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Midewiwin:Mysteries and Secrets

Onani Carver

Holos UniversityJanuary 31, 2013

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The Mystery Begins . . .An Introduction

My name is Onani. I am Mixed Blood1 Anishinaabequay, a woman of Celtic and

Native American ancestry. I am a Mashkikiquay of the Midewiwin, a medicine woman of

our tradition.

Thus begins a complicated story of love and hate, betrayal and courage. A story of

a “500 year old relationship; coming out of conflict, colonialism and denial.”2 Though it

may seem simple and personal on the surface; I hope to convey the layers of

complexities, reaching back into history and culture. That’s how conflict is. And most of

all, this is a story of mystery, healing, forgiveness and transformation.

I was taught the indigenous people of the Great Lakes region who call

themselves, Anishinaabeg, meaning People3, were divided into three distinct groups by

settlers coming into their native lands. The names and divisions imposed onto them are

Ottawa (or Odawa), Potawatomie and Ojibway (or Chippewa)4, also known as The 3

Fires Confederation.5 Today, there are many variations of this understanding.6 For the

purpose of this paper, I will interchangeably use the term Anishinaabe, Anishinaabeg

(plural), possibly Anishinaabequay (woman) and Ojibway. I include myself in these

words, though today I might be identified as Potawatomie7, depending on whose history

and language is used. “Assuming that a people has the right to be called by the name

which they themselves have always used, I use Ahnishinaabeg” says my teacher,

Grandmother Kee about herself.8 Ahow.9

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Grandmother Keewaydinoquay and Miniss Kitigan

Throughout my 20’s, in the 1980’s- early 90’s, I

spent my summers living with one of the last traditionally

trained Ojibway medicine women of the Great Lakes,

Grandmother Keewaydinoquay.10 Born in 1919 or so11, Kee

grew up in her own native village of Cat Head Bay, MI. She

was one of the few children of her village left to learn the

traditional ways from her Ojibway Elders.12 By the age of 9,

Kee began her apprenticeship with a well-known and highly

respected mashkikiquay (medicine woman) of the area,

named Nodjimahkwe.13 This cultural exposure during

childhood was extremely rare for several generations of

Native children. Most children were sent away to residential schools, physically and

sexually abused, forbidden to speak their own language and were told their way of life

was wrong, no good, evil and the work of the devil.14 They were forced to speak a foreign

language (English) and adopt the values and religious practices of the dominant culture.15

Kee and her students lived on Miniss Kitigan (Garden Island), a small, wilderness

island in northern Lake Michigan16 with no running water, no electricity and no outside

communication. A supply boat came once a week, weather permitting, that took a few

people on or off the island, exchanged incoming and outgoing mail and dropped off a

fresh supply of fruits and vegetables that were then stored in a root cellar. We had a large

Midjiimiwig (supply lodge) with canned goods and dried beans and grains. Michi Keegan

(big lake- Lake Michigan) was our drinking and bathing water. We gathered wood to

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cook over fire. We washed our clothes by hand and often slept under the dark, anongog

(star-filled skies); hoping to hear the haunting call of Mahng (loon) or see the silent,

majestic, moving colors of a spectacular show of Waasanoodé (Northern Lights).

Nokomis (Grandmother) slept in an old log

cabin built by her Great Uncle Shaboose in

184717, located in the central clearing. The rest

of us, anywhere from 2 to 20 others, slept in

various wigwams we built scattered for privacy

along various trails on the outskirts of the

clearing, but within easy walking distance of main

camp. Though most people came for a week or two, I was one of the few people that

lived on Miniss Kitigan (Garden Island) with Grandmother

throughout the entire summer season at the time she could still

hike and canoe the Archipelago. I lived there for several summers

until I had children in the late 80’s; then I went there with my

family for a few weeks every summer.

Grandmother Keewaydinoquay and Onani on Garden Island, 1980’s

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While living in this secluded, virginal environment, we learned the ways of the

Midewiwin. We sang songs, performed ceremonies, gathered herbs and made medicines.

We listened to Grandmother tell ancient stories around the campfire in the dark night;

sometimes huddled close to stay warm against the winds of KabbibonNodin (Cold-

Blower). We sang prayers of gratitude to the Seven Directions every night together in

Bear Circle, passing the ossinogan (stone dish) of burning kinnic. Every morning, I dove

my naked body into the cold, clear, refreshing waters of Michi Keegan (Lake Michigan)

as Gissis (sun) rose to paint its glorious fire onto the endless horizon of untouched water,

earth and air. I often fell asleep on a bed of aromatic Nokomis Giizhik (Grandmother

Cedar) and Nimissé (Elder Sister Balsam Fir) in my wigwam nestled in the Northern

forest to the familiar beat of distant drumming and singing late into the night. Ya ha! Oh

ya hey hey yo! Ahow.

Society of Mysterious Doings:Exploring Mysteries and Secrets

The Midewiwin is an important part of the Ojibway culture.18 There is no direct

translation for this word or concept into English; therefore there are many variations on

the attempt to translate it.19 One literal translation is often thought to be “good-hearted”

from Mino meaning good and odé meaning heart.20 Because we recognize a healer’s

character and integrity as being an essential quality for healing and spiritual guidance,

good-heartedness is a requirement for entrance into the Midé.21 Grandmother Kee says

the literal translation of Midewiwin is “The Society of Mysterious Doings,”22 referring to

the mystery of spirit, rather than the all-too-often interpretation of the mysteriousness of

suspicious activity. The generally accepted translation the Midewiwin is The Grand

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Medicine Society.23 In relation to this translation, Grandmother says, “I never objected to

this term. It’s a good usage. It indicates the benefits of the Midé. I appreciate the term.”24

What’s most intriguing to me is that the Midewiwin is often perceived to be a

highly secretive group filled with mysterious, strange, dark knowledge.25 Originally, this

connotation of dark secrecy seemed to be primarily in relation to the explorers,

missionaries and anthropologists who were unable, or more likely unwilling, to

comprehend such a difference in understanding spiritual mystery from their own

dogmatic religion.26 I don’t have the same impression of secrecy within the culture itself

historically. However, typical of any perspective that is marginalized and demeaned by a

more dominant idea, as time passed, even the Anishinaabeg ourselves became suspicious,

judgmental and secret toward our own teachings and practitioners of the Midé.27

Let me say right now, I know very little about the Midé. Even though I am

considered an ordained minister28 of this tradition, I have very little knowledge outside

my rather limited experience. Though Grandmother Kee came from a strong lineage of

the Midewiwin, as her paternal grandfather was MidéOgema, whose name means leader

of the Midewiwin29; I only know what this one woman taught me in a very special

environment at a captivating time in my life. Well, maybe that’s not true- maybe my own

biological great, great-grandmother was Midé and the knowledge was passed on without

words, which in itself is very characteristic of Midé teachings.

Due to generations of oppression and obliteration of the Native culture, this

history gets a bit complicated. Grandmother Kee herself was ostracized and highly

criticized for her Midé practices and for teaching non-Natives, from both within and

outside her own tribe.30 And even my own history has its obscurities.

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It is in these turbulent waters of the crosscurrents of culture and history that I

swim, diving into the interface of Mystery and secrets. Ahow.

