The Eighth Challenge Walking with Miskwaadesi the Eighth Challenge W Ater Walking for Miskwaadesi and Aki
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1. THIRTEEN MOONS ON A TURTLE’S BACK 8. WATER 2. CREATION WALKING FOR STORIES MISKWAADESI AND AKI 3. THE BASICS 7. TURTLES EVERYWHERE! 4. TURTLE 6. TURTLE NEEDS STORIES AND TEACHINGS 5. MISKWAADESI’S NEIGHBOURS AND FRIENDS THE EIGHTH CHALLENGE WALKING WITH MISKWAADESI THE EIGHTH CHALLENGE W ATER WALKING FOR MISKWAADESI AND AKI How clean is the water in your backyard? Is the water safe for Miskwaadesi - and you? Do you know how to talk to the water? Find out from Josephine Mandamin and the Water Walkers. Have you thanked the water for its gift to you? Carry a bucket of water around your watershed. “My 8th challenge - walk for the water; walk for the turtle; walk for yourself and your future.” Miskwaadesi’s 8th challenge. 212 EXPECTATIONS PRACTICING THE LEARNING | FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS TITLE OF ACTIVITY ONTARIO CURRICULUM EXPECTATION WORKSHEET I Didn’t Know That 4s12, 4s14 Computer - Quiz From Paddle to the 4e7, 4e81, 4s14, 4z40, 4z39 Literacy/Video Sea to Josephine Planning a Water Chart and Journal 4e52, 4p27, 4p28 walk Reflection DEMONSTRATING THE LEARNING | MAKING OUR OWN FOOTSTEPS TITLE OF ACTIVITY ONTARIO CURRICULUM EXPECTATION WORKSHEET Water Walking for 4p31, 4p27, 4p28 Action project Miskwaadesi Journal Reflection 4e56 ONE STEP MORE (individual student optional adventures in learning) 1. Helping our Great Lakes 2. Water Wheels watershed, Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario, WORD WALL: St. Lawrence, healthy, bucket, drop, miino giizhigad, 213 LINKS TO OTHER CURRICULUM 8th CHALLENGE Ways of Knowing Guide – Relationship – The Waters – pg 78 http://www.torontozoo.com/pdfs/stewardship_Guide.pdf 214 RESOURCES http://motherearthwaterwalk.com Waterwalkers website Waterwalker Address - Biidaajiwun Inc. Community Health Outreach Worker c/o Josephine Mandamin 134 Frederica Street West Thunder Bay, Ontario P7E 3V7 (807) 474-3542 (517) 980 2640 http://www.epa.state.il.us/kids/fun-stuff/quiz/ water-quiz.html water quiz for students http://www.epa.state.il.us/kids/earthship-logs/log-3.html Water Water everywhere reading activity http://www.epa.state.il.us/kids/fun-stuff/water-cycle/ make a water cycle wheel 215 KOKOM ANNIE’S JOURNAL JOSEPHINE TAKES A WALK “Kokom Annie - the spirit of the water has spoken to me. It is telling me to let you know that our Elder Josephine is coming. Josephine is coming. Go and meet her - she has a message for you. Josephine has thought about the seven generations that came before us. She is thinking about the seven generations not yet here. Josephine is honouring the water and the spirit of the water. Josephine and the water walkers will be here soon. Listen to what they have to share. Take their message home to your community. If you walk for the water, you will be walking for me, Miskwaadesi as well. You will be walking for all of the different forms of life that live in our waters. Listen to Josephine’s message and then you will understand my 8th challenge - walk for the water; walk for the turtle; walk for yourself and your future.” Miskwaadesi’s words stayed in my heart and in my head. I spoke with Lily about what she had said and we called in to the Friendship Centre to find out if they knew who Josephine is. They said that Josephine Mandamin and the Water Walkers were coming soon. Josephine would stop at the Friendship Centre and talk to anyone who would listen about her walk around the Great Lakes to bring attention to the health of the water and to tell the water that we still care about it. Lily and I went to bed early so that we would not be late - we were looking forward to meeting this wonderful grandmother from Thunder Bay. The day after Josephine’s visit - I was so honoured yesterday to meet Josephine Mandamin, our Nokomis who has walked around all of the Great Lakes to remind us how important our fresh water is to our people. Josephine is an Anishinawbe Elder who began her very special journey in 2003. Yesterday she came to talk to the women on the reserve and to share her message about how important water is in our lives and in our communities. Josephine takes her responsibilities as an Anishinawbe-kwe very seriously. She reminded all of us of the responsibilities that women have as water keepers. 216 Josephine shared with me her understanding that “Water is precious and sacred. It is one of the basic elements needed for all life to exist. All people need to be concerned about the water in our backyards and how much of it we are using and wasting.” Some of the things that she spoke of yesterday were that: There are six quadrillion gallons of water in our Great Lakes. Only the polar ice caps and Lake Bakal have more fresh water that the Great Lakes. 