Post by blackcrowheart on Nov 7, 2006 15:22:38 GMT -5
Native American presents Anishinabe Oral History
By: Satvik Suryanarayana
Where did the Native Americans come from? What are the prophecies of the Native American community? These were some of the interesting topics discussed during the talk on the Anishinabe Oral History held at the MUB Red Metal room last Thursday. Earl Hoagland, an Anishinabe tribal elder who works as an adjunct faculty at the White Earth Indian Nation in Minnesota delivered the talk, revealing some of the ancient wisdom passed on to them through their ancestors.
Hoagland and his wife Kathy teach courses in Anishinabe art and tribal practices. They also conduct regular outdoor camps at White Earth Nation. The camps help participants learn more about the rich history of the Native Americans. Fun-filled activities like paddling canoes, fishing, horse riding, ice fishing and skiing are part of the camp. Apart from these adventurous activities they also teach people the art of preparing delicious jams and jellies from wild berries.
The session started with a prayer sung by Hoagland to the tune of light drumbeats, paying homage to their ancestors. Simultaneously, tobacco was lit in a pipe with the fire passed on to them from their ancestors, as an offering. The practice of paying homage to their ancestors is one of the most distinctive features of the Native Indian community.
Hoagland mentioned that they have a custom of passing oral history across generations. “The Anishinabe came from the East,” said Hoagland, “Scientists and archaeologists have been trying to figure out where we come from. They have come up with the Bering Strait theory and are still fighting it out to prove it. Instead, if they would just ask us, we could tell them,” added Hoagland, jestingly. He further explained that according to their oral history, their ancestors lived along the East Coast of North America about 12,000 years ago, and as the Earth became warmer and ice melted, the tribes migrated westwards along the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Hoagland told an interesting story about Manitoulin Island, which is located off the north-central shores of Lake Huron, and is said to be the largest freshwater island in the world. According to native Indian stories, the island was a resting place for huge beavers. The stories mention that a long time ago, the Great Lakes had almost dried up, and there was no food to eat as all the fish had died. The giant beavers came to the rescue of the native tribes living on the island by diverting the course of a big river to provide water.
Interestingly, today scientists are finding fossilized remains, proving the existence of giant beavers. The remains suggest that the now extinct beavers were somewhere between 480 to 700 pounds and almost eight feet long! Some even claim to have found the proof that there indeed was a huge, meandering river on the island that had diverted its course about 9000 years ago.
Later, Hoagland told the audience about the Prophecies of the seven fires. “The prophecies cover seven eras of time. The seventh prophecy said that there would be huge changes in the Earth’s climate and new diseases would break out,” said Hoagland. When we look at the present-day Earth, we realize that as mankind is clearing forests and polluting the environment, the Earth is becoming warmer due to accumulations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Last year, there were several lightning storms in the Midwest during winter. Scientists attributed it to changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. “The pine trees are dying from the top down. The acid rain is killing our trees,” added Hoagland. Also, new diseases are being spread by mice, mosquitoes, viruses and other small creatures. Most of these diseases like the West Nile virus infection had never been heard of before and are posing challenges to mankind’s medical prowess.
Strangely, when one thinks about all this, there seems to be a lot of truth in the age-old prophecies passed on to the Native Americans from their forefathers. Maybe, it’s time to realize that the stories part of the oral history is not just folklore.
At the end of the talk, Kathy Hoagland gave more details about the camps they conduct. “One of the main goals of the camps is to teach people to respect the natural world and preserve our environment,” said Kathy. She stressed the fact that our ancestors had a much healthier lifestyle as their lifestyle demanded hard physical activities. Presently our lives have become very sedentary and we need to take extra care of our health.
“We try to hold on to our traditional ways of life at the White Earth Nation,” said Kathy. This coming winter they plan to include story-telling sessions to spread awareness about the Native American customs and traditions. They also have a long list of fun-filled adventurous activities like cross country skiing, horse riding and ice fishing. Four camps are held every year and they have activities for all age groups.
Kathy expressed her disappointment at the sight of so many trees being cut ruthlessly. She highlighted that we need to preserve our environment for our own good. Last year they implemented a community project and planted about 60 trees and also made cages to protect the young saplings. Notably, kids in the age group of six to eight years helped them enthusiastically.
The talk had a huge response from the student and faculty community at Michigan Tech. The room was packed with almost 60 people and many also joined in during the talk.
The event had been organized by Ms. Lori Sherman, the coordinator for the Native American outreach program. Most of the people seemed to be amused by the talk.
“It was a very interesting talk. I had heard about the migration before and today I got to know more about it,” said Marilyn Cooper, professor in the humanities department.
“It was wonderful. I would love to listen to more on this topic. Hoagland is a very wise man and he is so knowledgeable in the subject of Native American history. Such people can help us learn about the lost teachings and reconnect with our past,” added Jill Arola, who works at the Writing Center and is also the advisor for the Native American Outreach program.