A Little of My Own History

Grandmother Kee knew I was Anishinaabeg even before I did, partly because of

my relationship to plants and the Northwoods that I learned from my father and

grandmother. I guess I had a certain ease and understanding of the forest reflective of

Midé knowledge which in retrospect makes sense to me.

I spent my summers with my 5 siblings and my parents in a little cabin my father

had built in the pristine Manistee National Forest in Michigan. When my father came on

weekends and one 2-week vacation every August, we would go hiking and canoeing;

picking plump, red thimbleberries, tiny bright pink wintergreen berries and sweet

strawberries. He would dig up and clean off a

sassafras root for us to chew and taste the

delightful root beer flavor in the middle of a hot

summer day. We chewed the tips of cedar and

the dark green, leathery leaves of wintergreen

with its arousing burst of freshness. Whether

we were canoeing down the river, hiking

through the deep forest, picking huckleberries

to freeze for the winter or swimming at the

spring fed, sand bottom lake, my dad noticed

every sound, near and far; every stirring, every

Onani and 2 of her brothers canoeing the Pine River, Michigan, 1967

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clue in the forest that collectively told the story of the rich activity of all the woodland

inhabitants, including the soil, the dew, the wind, fungus, insects, toads, porcupine,

turkey, skunk, deer and fox.

In typical Ojibway style, if we ever asked a question, he would give a nonsensical

answer. “Dad, how do you know that’s a goose?” He would say, “Look for the little

white dot behind its ear.” He didn’t even look up to see the far-away, dark silhouette

flying against the sky; he just recognized the distinctive honk. Year after year, we learned

to observe and listen. Questions only disturbed the deepening of perception.

So maybe Grandmother tested me, giving me progressively more difficult

assignments. Little by little she directed me to gather a greater variety of plants and

taught me how to make the medicines. She often sent me out with a little map drawn on a

piece of birch bark or the back of an envelope. I always came back with what she asked

for. I never told her about my adventures and all the help the wind, the trees, birds and

insects gave me while out searching for medicinal plants over the various regions of the

island and she never asked. She simply gave me the next step.

Over a few summers, I knew which plants grew in what

environments and what parts of the island formed microclimates

which either delayed or sped up a plant’s maturation. Because of

the normal climate fluctuations year after year, I knew what plants

would be prolific or sparse based on precipitation and

temperature; more yarrow and bergamot during hot, dry years and

more jewelweed and oily cedar berries during moist years. The

temperature and humidity has to be just right for the yellow pollen of St. Johnswort to

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mature into its telltale purple stain. Lots and lots of these happy, little yellow flowers are

used to make a salve for the healing of cuts and wounds; antiseptic without leaving a

scar, one of my favorites to make.

I thoroughly enjoyed gathering and preparing the plants for medicines for the

coming year and very quickly I was put in charge of the Mashkikiwig (medicine lodge).

Since I also lived in a yoga ashram with an East Indian yoga and meditation master in the

winters,31 I had these two supportive, contrasting environments and an enormous amount

of time to practice a sense of oneness, developing a deep connection within myself and to

my environment. Being the daughter of a former nun,32 contemplation while living in

secluded, austere environments came easily and naturally for me. My parents did not

have a fear of me getting lost in a cult like many of my other fellow seekers. Rather, I

called home from a pay-telephone booth in the Ashram and exchanged letters on the

Island with my mother, often discussing spiritual process as well as the delights and

hardships of living a rather isolated life of simplicity, prayer and self-reflection.

My parents a few years before they met

Red Carver, circa 1950, Isle Royale, MI

Sister Mary Borgia, circa 1950, aka Eleanor Ann

Dunne Carver

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It wasn’t that I consciously practiced this awareness of connection; it simply made

living in the wilderness so much easier the more these other senses were developed. By

quieting my mind and body while being alert to my environment, I could smell a storm

coming days ahead; I knew when a person was approaching long before hearing or seeing

them by noticing the blue jay’s call of alert while the warbler went silent and most

certainly, I learned a great deal by listening to trees. Skikimog (mosquitos) are also good

teachers. Presence was often a necessary skill to practice since I do not apply insect

repellant. The annoying insects sure got my attention when I was in a hurry or my mind

was preoccupied with worry, reminding me to come back to the same beauty and joy as

the rest of the forest.

There had always been whispered chatter in my own family about possibly being

“Indian” or what my grandfather called “Black Dutch” and my father called “the half-

breed.”33 There were photographs now and then of ancestors whose features didn’t go

along with the lighter hair and softer features of the Welsh Carver Mayflower lineage. If I

ever asked questions about that heritage, my grandparents quickly dropped the subject.

While clearing out the century old family barn on Carver Rd. in Climax, Michigan, my

sister, Beth discovered an old, faded, torn lithograph, titled The Marriage of

Pocahontas,34 depicting the well-

known marriage of a Native

woman to an English settler, John

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Rolfe in 1614. Our grandmother told Beth it was a wedding present to her grandmother

(our great-great grandmother) in the mid-1800’s.

After my grandfather died in the mid 1990’s, my grandmother finally revealed the

hushed information. She told me her grandmother was Potawatomie (same tribe as

Ojibway)35; hence the wedding present depicting a Native woman wedded to an English

man and the calling of the son of that union, my great-grandfather, “the half-breed.” She

gave me three surnames from that ancestry, one of which is Crider. (I have to find that

piece of paper for the other two!)

Now this all made sense. I had been asking my grandfather about this lineage

while my grandmother stayed silent. It was very common for that generation to keep any

Indian heritage secret out of shame.36 My grandmother, also a plant lover, finally felt free

and proud to pass this knowledge of her own heritage on to her eager granddaughter and

namesake.37 Kee was right! She knew it - I am Anishinaabeg. By the time my Grandma

Carver verified my biologic lineage, Grandmother Kee had already passed over.38 Ahow.

Bimidisiwin: Ojibway Philosophy

Driftwood “Welcome” Sign37

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To begin to understand the Midewiwin, let me explain a bit about the underlying

philosophy of the Anishinaabeg. I first met Grandmother Keewaydinoquay in my

hometown of Milwaukee, WI in 1981. I was her student at the University Wisconsin-

Milwaukee. Kee is of both Scottish and Ojibway descent; growing up learning the native

traditions as well as being college educated with a graduate degree and doctoral studies.39

Through a “blessing in disguise,” I ended up taking both her classes during my final

semester of college, Ethnobotany, Uses of Plants of the Great Lakes and Ojibway

Philosophy.

Generally, prayer was not allowed in University classes; however, Grandmother

told the college administration her ancestors do not allow her to share this information

without giving thanks first; so an exception was made. Wherever Kee taught, the whole

wing of the building would linger with the wonderful smell of kinnickinnic, the mixture

of sacred herbs used for blessings.40 After prayers, I remember the first thing

Grandmother said was, “If you only learn one thing in this class, I want you to know this:

We have two basic tenets in our philosophy- every single person has a Purpose to fulfill

and everyone has spiritual guidance to help you fulfill that Purpose.”

