirst. Will it mean the war is over? For the children, the war will not stop for perhaps many, many years.

The bombs will keep falling in their nightmares and when they hear planes in the sky, when they see anxiety in the eyes of their mothers. After the bombs stop falling on the children of Gaza, they will need help. I intend to be generous in my support for them. I think all people of good and kind hearts will do likewise.

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)

When Buffy’s song ‘Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee’ first hit me in the centre of my soul, oh so long ago, a gigantic tear washed over my entire being. Her song had such power over me, for different reasons. One reason was that the book of the same title ‘Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee’ by Dee Brown, was the first book I had ever read from cover to cover. Man, what a life-altering read it was for me! Another reason was that Anna Mae Aquash (the Mi’kmaq activist, killed execution style on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota at 30 years of age) is mentioned in Buffy’s song. To this very day, I keep a photo of Anna Mae in my home but it was there before Buffy’s song came out. I saw/see Anna Mae as one of the people who demanded, because of how she lived and died, that my activist spirit step forward. Buffy’s song brought it all to a head and I became a fan of Buffy who called herself ‘a sweet little Cree” (I heard her saying it in an interview back then).

Question, true or false: Is Buffy Sainte-Marie Indigenous? Yes or no?
A simple DNA test done on her would instantly declare which answer is the correct one! As a long-time human rights activist I have fought for and have made enemies, in demanding that all of us, you, me, Joe Blow, whoever, is innocent of any and all charges against them until proven otherwise, beyond a reasonable doubt. As for Buffy’s claim to have an Indigenous bloodline and the contrary view presented on the Fifth Estate, there is no doubt now in most peoples eyes that Buffy is a human being of only Caucasian ancestry.

I can say it is true that Buffy inspired and motivated, thousands upon thousands of Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island since her career began in 1963. However for me, so too did the quotes of our long dead chiefs and those of our ancestors also bring that gigantic tear to wash over my heart and soul with much more force than Buffy’s songs ever did.

Examples: “Life is the flash of a firefly in the night, it is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is that little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.” Spoken by Blackfoot Chief Crowfoot on his deathbed. Another example: “The sap coursing through the trees of the forest carry the memories of our ancestors”, Chief Seattle. These quotes touched the universe of my heart and even inspired and motivated me to stay strong in keeping my vow of sobriety. Our People are wise and strong! It’s them we need, not imposters!

What is greater to us as Indigenous Peoples than a real sense of who we are as human beings? So much emotional and spiritual harm was done to us because of the oppression heaped on us by the Indian Act, that today, in 2023, we are still trying to discover our identity as it was long ago.

What if our world was such that white folks (like Buffy) were our only source of discovering who and what we are? What would it say about us if this was the case? I’m sorry if anything I said in this blog has hurt anyone’s feelings but this is how I see it. I speak my truth while standing in the heart of Anishinabe Algonquin never-surrendered territory. I have a “right” to do so, do I not?

Also on my mind, I believe there is a connection:

For over 23 days now, the state of Israel has been dropping bombs by the hundreds on Gaza, in retaliation for an attack by Hamas fighters who, according to news reports, entered Israel to viciously and mercilessly kill over 1,400 Israeli citizens, children included.

News sources also say that over 2,100 Palestinian children are now dead because of Israeli bombardment on Gaza. We must ask ourselves, whose hands are stained with the blood of those innocent children? How does a world leader cleanse his/her hands of the blood of children, mangled by bombs? Any world leader who does not object and demand that a ceasefire occur a.s.a.p. will spiritually face a reckoning at a future time, of this I have no doubt. It is being called a “war”. Is this war? Really?

The people of Palestine have no bomb shelters to go to to feel safe from the bombs dropping on them. I’m not OK with this. I want Canadian leaders to object to bombs killing children. I will contact my Member of Parliament (a Liberal) and let her know my vote next election is going to the NDP unless the Liberals do what is right. I ask that all readers of this blog do the same.

Keep the Circle Strong,

South Wind (Albert Dumont)