Migration of the Ojibway to the New Land

When the seven prophets came to the Ojibwe with instructions about life from Creator, the People were living in the east on the shores of the Great Salt Water. There were so many people that these words have been told through generations, “The people were so many and powerful that if one was to climb the highest mountain and look in all directions, they would not be able to see the end of the Ojibwe nation.” Life was full and there was ample food from the land and sea. Because life was so full, some amongst the People doubted the migration
predictions of the prophets and there was much discussion about the migration and the prophecies of the Seven Fires. Huge gatherings were held to discuss the plans. Many didn’t want to leave, many did and there was one group who supported the migration but agreed to stay behind and guard the eastern doorway and care for the eastern fire of the people. They were called the people of the Dawn. (Today some believe these are the people on the east coast of Canada and the USA known as the Wabanaki.

So, those believing in the migration started off, traveling first to the island shaped like a turtle, as the first prophet instructed. (This area is probably somewhere on the St. Lawrence River around present day Montreal.) There were many ceremonies held there as the people sought instructions. After some time the People began their journey west again. Along the way some clans and families stopped and set up permanent camps. It is now believed that the People continuing moved along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River and that their second major stop was around what is know today as Niagra Falls.

From here they traveled to what is today Lakes Huron and Erie. It is here that the Ojibwe and Iroquois confronted each other. The dispute was later settled when the Iroquois gave the Ojibwe a Wampum Belt made of a special shell. The Pipe was shared and a peace was sealed. The People began moving westward again and stopped when they came to a large body of fresh water as explained inthe prophecy. (This was probably along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.) At
this point many went off in search of a way across the water. Some went south and others settled down to wait for more instructions. Generations passed until the People were instructed to travel North. Eventually they stopped at the place where “food grows on water,” as told in another prophecy. More and more Ojibwe came to the largest island in this area (now known as Manitoulin Island) until this area became known as the capital of the Ojibwe nation.

For some time the People stayed on this island, but then many set off to what is now the Sault Ste. Marie area. Because of the large abundance of food in the area many people settled here also and this became the fifth stopping place of the migration. From here the People split into two large groups - one group following the northern shore of (Lake Superior) another large body of water and another followed the southern shore.

The northern group settled on an island (today known as Spirit Island) at the west end of the big lake. Some of the southern group also settled here where they found “the food that grows on water,” (wild rice) believed to be a sacred gift from Creator. This became the sixth major stopping place of the Ojibwe people. But, something was still missing. One of the prophets had spoken of a turtle-shaped island at the end of their journey. The southern group had seen such an island on their journey. The People returned and settled on the island known today as Madeline Island), calling it Mo-ning-wun-a-dawn-ing or “the place that was dug”.

At last the migration had found their sacred ground. It is thought it took about 500 years to complete the journey, which began around 900AD. The Ojibwe people have been living in the area now called Minnesota since 1400AD, 400+ years before any Europeans settled in this area.

As

told by Lewis Mitchell,
Passamaquoddy, in 1890

Once there was a girl who was called Red Rose and she was very beautiful. One
day she wandered in the woods a long way from home. She came to a place where
Mount Katahdin was in view. As she looked at it she wished for a husband as big
and strong as the mountain. She was very tired from the long walk, so she fell
asleep at the base of a tree. As Red Rose slept, she dreamt of a tall man. When
she awoke there was an immense Native standing before her. “I am the Spirit of
Katahdin,” he said. “I know your wish, and I have come to marry you.” He asked
her to go to the mountain with him, but it is a long way. “ I cannot walk so
far,” she said. “ I did not ask you to walk,” he answered. “ I will carry you.”

So
he sat her upon his shoulder, and went away with her to Katahdin. The entrance
to the mountain was in its side between some rocks where it could not be easily
found. The Spirit of Katahdin took her within the mountain past the rocks and
there she lived with him very happily.

After a few years, Red Rose gave birth to a little boy and a little girl. As the
years passed, Red Rose began to grow homesick. “ I wish that I could go home,”
she said one day. ”You shall have your wish,” answered the Spirit of Katahdin.
He gave her some medicine that made her once more young and beautiful. As a
parting gift he said that whenever his daughter passed her hand over her lips,
the words would come true, and whatever his son pointed a finger at would die.

So
Red Rose went home to her Tribe by the great waters of the Passamaquoddy Bay.
She took the children with her to meet their Passamaquoddy family. When they
reached home it was a time of famine. There was nothing to eat in the wigwams;
there was no game in the woods; there were no fish in the river or lakes.
Everyone was sad. Red Rose felt sad also, but the little girl passed her hand
over her mouth and said that there was game in the woods. At once the woods were
full of game. The little boy pointed his finger at the deer and it fell dead.
Then he pointed at a moose and it fell dead. He happened to point at a tribal
member and he too fell dead. Then the little girl passed her hand over her mouth
and said that the lakes and rivers were full of eels. Then they were full of
eels, and there was a great deal to eat. Everyone was happy, and there was no
more famine. Over the years the Passamaquoddy were attacked by the tribes from
the east. The spirit of Katahdin came and gave the Passamaquoddy people, a magic
bow. Arrows shot out from it in every direction, and every arrow killed an
enemy. The other tribe was frightened and fled. Katahdin also gave Red Rose more
medicine so that every 100 years she becomes young and beautiful again. Every
100 years she comes back to visit the Passamaquoddy, and she is very, very
beautiful indeed. It is said among the Elderly of the Tribe that many
grandparents saw Red Rose when she came on the last century visit. For a long
time Natives were afraid to go up to the top of Mount Katahdin for they may meet
the Spirit of the Mountain, who dwells in its heart beyond the secret stone
portals.
Hau~

Patti Moreno, also known as “The Garden Girl,” is an
educator and urban gardener from Boston, Massachusetts who is helping
to spread the word about urban sustainable living. Patti Moreno introduces you to her concept of living
sustainably even in the city. .