By: Satvik Suryanarayana
Where did the Native Americans come from? What are the prophecies of the Native American community? These were some of the interesting topics discussed during the talk on the Anishinabe Oral History held at the MUB Red Metal room last Thursday. Earl Hoagland, an Anishinabe tribal elder who works as an adjunct faculty at the White Earth Indian Nation in Minnesota delivered the talk, revealing some of the ancient wisdom passed on to them through their ancestors.
Hoagland and his wife Kathy teach courses in Anishinabe art and tribal practices. They also conduct regular outdoor camps at White Earth Nation. The camps help participants learn more about the rich history of the Native Americans. Fun-filled activities like paddling canoes, fishing, horse riding, ice fishing and skiing are part of the camp. Apart from these adventurous activities they also teach people the art of preparing delicious jams and jellies from wild berries.
The session started with a prayer sung by Hoagland to the tune of light drumbeats, paying homage to their ancestors. Simultaneously, tobacco was lit in a pipe with the fire passed on to them from their ancestors, as an offering. The practice of paying homage to their ancestors is one of the most distinctive features of the Native Indian community.
Hoagland mentioned that they have a custom of passing oral history across generations. “The Anishinabe came from the East,” said Hoagland, “Scientists and archaeologists have been trying to figure out where we come from. They have come up with the Bering Strait theory and are still fighting it out to prove it. Instead, if they would just ask us, we could tell them,” added Hoagland, jestingly. He further explained that according to their oral history, their ancestors lived along the East Coast of North America about 12,000 years ago, and as the Earth became warmer and ice melted, the tribes migrated westwards along the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Hoagland told an interesting story about Manitoulin Island, which is located off the north-central shores of Lake Huron, and is said to be the largest freshwater island in the world. According to native Indian stories, the island was a resting place for huge beavers. The stories mention that a long time ago, the Great Lakes had almost dried up, and there was no food to eat as all the fish had died. The giant beavers came to the rescue of the native tribes living on the island by diverting the course of a big river to provide water.
Interestingly, today scientists are finding fossilized remains, proving the existence of giant beavers. The remains suggest that the now extinct beavers were somewhere between 480 to 700 pounds and almost eight feet long! Some even claim to have found the proof that there indeed was a huge, meandering river on the island that had diverted its course about 9000 years ago.
Later, Hoagland told the audience about the Prophecies of the seven fires. “The prophecies cover seven eras of time. The seventh prophecy said that there would be huge changes in the Earth’s climate and new diseases would break out,” said Hoagland. When we look at the present-day Earth, we realize that as mankind is clearing forests and polluting the environment, the Earth is becoming warmer due to accumulations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Last year, there were several lightning storms in the Midwest during winter. Scientists attributed it to changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. “The pine trees are dying from the top down. The acid rain is killing our trees,” added Hoagland. Also, new diseases are being spread by mice, mosquitoes, viruses and other small creatures. Most of these diseases like the West Nile virus infection had never been heard of before and are posing challenges to mankind’s medical prowess.
Strangely, when one thinks about all this, there seems to be a lot of truth in the age-old prophecies passed on to the Native Americans from their forefathers. Maybe, it’s time to realize that the stories part of the oral history is not just folklore.
At the end of the talk, Kathy Hoagland gave more details about the camps they conduct. “One of the main goals of the camps is to teach people to respect the natural world and preserve our environment,” said Kathy. She stressed the fact that our ancestors had a much healthier lifestyle as their lifestyle demanded hard physical activities. Presently our lives have become very sedentary and we need to take extra care of our health.
“We try to hold on to our traditional ways of life at the White Earth Nation,” said Kathy. This coming winter they plan to include story-telling sessions to spread awareness about the Native American customs and traditions. They also have a long list of fun-filled adventurous activities like cross country skiing, horse riding and ice fishing. Four camps are held every year and they have activities for all age groups.
Kathy expressed her disappointment at the sight of so many trees being cut ruthlessly. She highlighted that we need to preserve our environment for our own good. Last year they implemented a community project and planted about 60 trees and also made cages to protect the young saplings. Notably, kids in the age group of six to eight years helped them enthusiastically.
The talk had a huge response from the student and faculty community at Michigan Tech. The room was packed with almost 60 people and many also joined in during the talk.
The event had been organized by Ms. Lori Sherman, the coordinator for the Native American outreach program. Most of the people seemed to be amused by the talk.
“It was a very interesting talk. I had heard about the migration before and today I got to know more about it,” said Marilyn Cooper, professor in the humanities department.
“It was wonderful. I would love to listen to more on this topic. Hoagland is a very wise man and he is so knowledgeable in the subject of Native American history. Such people can help us learn about the lost teachings and reconnect with our past,” added Jill Arola, who works at the Writing Center and is also the advisor for the Native American Outreach program.