“It's a great gift…” Interview with Rose Auger

“It's a great gift…” Interview with Rose Auger

(This interview is from a talk with Mike Patterson at the KUMIK in Ottawa and first appeared in Aboriginal VOICES Magazine. Rose passed over in 2006 after a long career as a respected Elder and medicine person.)

Rose Auger is a medicine woman of the Woodland Cree people from Driftpile reserve, near Faust Alberta. We talked about music, although there is no word for music in Native languages. The drum, rattle and flute, the songs, are all used for sacred and other purposes, they are all part of something larger than just music. "People say the Indian way of life is gone after 500 years, but look at me. I'm here."
Her music and her ceremonies are used to bring spirits and help the people. The social system today and the lifestyles of people, particularly in the cities, is putting their spirits and bodies in danger. The nine to five lifestyle for money, the culture of the TV, the inner city life that leaves so many people lost, are all killing people. Rose works to help people see the reality of the red road.
"Sometimes I wonder how it can work, with the way we have our lifestyles, they way we eat, the way we abuse our body in all that we do. You know, a lot of people are so tired from a day's work that they'll go home and then they'll try to relax with alcohol or whatever. More abuse ! And then finally they fall asleep in the wee hours, then get up and take off again. That's a very abusive life. And then they wonder why they have all this turmoil in their life, and disease in their body, it's just chaos.
"I see this, and try my very best to bring it out to people, to say 'stop doing that, there is a better way.' You know we were here thousands of years, and we know a better way. We have the values of our ancestors, which are in our genes, which are here. Stop using this harmful drink, this harmful drugs, and values. Your values are not good, it's driving you crazy."
Governments and society are in a state of denial in regards to the sickness that has fallen on mother earth. As a result, purification foreseen by the Cree in the West has begun.
"The purification already has happened. If you pay attention, look at the world and the natural disasters, that's part of purification. Your earthquakes, your floods like the great ones down Florida way and Texas - that's all part of it. The purification means many lives lost and many, many people totally wiped out. You have your air disasters, your wars, your fanatics who wipe out people.
"A lot of people think that purification is the end of the world. I don't think that's the way it is. It just a way that's going to change things: The money markets are going to collapse, money is going to have less and less value, and people are going to have to learn how to survive and go back to the old ways and the land, to relearn their natural traditions in order to become whole.
"When the holy people were putting out their teachings of prophecy, they told us: 'Go back to the land. Learn how to find your water. Old knowledge. Learn how, so that when purification happens you will be prepared for it.' I've done that, I've led people back to the land to prepare for that purification, but they're just too weak, too weak. They gotta have town, town..."
Rose tries to show people how to live with the land and the spirits on the land. Not everybody is ready to learn. Some time ago at Timbers (a sacred site in Alberta), she went out to help people prepare for the purification by teaching them about the land there.
"The first year they put in the garden they didn't get much out of it because the gophers got it all, you see ? (laughs) So that's as far as they went, they didn't learn how they had to do it. They could have put up offerings and fixed it so that those ones would not do that, you see, because you're working with the spirits.
"And that's the way it went. And that's the way it goes today. People are willing to grasp at our value system, our knowledge, our wisdom. But they can only go so far. When it means changing your lifestyle or doing things differently - that's a very difficult move to make. And then there are some young people are so super eager about saying 'oh yes yes I'm gonna give up my job and go back to the land and be like you were, before white man came.
"And I say 'yes that is super, that is wonderful, but let me tell you my dear friend, you must have support in what you do. You can't do it alone.' And you must also know how to relate to mother earth and all the beings, whether it's trees or medicine or water. You have to make that connection. And don't jump into it. Your body cannot take it. Your mind is too unbalanced. Your mind will get the worst of you. So you have to do it in a way that makes the transition wise.
"Continue to have some place where you have this (your life today) and then, work at it over there. Because when you get over there and you want to live the right way, you have to know that it's not just for today, but fifty years from now. You will build that place for the generations coming, that they will have a place. To have the natural water, and to have the medicines.