My close friend and sister apprentice to Grandmother Kee, Dr. Megisikwe Ann

Filemyr is also the Dean of AIAI, the College of Contemporary Native Arts. She

explains, “The Anishinaabeg culture is considered a nature tradition. Nature traditions are

some of the oldest known to humanity, existing

before written language, beginning with the dawn

of consciousness itself. There is no sacred text

or a founding person to follow as in the more

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recent religions such as Christianity, Judaism or Islam. The nature traditions recognize

the rhythm and harmony of the environment in which the People live and their

connection to a greater Universe.”41

Another close friend, Raymond Ruka, a Tohunga Maori Priest from New Zealand,

explains further, “Within Indigenous cultures, all information

is considered sacred. Mysticism is physics. There is no

separation. Information is passed down through everyday

life, through the mothers and grandmothers, through the

gardeners and the navigators of the land and waters.

Because Aboriginal people held oral traditions, this

observed information was injected into their songs and

stories and were passed down verbatim, from generation to generation by their Story

Tellers.” 42

Stories and story telling are an essential aspect of Ojibway philosophy.43 The

stories often can take one, two, sometimes three hours to tell; giving us lessons on how to

follow our own unique Sun Trail and accept others, how to solve problems, how to live

joyfully within the Great Mystery.44 I have heard many, many Ojibway stories, some of

them several times, in front of the warm campfire passing big bowls of popcorn popped

over the fire, late at night on Miniss Kitigan (Garden Island.) A prolific author, Kee has

written and published quite a few of these endearing tales.45 One of our most important

stories, told once a year at Winter Solstice, is the Creation Story, which takes over an

hour or two to tell.

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Very briefly, the Creation Story tells us Gitchi Manido (Great Spirit) conceived a

vision of a beautiful creation. Gitchi Manido meditated on this dream and realized it into

life. Out of nothing but breath and desire for goodness, Great Spirit made rock, fire, water

and wind; into each one its own essence and nature was bestowed. From these four

elements, the entire physical world was created- sun, moon, stars and earth; each one

bearing their own powers and gifts to share.

The Earth was given the power for growth and healing. The Earth was filled with

water, wind, mountains, valleys, plants and animals. Each creation had its own

contribution to growth, healing and beauty. Last of all, the People were created. Though

the Human had the weakest bodily powers, unable to fly like a bird, swim like the fish,

run like the deer, having no feathers, fur or scales, Humans were given the greatest gift-

the power to dream.46 We, too, can manifest Vision through conscious breath and a

burning desire for goodness.47 We often sing a bedtime song that reminds us:

Kaminonapowiwiniin

O giima u Manidawg

Ishko Bimidisiwin

Ninodemah

Lay me to sleep

In sheltering flame,

Creator of the hidden fire.

Burn free and pure for me,

My heart’s desire.

All of creation is governed by the same power, The Great Laws of Nature.48 All of

creation follows a rhythm of birth, breath, growth, decay and transformation within

greater rhythm of harmony and balance. The Mountains, the Winds, Oceans, Rocks,

Plants and Animals are all alive with breath, reproduction and transformation, each in

their own time. Amidst change there is constancy. Thus, Gitchi Manido brought a sacred

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Vision of a beautiful Creation into existence.49

Our prayers to the Seven Directions are another essential concept to

understanding the Anishinaabeg philosophy. In the preface to Direction We Know: Walk

in Honor, as told by Keewaydinoquay, she states, “Strong directional emphases pervade

every aspect of Anishinaabeg tradition, philosophical thought, and daily living…To

enumerate all the examples would require several volumes! The concept has permeated

every level of human experience, every facet of any existence both physical and

spiritual.”

She continues, “Beautifully executed examples of the directional theme abound in

an array of art forms: beadwork, quillwork, basketry, symbolic paintings and carvings,

pictographs, graveposts, clothing, baby carriers. Similar examples exist in dance, music,

literature, social organization, corporate and private worship, architecture, social and

ceremonial customs, and even the preparation of medicinals.”50

Our People recognize the Gissis Mikana or Sun Trail as the unique journey of life

that we each walk.51 Grandmother teaches, “…the Sun Trail, the path of our lives from

the East of birth to the Western Gates of Epingishmuk. At that point, the Anishinaabeg

believe, the spirit ‘passes over’ into the next cycle. There is no death- only a change of

form.”52

We have many songs, stories and rituals honoring the Circle of Life.53 Here are

the words to one song commonly sung at ceremonies in the typical slow rhythmic beat of

old Ojibway music, usually accompanied by drums and rattles.54 We sing in both

Anishinaabemowin and in English:

KikitisMaunig Oo-Miskiw-aun

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Bimadisiwin

Ishkwaasamagaad

The Blood of the Ancients,

Flows through my veins

And the forms change

But the Circle of Life remains

Each of the Seven Directions represents qualities for alignment with Bimidisiwin,

which means living life to the fullest.55 They consist of the 4 cardinal directions, East,

South, West and North, In (not down) or Wegamon Aukee, Mother Earth, Out (not up) or

Gitchi Manido, Great Spirit. The Seventh Direction is considered the most important of

all; the place from which all other directions begin and the place that if it did not exist, no

other direction would exist. The Seventh Direction is Here, or one’s self. Grandmother

always said, “The person who forgets to pray to the Seventh Direction is in big trouble.

Never forget to appreciate your own expression of Spirit.”56

Our prayers are a covenant or an agreement between one’s self and Spirit;

therefore we say both “Thank you for what you, Spirit, have given me” and “You’re

welcome for what I have given you.” Unlike most religious prayer, we acknowledge that

our own life is a gift that we both receive and contribute to Bimidisiwin; life is a co-

operative venture between Gitchi Manido (Great Spirit) and one’s self. We recognize we

need Great Spirit to infuse our lives with meaning and Purpose as much as Great Spirit

needs us to manifest the Great Mystery. All of our teachings, songs, ceremonies and

medicines are for the fulfillment of Bimidisiwin, living life to the fullest. Ahow.

The Midewiwin

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The Midewiwin, or Midé for short, is one of the oldest, most highly developed

spiritual knowledge base in America, existing hundreds of years prior to European

contact.57, 58 It is not a religion or a philosophy exactly; rather it is considered a gift of

knowledge for healing and spiritual growth from Gitchi Manido, (Great Spirit).59 Because

sickness, death, destruction, anger, rage, loss and grief are all part of the natural law, our

stories remind us we will always live with these difficulties and we have ways to

overcome them.60 To help People understand and accept these natural laws, Gitchi

Manido (Great Spirit) gave us the gift of knowledge of the Midé to help us heal and grow

spiritually.61

Under the direction of Keewaydinoquay, entrance in the Midewiwin is through

the Vision Quest. This is not true for all Anishinaabeg People62 and certainly there are

many people who guide vision quests of some form or another without being Native

American.63 But for our band, The Miniss Kitigan Drum, you are considered first degree

Midé at your Naming Ceremony after your Vision Quest.