Check out her web site…pretty cool!~

http://www.gardengirltv.com/

Using Wood Ashes in the Garden

Hilda M. Morrill

If you burn wood for heat, the ash can be a helpful ingredient
to your garden. However, there are some precautions you should follow.

Never
use ash from burnt cardboard, coal, pressure-treated, painted or
stained wood. Ashes from these woods may contain harmful contaminants.
Use ash only on alkaline-loving plants such as lilacs, not azaleas or
rhododendrons. Don’t apply ash to areas where you’ll be growing
potatoes, and avoid using ash at seeding time. The salts in the ash may
kill the young seedlings….

(Tip used with permission/The National Gardening Association)
(122099)

Did You Know?

Hilda M. Morrill

hilda@bostongardens.com

Listed in no particular order ….

Truffles cost more per pound than gold does.
~Emeril Lagasse

Fossil research confirms that during periods of global warming, insects eat more plants.
~Boston Globe, “Discoveries,” 2/18/08

At
the magnificent Mayan ruin of Chichen Itza in Mexico, every spring and
fall equinox, light and shadow strike the pyramid in such a way as to
produce an outline of Kulkulkan, the feathered serpent god revered by
the Mayans for bringing good luck to their crops.
~AAA Horizons, June 2004

Oak trees are the main source of cork.
~Boston Herald, 02/03/06

The
shellac that protects furniture is made from lac, a sticky substance
that insectssecrete. These inisects gather by the hundreds and
thousands on soapberry and acacia trees in Burma and India. The word lac or lakh means hundred thousand in Persian and Hindu.
~Suburban Shopper, 12/13/06

In
North America alone there are over 12,000 species of butterflies and
moths. Most moths are also beneficial pollinators; far fewer are
harmful.
~Mary Arakelian, Mayflower, May/June 2006

Poison ivy is a member of the cashew family…
~Andy Tomolonis, Boston Herald, 06/15/03

Birds and Bards Festival along Boston’s Emerald Necklace

Friday, May 02, 2008 - Sunday, May 04, 2008

Spend the weekend exploring birds, poetry, and nature in more
than 1,000 acres of greenspace along Boston’s Emerald Necklace.

Festival activities for children and adults are presented by the Arnold
Arboretum, Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center, Forest Hills
Educational Trust, Franklin Park Coalition, Franklin Park Zoo, and the
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.

Check for updates on www.massaudubon.org/boston for the full schedule
of events and locations including bird walks, family activities, poetry
recitals, special talks, and more.

Location:

Arnold Arboretum and other Boston locations
125 Arborway (one of Festival locations)

Jamaica Plain
, MA 02130

Sponsor: Birds and Bards Festival - several sponsors

Phone: 617-524-1718

Email: arbweb@oeb.harvard.edu
http://www.massaudubon.org/boston

http://www.bostongardens.com/bostonevents/bostongardens_event_detail.cfm?id=7312&catid=208

Down:2:Earth, A Sustainable Living Expo

Friday, March 28, 2008 - Sunday, March 30, 2008

Want to learn how to tread more lightly on the earth?

D2E is an education forum for learning about a greener lifestyle and an
exposition of companies who are responding to consumer wishes for
products that combine sustainability with style.

Author/activists Bill McKibben and Frances Moore Lappe are keynote speakers.

Location:

Hynes Conventions Center
900 Boylston Street

Boston
, MA 02115

Sponsor: Down:2: Earth

Time(s): March 28: 5pm - 10pm; March 29: 11am-8pm; March 30: 11am-5pm

Cost: Adults: $10, ($12 at door); Students and Seniors: $8 ($10 at door). Purchase online at www.d2eboston.com

Phone: 617-266-6540

Email: info@d2eboston.com
http://www.d2eboston.com

The True Peace

~Black Elk Oglala Sioux Spiritual Leader (1863 - 1950)

Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux 1863-1950

Over a hundred years ago Black Elk had a vision of the time
when Indian people would heal from the devastating effects
of European migration. In his vision the Sacred Hoop which had been broken,
would be mended in seven generations.

The children born into this decade will be the seventh generation

***

You have noticed that everything an Indian does in a circle,
and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles,
and everything tries to be round.

In the old days all our power came to us from the sacred hoop
of the nation and so long as the hoop was unbroken the people
flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop,
and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace
and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain and the north
with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance. This
knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion.

Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle.
The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball
and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls.
Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon
does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great
circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were.

The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is
in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the
nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop,
a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our
children.

A Ute Prayer

Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.