40 million people live within the beautiful watershed of the Great Lakes and they must share the one percent of the water in the lakes that is renewed every year through rain and snowfall with each other and with the plants and animals that also rely on the water. Miskwaadesi is one of those animals that must have clean water. Josephine was worried because she noticed that the people who live in this most beautiful watershed are the most wasteful of water in the whole world. The people have had so much clean and fresh water available to them that they have taken it for granted and they have wasted huge amounts of water. The groundwater in the Great Lakes watershed has become sick with the pollution of industry and communities who do not understand that somebody lives downstream and the people who live upstream have a responsibility to make sure that the water they send downstream is clean and healthy. Water is essential to survival and health; everything is related to water. First Nations peoples in Ontario have been made aware of the issue of water pollution in the Great Lakes. Since the beginning of time, the First Nations peoples living along the shores and within the watershed of the Great Lakes have carried within their hearts a love for the water; within their minds the understanding of the need to keep the water clean and healthy because it is the water that cleanses and heals body, mind, and spirit, and everything depends on the water for continued life; and within their spirit the connection given to us by Creation between water and all life forms. 217 The Elders spoke of the need to keep the water clean and pure for the sake of the seventh generation yet to be born. Our ceremonies include water for its healing and nourishing power. The First Nation peoples of North America believe that the water is sacred and that water is the life-blood of Aki, our Mother the Earth. Together, we need to come together with all peoples within our watershed and to share our awareness of the condition of the Earth’s fresh water supply. The everyday wasting of water and polluting of fresh water is going to jeopardize the future of our waters and our future generations. If this disregard for the water supply continues, we can expect that the water will be depleted and unfit for us to use. Josephine believes that we must each take responsibility for raising awareness within our communities of the need to conserve this beautiful life source. Josephine’s words were still in my mind and heart when I went to bed. It seemed that I had barely closed my eyes when I was dreaming of sitting by the marsh in the early morning, listening to the first red winged blackbirds singing their spring song of joy. Miskwaadesi peeked out from under some floating duckweed. Her soft faint voice mingled with the early sounds of spring. “Miskwaadesi - ahniin - it is so good to see you. Miina- giizhigad (it’s a nice day!) I met the most wonderful anishiniaabe-kwe who had a dream about walking and talking to the water. Nokomis Josephine and the water walkers have been walking around the Great Lakes 218 watershed carrying a bucket of water to remind everyone of how important the water is. I told her about you and the challenges. Josephine reminded me that turtles spend so much time in and around water and they must have clean healthy water, just as we do. Josephine thought that maybe if we got the women and children together right here at Wasauksing, we could walk around the wetlands and the waters on the reserve, carrying a bucket of water, to let everyone know that we are concerned about our water. Josephine thought that we might pick up any litter or garbage that we find so that when the turtles wake up from their winter sleep they will find a cleaner and healthier place to live. She reminded us that we have a responsibility to care for the water, just as the turtles have a responsibility to care for the wetland and the water. What do you think, Miskwaadesi? Could this be one of the challenges?” The old turtle blinked in the April sun. “Kokom, that would be a good challenge. Josephine had a very powerful dream. She worked so hard to carry that bucket of water and she has reminded many people of their responsibilities. I like her idea- so… the 8th challenge is to water walk with me around the watershed right here at Wasauksing. See the water as I see it - experience the wetland from my perspective. When you walk, look for signs of change.