Throughout a Vision Quest, the body is deprived of the life giving forces of the

physical life - food, water and human companionship, so that the spiritual life is given the

opportunity to come into dominance.64 Fasting purifies the body and mind to become

more receptive to messages from the spirit world. We are taught how to induce a vision

using prayer, fasting, seclusion, singing, drumming, the pipe, the sweat lodge and ritual -

all gifts of knowledge of the Midé. If the faster is ready and fortunate, a vision is received

for guidance and Purpose.65 The greatest knowledge we learn from our Vision Quest is

how to learn; we learn how to learn through spiritual observation.66

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The Midé have a special relationship to all of

nature; and plants, in particular. We are taught that

plants contain two powers -- the power to heal and the

power to grow. Plants can lend these powers of healing

and growing to others. However, the power to heal is

not a gift bestowed on everyone. And those given this

gift still must foster the power to increase it.67

Grandmother says, “In order to treat the spirit, one must know the spirit, in order to use

the spirit of other living things to help your brothers and sisters. Not only is there a

chemical constituent, but a spirit of that plant that can help spirit of which is in need.”68

There are levels, or degrees within the Midé. I have seen accounts of both 4 and 8

degrees.69 Grandmother Kee did not discuss Midé degrees very often; in fact, she

somewhat frowned up on it. She felt that coming from mainstream culture, we would care

more about the competition of achieving higher degrees; thereby missing the true practice

of Midé, learning through patient observation. She once stated that she was 5th degree,70

though she may have acquired more degrees since then. Kee said, “Many of our People

won’t admit going higher than the 4th degree. The implication is going beyond that level,

you are a witch of some kind.”71

Grandmother Kee wore the hairstyle of a Mashkikiquay (Medicine Woman) with

two long braids; one braid hung down the front and the other was coiled and pinned up

onto the back of her head. The front braid hanging freely represented the information she

freely shared with others, the coiled braid represented the information she held tight. This

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discretionary skill of how to handle knowledge is developed over time and is a form of

Midé wisdom itself.

Another gift of The Midewiwin is the development of the senses. We first

acknowledge our 5 physical senses used to enjoy the beauty and sensuality of Mother

Earth. All of these senses can be further developed such as hearing or seeing things far

away and seeing into the past or future. Other senses the Midé teaches us to develop

could be intuition, healing through hands, long distance healing, telepathic healing, the

capacity to remember and interpret dreams, the ability to dream with someone else, the

ability to communicate with ancestors or descendants and the ability to give and receive

spiritual gifts such as support, understanding, love and acceptance where actual energy is

exchanged; not to be confused with our typical, everyday experience of love and support

which is often actually a disguised, unconscious effort to bargain, trade or steal energy

from another.72

The Megis shell, also known as

the Cowrie shell in other

cultures, is a special symbol for

the Anishinaabeg. We are

taught to run our fingers up and

down the ridges on the

underside of the shell to remind us

of all the senses available to us. The ridges curl into the opening of the shell, representing

the opening to the womb of Mother Earth and her Mystery, just like the awareness of

deeper senses brings us into a deeper acceptance of life’s mystery.73

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The Midewiwin also recognize people and other beings that are other-than-human.

Some of these beings are called Atisokanak.74 The primary way I heard this concept used

was in relation to some of our stories, though some beings appearing in dreams, visions

and when recalling information from our ancestors are also considered Atisokanak.75 The

stories that are Atisokanak are said to have a life or spirit of their own and therefore have

special considerations when being told. They are told only at the appropriate time of year

and must be told in their entirety, with a special prayer of thanks given before the telling

begins. Our Storytellers develop a deep, loving relationship with their stories, leading to a

greater understanding of the healing energy of the story. We believe certain stories and

storytellers have the ability to transfer subtle, yet highly profound spiritual energy to the

listeners. Midé stories and our storytellers are highly valued and respected as an

important avenue of healing and spiritual growth. Ahow.

My Vision Quest and Becoming Oshkibewis

One day, in July of 1983 during my first summer on the Island, Nokomis

(Grandmother) called me into her cabin and asked me to gather the ripe cedar berries.

That evening, she told the Cedar Story. Without telling me the end result, step by step,

she led me through the process of making the Sacred Cedar Oil. “Ask Anishna, Little-

Birch-Girl, to pound the cedar berries seven times. She’s our youngest in camp, isn’t

she?“ “Would you please gather the others of the seven Sacred Incense Bearers?”76

“Would you please crush them and add those into the cedar sludge? And be sure to sing

the Cedar Song at least seven times and think good thoughts while you’re doing it.”

Being new to the group, I innocently followed her instructions; however others who knew

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more all of a sudden began to “help” me in the Mashkikiwig (medicine lodge). By the

time I realized there was something more to this, I went back into Grandmother’s cabin

and asked, “Nokomis, I think you are giving me information that I don’t know what to do

with. I can’t be responsible for information if I don’t understand its power.” She looked

at me silently for a moment before she spoke. “Yes, I know. You need a petition.”

Yes! A petition! A petition is used as a way of asking a sacred question. I ran up

to my wigwam, cut a square piece of red cloth, dropped several pinches of kinnic in the

middle and tied it up. I ran back down to the cabin and proudly offered Grandmother the

petition, “Thank you for sharing the Sacred Cedar Oil recipe.” She looked at me

scornfully, “You can’t do that!” she scolded her adult granddaughter. “What?” I

questioned to myself, “but she just told me…” She then whispered, “I’m asking you to be

Oshkibewis.” Typical of a relationship with a trickster mystic, my heart went from the

depths of anguish to the height of elation! The word Oshkibewis literally means “servant

to the People.”77 Practically, we use the term to mean apprentice to the Mashkikiquay, or

medicine woman.

In order to become Oshkibewis, one must do a Vision Quest first. The rest of that

summer’s schedule was full with other Vision Quests, lodge blessings, healings and baby

naming ceremonies. I was scheduled to go out first thing the following summer. I first

had to present a formal petition to Grandmother Kee and Grandfather Drum.

Grandfather Drum is a 200-year-old

spirit drum. He is not played like a musical

instrument; he is used for prayer, guidance, spirit

healing and communication. Because he is very

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fragile, he lives in a red plastic milk crate for safety, decorated with a beautiful, beaded

medallion. He hangs from the rafters in Grandmother’s cabin over her platform bed. He

attends most all our ceremonies and we bring him out of his leather wrappings into the

sun once in a while for fresh air and to keep

his drumhead dry. He hears and answers

many prayers.

In rare cases, Grandfather can be used directly for healing where the Drum is

placed onto a person’s body and energy is “shot” into the sick person. I am one of the

few people I know that has had an energy healing with Grandfather; but that’s a story for

another day…

The following summer of 1984, I arrived on Miniss Kitigan in June, ready to fast.

Through a series of unexpected events, rather than being first out on my Vision Quest, I

was the last to go out. August, my favorite month in Michigan! This is another beautiful

story for another day, but suffice it to say, after a 3 day fast alone in the wilderness, a 3-

Grandfather Drum at the Naming Ceremony for Sha-Sha, (Strong-Hearted Deer) with Grandmother Kee, a friend and Onani, Garden Island, 1985

22

hour sweat beginning at 2am with the

support of community, followed by

immersion into Lake Michigan at dawn, I

completed my Vision Quest. That

evening, we celebrated my Naming

Ceremony. I was named

Onanigwenkeewaydinanong, (Onani-

gwen- keewaydin- anong) which means

“Star-of-the-North-Emanates-Joy.” My

spiritual friends and family call me

Onani, meaning Joy. This name reflects

the essential information received from a

Vision Quest; my guardian spirit,

Keewaydinanong (North Star) and my Purpose, to teach joy.

A tiny Megis shell was passed around while I was in the sweat lodge for my

family to imbue with prayers of support for the fulfillment of my Purpose and that I may

walk in Balance upon our Mother, the Earth. This was then sewn up into a leather

Mashkimodens. (small medicine pouch)

Soon after my Vision Quest, I went under the Elk’s Robe and became

Grandmother Kee’s 7th Oshkibewis and 2nd degree Midé. This was a rather quick, private

ceremony with just Grandmother and me in her cabin where I was literally huddled under

the fur skin of an Elk as we exchanged the vows of service to the People.

23

The robe of an Elk is used since this large, majestic animal signifies the same

qualities used by healers- stamina, strength, sensual passion, persistence and the ability to

pace one’s self. Elk are known to be very alert, can sense danger and have a special

ability to perceive subtle energies. 78

I was also given another symbol of my service to

the People- the eyetooth of an Elk, representing wisdom

and power, onto which I beaded a peyote stitch design

to wear with my Mashkimodens.

Elk tooth and Mashkimodens79

Though I enjoyed gathering the plants and

making most any medicine, my favorite medicines to

use were not the ones for physical problems - Balsam Fir sap for burns, jewelweed

tincture for poison ivy and itchy skin rashes, or cherry bark for cough syrup; my favorite

medicines have always been the ones used for subtle energy awareness such as Blessings,

prayer, change of cycles as in birth, the rebirth of a Vision Quest and death, spiritual

growth and change of

consciousness. These medicines

include Kininkinnic, Sweet Grass,

Cutty Grass Aura Cleanser and Sacred

Cedar Oil, though our People believe

all physical healing with Plants include

subtle, spiritual healing as well.80

24

One day I made up a medicinal of my own for Grandmother. After hiking a good

part of the day, her feet were very tired and sore,

Sacred Cedar Oil Bag made by Onani81 exacerbated by diabetes. She had just a small

amount of her favorite Avon Foot Cream left in a little jar and she wouldn’t let me use it

on her feet because she didn’t want to use it up! I remembered her telling me about a

plant that grew all over the beach- sometimes called Silverweed or Cinquefoil, though we

called it Both-Ends plant. One could put the leaves inside your moccasins to rejuvenate

your feet on long hikes. So it was a simple jump of thought to read the ingredients of her

Avon Foot Cream jar and make plenty of Both-Ends Cream for Grandmother’s aching

feet, a medicine we still make today.

Like I stated earlier, Grandmother would not directly acknowledge degrees of the

Midé we achieved. A Vision Quest and Naming Ceremony are considered initiation into

the first degree and becoming Oshkibewis is 2nd degree. After that, degrees were rarely

mentioned or discussed. One day, in the early 1990’s, I checked in on Grandmother in her

cabin. She loved to sit at her manual typewriter and write letters while watching camp

activity through her small window, Grandfather Drum overhead. We all periodically

checked in on her to see if her stove needed stoking or she wanted a refill of her favorite

peppermint tea. On this occasion, our usual Grandmother/ granddaughter talk evolved

into a Mashkikiquay (medicine woman) honoring her Oshkibewis. (apprentice)

I must have been looking up at her mounted Snowy Owl set high up on the corner

of the medicine cabinet as it seemed to stare down on us. Rather than a framed certificate,

I knew this Owl was a Midewiwin degree. Kee mentioned, “You know if this were the

old days, I would have to pierce your thigh.” I knew this, too, was a higher Midé degree.

25

I laughed at the way she could go from a discussing a grocery list to the sacred

knowledge of the Midé so casually. Sometimes I didn’t know if she was joking or

serious. In some ways, I still don’t. I can’t find any references to this practice of thigh-

piercing, but I haven’t found any references for stuffed owls either. However, the

familiar, mystical look on her face told me she was meant it. I must have looked puzzled

for she simply said, “You have accomplished what it takes.” Then just as quickly, she

was Grandmother again discussing dinner plans. She never said another word about it to

me.

I have no idea what I did to accomplish this, though it certainly makes me wonder

every now and then. Yes, I made up a new medicine and had a successful energy healing

with Grandfather Drum, which are both gifts of the Midé. Being able to calm arguments

by one’s Presence is another gift of the Midé, which is likely to have happened. I do have

a calming presence and we certainly had plenty of tension at times trying to live co-

operatively with a bunch of free-thinking, college aged kids and a coyote Medicine

Woman in the wilderness. Yes, I was very good at finding, gathering and processing

medicinals. One year, Grandmother exclaimed, “I haven’t seen or smelled Sacred Cedar

Oil as pure as this since Nodjimahkwe’s time!” but I give most of the credit for that to my

Mashkikiwig (medicine lodge) partner, Vincent, a trained chemist. There were several

other accounts of Midewiwin gifts of knowledge that Grandmother may have been

referring to, but there is one that especially intrigues me.

Another gift of the Midé is the ability to be in two places at one time.82 During

dinner one night, someone asked about my day working in the Mashkikiwig (medicine

lodge). I replied that I had a wonderful day on the other side of the Island gathering the

26

meadow plants for Kinnic. Several people looked up to see if I was joking or what. One

by one, they all agreed I had been in the Mashkikiwig (medicine lodge) most of the day.

They went through everyone in camp and insisted it could not have been anyone else. “I

don’t know; I have net bags full of bergamot, goldenrod, pearly everlasting and wood

betony.” I explained. It seems like one would have to consciously be in two places at

once, which, come to think of it; I have done in dreams, but I have no recollection of

being in the Mashkikiwig (medicine lodge) that day. Kewabna . . . (Who’s to say?)

There was a time when I thought it would be cool to have my thigh pierced all the

way through, even if by accident. Until I got older and wiser; then I decided it would be

cool to just meet someone who had a pierced thigh. Sure enough, years later, I was sitting

at The Winds, our local restaurant bar in Yellow Springs, OH and a man named Scott

from Michigan sat down next to me. We start talking and what do you know… within 3

minutes of meeting each other, one thing leads to another and he tells me of being shot

straight through the thigh in Milwaukee, WI, my hometown! I just about cried! We’ve

been friends for years now, and he says, “Enough with the thigh already.” Ahow.

The Midé Today

The Midewiwin or The Grand Medicine Society is often considered to be a super

secret society both within and outside the Anishinaabeg culture.83 This has somewhat

intrigued me over the years as I have seen this sense of secrecy and its ripples of

repercussions cause deep hurt, jealousies, sense of ownership and divisiveness between

people and even within our own Drum. Now that we have the Internet, I can google

“Midewiwin” and find over 48,000 results84 and growing bigger every year. I have

27

learned a great deal more about its history and “secrecy.” It seems as if outsiders more

often explain the Midé as both secretive and a thing of the past, while Ojibway sites more

often openly explain the history and beliefs of the Midé in present time since this

knowledge is still practiced and passed on.85

Not only are the teachings and practitioners of the Midé perceived to be secretive,

there has often been an association of darkness, evil, suspicion and mistrust intertwined

into that secretiveness.86 This is somewhat surprising given that one translation of the

Midé “good-hearted” and good-heartedness is considered to be an essential quality for a

Midé healer. In addition, I find the Midewiwin teachings to be absolutely beautiful,

fulfilling, common sense teachings that many people in the world could find comfort and

understanding from.

What happens when aggressive outsiders with their own belief system looks in at

another, then use their own dominant system to explain the one looked upon? The racist

philosophy of both the U.S. and Canada in the mid-1800’s was known as “Kill the Indian

in the Child” and “in a century, there will be no ‘Indian problem.’” This was the intent

behind the residential schools. Both Native and non-Native people came to believe the

Native culture was inferior and the Euro-American culture was superior. The incoming

Euro-Americans used concepts that came from English common law. Most Aboriginal

people the world over have no words for guilty, not guilty, innocent, so when the white

settlers used law and military to enforce their own values, the Native people had no way

to conceptualize a response.87

I can understand the perception of Midé secrecy, but it is a misunderstanding to

think that it is the Midé practitioners’ volition to be secretive, rather than an imposed

28

necessity by the dominant culture. The passage of the Dawes Act of 1887 made it illegal

to practice native ceremonies. The Anishinaabeg were not legally free to share their Midé

practices until the 1978 passage of AIRFA, American Indian Religious Freedom Act.88

1978!!

Grandmother Kee did her own Vision Quest en masse at the unusually young age

of eight years old, around 1927. Since it was illegal to practice our own spiritual

traditions, Vision Quests were performed with many people at a time, with guards and

lookouts protecting the fasters. Megisikwe, (Dr. Ann Filemyer, quoted earlier)

remembers Kee telling her about this time. “We had it all planned out; when we would be

arrested- not if, but when we got arrested. We agreed who would step forward and take

the blame, how we would raise the bail, how we would take care of that person’s

children, their family, their job, their responsibilities within the community. This is the

source of secrecy within the Midé. Everyone became suspect.”

Dr. Filemyr explains further, “Kee did not go public as a spiritual teacher until the

passage of the AIRFA. She was skyrocketed to an unexpected level of visibility making

her a target of all kinds of emotions. She was willing to come out and teach anyone with

‘a good heart.’ Since secrecy had become part of the culture, her own community was

outraged and furious. They shunned her. They didn’t trust her, saying she’s a liar, she’s

not telling the truth.”89

The non-Native community shunned her as

well. During the summer of 1987, a reporter

from the Detroit Free Press came to Garden

Island to interview Kee and take photos. She

29

seemed openly curious and Kee shared many delightful stories and teachings with her.

The other people in camp were equally welcoming and inviting. Grandmother felt so

horrified and betrayed when she saw a full, front cover photo of herself under the large,

red title HEART OF DARKNESS. The accompanying article portrayed our camp as if it

were a sinister group of young, naïve kids following a deceptive leader. The article was

titled, “To Grandmother’s House We Go.” 90

In addition, all ceremonial objects were ordered destroyed by the U.S.

government at the turn of the previous century (1900). Grandfather Drum had been

hidden for over 70 years, when in the 1960’s, Kee and her children kept hearing

drumming every evening coming from their attic. They finally went up there and

uncovered “that old drum.” Kee did some research and discovered he was a very rare,

200 year old Sprit Drum that had been hidden away, saved from destruction. Grandfather

Drum started drumming himself back to life to be returned to his place of honor once

again.

Of course, Grandmother is not the only, nor the first, Midé teacher who taught

outsiders and was shunned for sharing what had become known as “secret.” Beginning in

the middle of the nineteenth century, at the time these practices were outlawed and the

Anishinaabeg children were sent far away to residential schools, some of the Midé

leaders were concerned there were no new apprentices to pass the knowledge on to. They

began sharing their wisdom with Euro-Americans. At this time, the teachings were

considered an oral tradition. As is common with many oral traditions when the on-going

of the lineage was threatened by outside forces, some Midé began to write the

information down. There is an underlying consistency in structure, themes and values

30

among all the written material with quite a bit of variation in certain practices.91 I have

found this same underlying consistency of the belief system, with slight variations of

practice, within my own teachings from Grandmother in relation to my research of the

Midé, as well.

Until just recently, Midé leaders were extremely opposed to

writing down our oral teachings and practices. That belief has

now changed.92 Shingwauk University in Sault Sainte Marie,

Ontario is recognized as a repository of Midewiwin culture and

history, preserving our sacred teachings and knowledge with the

full blessings of the Midewiwin leadership.93 "A lot of our stories

are based on oral tradition and the Midewiwin Society found that,

because there is a rapid loss of our language, we have to start

writing these stories down," says Darrell Boissoneau, president of the The Shingwauk

Kinoomaage Gamic Centre of Excellence in Anishinaabe Education. "The keepers of the

Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge have encouraged us to start writing it down."94

Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge, led by Grand Chief Eddie Benton-Banai, is the

largest Midewiwin Lodge with members from Wisconsin, Michigan, Manitoba and

Ontario and a few from other territories and nations. Three to four hundred people

typically attend ceremonies. There are only a few other active Midewiwin lodges in the

Great Lakes region.95

Edward Benton-Banai is one of the most influential leaders of the Midé today.

Like Grandmother Kee, shortly after the passage of the

American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) in

31

1978, he, too, took a courageous stance to teach the gifts of the Midé. Facing extreme

ridicule from his own People, he wrote and published The Mishomis Book, documenting

Ojibway history and sharing sacred Midé understandings in 1979.96 Grandmother Kee

used The Mishomis Book as one of her textbooks for her Ojibway Philosophy class.

Benton-Banai explains about our prophecies; telling us of a time when the

Midewiwin will come into danger of being lost. The grandchildren will turn against the

elders; thus in turn, the elders will lose their purpose in life. “The cup of life will become

the cup of grief.” During this confusing time, the information will be hidden. When the

time was safe, the knowledge would be reawakened as before, through dreams and

visions, the gifts of the Midewiwin. Two nations will join to make a mighty nation, a

nation guided by respect for all living things.97

In the last prophecy, the Seventh Fire, is the potential for reconciliation and a

great peace, understanding and sharing. Many believe we are the People of the Seventh

Fire. Achievement of true acceptance and transformation will light the Eighth and final

fire, an eternal fire of Bimisidiwin. (Living life to the fullest)98

The gifts of knowledge from Gitchi Manido (Great Spirit), the gifts of the

Midewiwin, are reawakening. In fact, we never have really been in danger of losing this

knowledge. This knowledge is the subtle energy of nature, the subtle energy of quiet

observation. This is the same energy of the shining stars, the hatching chickadee, and the

emerging monarch. This is the energy of your breath and your desire. Ahow.

32

Endnotes

33

1 “The term mixed-blood in the United States is most often employed for individuals of mixed European and Native American ancestry.” accessed 1/13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed-blood

2 “8th Fire, Aboriginal peoples, Canada and the Way Forward”, main page, copyright CBC 2013 http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/8thfire/index.html

3 Keewaydinoquay, Mukwah MisKomin or KinnicKinnick “Gift of Bear", Miniss Kitigan Drum, 1977, p.1

4 Keewaydinoquay Peschel, Puhpohwee for the People, A Narrative Account of Fungi uses Among the Anishinaabeg, (LEPS Press, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL), 1998, originally published by Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1978, preface

5 “3 Fires Confederation”, accessed 1/13, http://www.anishinabe-history.com/history/three-fires-confederation.shtml

6 Ibid

7 Potawatomie is the only term used by my Grandmother Gertrude Stock Carver and my Aunt Vernabelle Carver, from Battle Creek area of Michigan.

8 Keewaydinoquay Peschel, Puhpohwee for the People, A Narrative Account of Fungi uses Among the Anishinaabeg, (LEPS Press, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL), 1998, originally published by Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1978, preface

9 Grandmother Kee described the use of Ahow similar to the use of Amen, Hallelujah, Shalom or Right On!

10 Grandmother Kee is not my biologic grandmother. Nokomis or Grandmother is a native term commonly used and understood to show respect for an Elder woman, honoring her wisdom.

11 Kee never knew the exact year of her birth. She was born on a boat during a storm in Lake Michigan on the way to a hospital. [Keewaydinoquay, edited by Lee Boisvert, Keewaydinoquay, Stories from My Youth, (University Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI) 2006, p. 2-4]; 1919 is the year of birth on Kee’s gravestone, photo in possession of author, taken on Garden Island, 2012; another author, Wendy Geniusz states her birth year as 1918 based on a letter from Kee’s mother, Wendy Makoons Geniusz, Our Knowledge Is Not Primitive, Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings (Iroquois and Their Neighbors), (Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY), 2009, preface

12 Wendy Makoons Geniusz, Our Knowledge Is Not Primitive, Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings (Iroquois and Their Neighbors), (Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY), 2009, preface

13 Ibid, p. 132

14 Honourable Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair, “Is there a traditional perspective of Truth and Reconciliation?”, April, 2011, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuFc_Z9F-NA

15 Ibid

16 Garden Island, MI, Wikipedia, last modified Nov. 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_Island_(Michigan

17 Tom Dammann, “Her Heart is at Home on Michigan Island”, The Milwaukee Journal, Sept. 21, 1981

18 Basil Johnston, Ojibway Heritage, (McClelland and Stewart Limited, The Canadian Publishers, Toronto, Ontario), 1979, p. 80-93

19 Midewiwin, Wikipedia, last modified, Oct. 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midewiwin

20 William S. Lyon, Encyclopedia of Native American Healing, (W.W. Norton and Company, New York, New York), 1998, p.174

21 Merwyn S. Gabarino, Ethnohistory, Vol. 26, No.2, (Duke University Press, Durham, NC), p. 197

22 Keewaydinoquay, “Gordon Wasson, Reid Kaplan, Keewaydinoquay Peschel speaking about Miskwedo (Amanita Muscaria)”, recorded at conference of “Hallucinogens of Native America”, San Francisco, 1978, track 3, http://www.dstretch.com/Kee/index.html

23 Ibid

24 Ibid

25 Michael Angel, Preserving the Sacred: Historical Perspectives on the Ojibwa Midewiwin, (University Manitoba Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba), 2002, p. 14

26 Ibid, p. 13

27 Ibid, p. 14

28 “Ordained minister” would not generally be a term used in the Midewiwin. We use the term Oshkibewis meaning apprentice or server to the People. As a legal church, the Oshkibewig (plural of Oshkibewis) of the Miniss Kitigan Drum are qualified to register with their states as ordained ministers; thereby given legal privileges such as performing weddings.

29 Keewaydinoquay, “Gordon Wasson, Reid Kaplan, Keewaydinoquay Peschel speaking about Miskwedo (Amanita Muscaria)”, recorded at conference of “Hallucinogens of Native America”, San Francisco, 1978, track 3, http://www.dstretch.com/Kee/index.html

30 Steve Beyer, “Hallucinogens in North America”, Singing to the Plants, Feb. 2008, http://www.singingtotheplants.com/2008/02/hallucinogens-in-north-america/

31 Yogi Amrit Desai at Kripalu Health and Yoga Center, Lenox, MA

32 My mother is Eleanor Ann Dunne Carver, former Ursiline nun Sister Mary Borgia.

33 “Other former names—many of which are now considered to be offensive—include Bois-Brûlés, Mixed-bloods, Half-breeds, Bungi, Black Scots and Jackatars.”, Métis (Canada), Wikipedia, last modified Jan, 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Métis_people_(Canada)

34 Original artist, Henry Brueckner, published by John C. McRae, Broadway, NY, engraved by John C. McRae, American Pocahontas, from the original picture in the possession of the publisher, proof, stamped with seal: s/c semper tyrannis, at Jamestown 1613

35 Keewaydinoquay Peschel, Puhpohwee for the People, A Narrative Account of Fungi uses Among the Anishinaabeg, (LEPS Press, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL), 1998, (originally published by Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA), 1978, preface

36 Teri Jean, “Where Oh Where Has My Heritage Gone?”, One of Many Feathers website, updated Jan. 2013, http://www.oneofmanyfeathers.com/where_oh_where_has_my_heritage_gone.html

37 I was named Marguerite after my father’s mother, Gertrude Marguerite Stock Carver

38 Grandmother Kee passed over in 1999. Keewaydinoquay, edited by Lee Boisvert, Keewaydinoquay, Stories from My Youth, (University Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI) 2006, acknowledgements

39 Wendy Makoons Geniusz, Our Knowledge Is Not Primitive, Decolonizing Botanical Anishinaabe Teachings (Iroquois and Their Neighbors), (Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY), 2009, preface

40 Keewaydinoquay, Mukwah MisKomin or KinnicKinnick “Gift of Bear", Miniss Kitigan Drum, 1977, p. 4

41 Phone conversation with Dr. Ann Filemyr, Dean of the College of Contemporary Native Arts, Sante Fe, NM, Dec. 2012

42 Raymond’s title Kahu o te Maunga Raymond TeKorako Ruka. “I am an elder of Waitaha, a matriarchal peace nation from New Zealand. I am a Tohunga. My Reed, Dictionary of Modern Maori, describes tohunga as an, expert, specialist, priest, artist. My peers in the Western, Eastern, South American and Asian societies are, shaman, guru, monk and mystic.”, letter written by Raymond Ruka in possession of author, Jan. 2013

43 Mushkeg Media, Episode 3:Spirit of the Stories- Ojibway, accessed 12/23/12, http://www.mushkeg.ca/fot2%20episodes/Se2_Ep3/fot_season_two_ep3.html

44 Ibid

45 Stories collected and retold by Keewaydinoquay include Brave is Mahng is Loon (1996), The Old Man in the Stone Canoe (1988), Shingabiss and The Girl Who Was Stolen by the Owls (1986), Miniss Kitigan Drum

46 Basil Johnston, Ojibway Heritage, (McClelland and Stewart Limited, The Canadian Publishers, Toronto, Ontario), 1979, p. 12-13

47 Ibid, p. 14-15

48 Ibid, p. 13

49 Ibid

50 Keewaydinoquay, Direction We Know: Walk in Honor, Miniss Kitigan Drum, 1979, preface

51 Ibid, p. 13

52 Keewaydinoquay, “Gordon Wasson, Reid Kaplan, Keewaydinoquay Peschel speaking about Miskwedo (Amanita Muscaria)”, recorded at conference of “Hallucinogens of Native America”, San Francisco, 1978, track 3, http://www.dstretch.com/Kee/index.html

53 Keewaydinoquay, Direction We Know: Walk in Honor, Miniss Kitigan Drum, 1979, p. 1-5

54 Michael David McNally, Traditional Ojibwe Music and Protestant Hymnody, Ojibwe Singers: Hymns, Grief, and a Native Culture in Motion, (Minnesota Historical Society Press), 2009, p.31

55 Bob Goulais, “Waving at Pigeons”, Anishinaabe Blog, Aug. 20. 2010, http://www.anishinaabe.ca/bgc/

56 Onani Meg Carver, “Courage and the Seventh Direction”, Onani Mentoring, 2005, http://onanimentoring.com/courage.html

57 Bob Goulias, “The Midewiwin Society Today”, Anishinaabe Blog, Dec. 18, 2010, http://www.anishinaabe.ca/bgc

58 Susan Neylan, review of Preserving the Sacred: Historical Perspectives on the Ojibwa Midewiwin by Michael Angel, Project Muse, Sept. 2004, http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/canadian_historical_review/v085/85.3neylan.html

59 Basil Johnston, Ojibway Heritage, (McClelland and Stewart Limited, The Canadian Publishers, Toronto, Ontario), 1979, p. 80-83

60 Ibid

61 Ibid, p. 84

62 “Vision Quest- A Search for Meaning in Life”, Native Art in Canada, 2012, http://www.native-art-in-canada.com/visionquest.html

63 There are many organizations offering non- Native Vision Quests, for example: “Guiding Transformative Rites of Passage for 35 Years”, Rites of Passage, 2013, http://ritesofpassagevisionquest.org/

64 Basil Johnston, Ojibway Heritage, (McClelland and Stewart Limited, The Canadian Publishers, Toronto, Ontario), 1979, p. 78

65 Ibid, p. 121

66 Ibid, p. 81

67 Ibid

68 Keewaydinoquay, “Gordon Wasson, Reid Kaplan, Keewaydinoquay Peschel speaking about Miskwedo (Amanita Muscaria)”, recorded at conference of “Hallucinogens of Native America”, San Francisco, 1978, track 3, http://www.dstretch.com/Kee/index.html

69 Bob Goulais, “What Do You Mean You’re Going To Ceremonies?”, Anishinaabe Blog, Dec. 1, 2009, http://www.anishinaabe.ca/bgc/

70 Keewaydinoquay, “Gordon Wasson, Reid Kaplan, Keewaydinoquay Peschel speaking about Miskwedo (Amanita Muscaria)”, recorded at conference of “Hallucinogens of Native America”, San Francisco, 1978, track 3, http://www.dstretch.com/Kee/index.html

71 Ibid

72 Conversation with Dr. Ann Filemyr, Dean of the College of Contemporary Native Arts, Sante Fe, NM, 2005

73 Onani Meg Carver, “Sensuality of Joy”, FMG Magazine: Life in Balance, July 2012, http://fmgmagazine.com/tag/onani/

74 Dennis Tedlock and Barbara Tedlock, Teachings from the American Earth: Indian Religion and Philosophy, (Liveright Publishing, New York, New York), July, 1992, p. 165

75 Graham Harvey, ed., “Ojibwa Ontology, Behavior, and World View”, in Readings in Indigenous Religions, (New York, New York, 2002), pp. 39-40, http://books.google.com/books?id=wtlYAT-BU1IC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=atisokanak+ojibway&source=bl&ots=VewrW0zn4s&sig=c8n-2GPUv2kVBWqAinpJH9OJ82Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DoTlUOP-PNHTqQG9oIFo&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=atisokanak%20ojibway&f=false

76 Keewaydinoquay, Mukwah MisKomin or KinnicKinnick “Gift of Bear", Miniss Kitigan Drum, 1977, Exhibit III

77 Melanie Little, “The Nature of A Warrior”, Red Sky, July 2006, http://www.redskyperformance.com/press-ffwd-weekly-2006

78 Ina Wolcott, “Elk, Power Animal, Symbol of Power, Strength, Agility”, Shamanism, accessed 1/4/13, http://www.shamanicjourney.com/article/6029/elk-power-animal-symbol-of-stamina-strength-agility Although I acquired this knowledge directly from Kee in 1984, while living with her on Garden Island, this site on Shamanism simply corroborates the information.

79 Elk tooth with Peyote Stitch, size 14 Japanese glass beads; deerskin Mashkimodens with corded artificial sinew, both made by author

80 Keewaydinoquay, “Gordon Wasson, Reid Kaplan, Keewaydinoquay Peschel speaking about Miskwedo (Amanita Muscaria)”, recorded at conference of “Hallucinogens of Native America”, San Francisco, 1978, track 3, http://www.dstretch.com/Kee/index.html

81 Sacred Cedar Oil bag made by author as a gift to Kee at Onani’s Elk Robe Oshkibewis Ceremony. Made of wool, size 11 glass beads, loomed edging and embroidery stitch for cedar leaf. The bag is lined and padded with cattail down to protect glass bottle.

82 A. Irving Hallowell, Chapter 6 “Ojibwa Metaphysics of Being and the Perception of Persons” in Person Perception and Interpersonal Behavior edited by Renato Tagiuri, (Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CA), 1958, p. 63-85

83 Alice Palmer Henderson, “Midewiwin Secret Ojibwa Medicine Society”, 1996, http://the-wanderling.com/midewiwin.html 84 Author googled “Midewiwin” on 1/15/2013 and received 48,100 results (0.18 seconds)

85 Michael Angel, Preserving the Sacred: Historical Perspectives on the Ojibwa Midewiwin, (University Manitoba Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba), 2002, p. 5

86 Ibid, p. 14

87 Honourable Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair, “Is there a traditional perspective of Truth and Reconciliation?”, April, 2011, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuFc_Z9F-NA

88 “Protecting Religious Freedom and Sacred Sites”, Friends Committee on National Legislation, A Quaker Lobby in the Public Interest, March 17, 2008, http://fcnl.org/issues/nativeam/protecting_religious_freedom_and_sacred_sites/

89 Phone conversation with Dr. Ann Filemyr, Dean of the College of Contemporary Native Arts, Sante Fe, NM, January, 2013

90 Deborah Kaplan, "To Grandmother's House We Go", Detroit Free Press, September 20, 1987

91 Michael Angel, Preserving the Sacred: Historical Perspectives on the Ojibwa Midewiwin, (University Manitoba Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba), 2002, p. 14, http://books.google.com/books

92 Carol Martin, “Shingwauk U to Preserve Secret Midewiwin Teachings”, SooToday.com, March 13, 2008, http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/full_story .asp?StoryNumber=30625

93 Ibid

94 Ibid

95 Bob Goulais, “The Midewiwin Society Today”, Anishinaabe Blog, Dec. 18, 2010, http://www.anishinaabe.ca/bgc/

96 Edward Benton-Benai, The Mishomis Book, (Indian Country Press, St. Paul, MN), 1979

97 Ibid, p. 91

98 Bob Goulais, “The Eighth Fire”, Anishinaabe Blog, Jan., 2012, http://www.anishinaabe.ca/bgc/