"I built a round house, and the beavers kept making dams because that was their area and we came and invaded it. And so they kept making their dams and our land was flooding and we couldn't keep our horses and our cattle there because their hoofs would suffer, it was too damp. So finally I had to do a ceremony and ask the beaver to pity us, and go somewhere else. And they did. They moved, you see... that is the teaching of our ancient ancestors, that we have a way of living in harmony with the beings.
"The thing was, some of the people who were there building, said 'Well go get us some dynamite and we'll dynamite the beaver dam and houses and that's how we'll get rid of them.' And I said 'No, no, you don't need to do that, that's destructive, to disturb all the plant life, all the waters."
Some people are now waking up, says Rose. "People are just now saying: 'What happened here ?' (speaking of the crisis in the world today). And then when we come in and tell them, they may accept it or they might try to find other ways of looking at it. But most times people just will not make those changes that they need to make in order to know a better way of life.
"That better way of life was here for thousands of years. Those days, those times, there were no prisons or hospitals. We always lived in harmony and our people who were medicine people, or people of visions, people of dreams, they played all those parts to keep the nations alive and in harmony.
Rose plays her part through her music, her ceremonies, and travels. These things are done to reach people. She has 126 spirits, and she carries a yuipi ceremony, given to her by a Sioux medicine man who had carried it for 42 years. "He came to my land, and passed it to me and one of my brothers.
"I have my own sacred songs and they're addressed to different spirit people, and different things. Most of them came to me and the others, that were passed to me, came when the ceremony was passed to me. That's how it works. The music and the ceremony are all one. If you profess to know a ceremony and you don't have the music, then it's not a ceremony."
She doesn't use a drum, she uses a rattle. "Me, I have turtle rattles, and I've had a turtle rattle since I can remember. Someone coming up here will say 'how come there's turtle rattles here, there's no turtles here...' you know, but the spirits are universal. We knew the turtle and we had the turtle in our ceremonies... it's a real ancient spirit. The same as you see shells, we use shells... all these things are everywhere. How it came about is... back there somewhere. I'm just a baby, I don't know."
She says that people have been travelling a long, long time. "Turtle rattles, they have them in the West and in the East. I've had different rattles given me like the small ones, I like the small ones, the ones that I work with. I also have a big one, which was given to me by the Onondaga (firekeepers of the Iroquois Confederacy). A grandmother brought me there and I did some doctoring and they gave me this rattle and they gave me tobacco and they gave me a lot of sacred stuff. It's because of love of our ceremonies.
"Spirits are so holy, that's why we have rattles. That's why we have a ceremony. We put all these sacred objects there for them to use. To touch us, that's how holy they are. That's why we have what we have, you know - the pipe, the rattles, the sage, all these sacred things.
"We put them there for them (the spirits) to come, and to cleanse us, heal us - all that we need. And we always ask for everything, in our ceremonies. We ask for forgiveness for the mistakes we made, anything that we may have inflicted on somebody that caused them pain, or maybe put them off course on their path.
"What mistakes we make, we have to ask for forgiveness and ask, you know, to learn. Show me, teach me, have no pity on me - how else am I going to learn ? In my early years I made a lot of mistakes. I kept worrying: 'I can't do this, I'm not holy enough, I wont be able to do this - I've just done too many things that are not good.' And the holy man who passed the lodge to me kept saying 'it's not your choice, the spirits chose you, you have to do it, you have no choice.
"Most people have their own free destiny, they can choose. I'm not one of them. This is what I was told, and so, regardless of how I may try to run away and ignore what comes through, it'll keep coming until I respond. And in the beginning I used to really put myself through a lot of pain because I was ignoring the spirit. But I finally learned to realize that there's no other way to go that will leave me this great sense of well being.
"In my life, I've gone through so much, so many places, met so many people. So I'm always prepared to hear what people say, what people think, and I want that. I honour it as much when somebody's upset as when somebody's happy. I just honour what's happening with them, and sometimes it's painful, especially when it's from our own people. Those kind of things are painful.
"But I know a way to free myself from that pain. I just take a smudge and smoke my little pipe, then I'm back on track. Because to work in a holy way you always have to be holy, in order for the spirit to work through you."
A constant healing process is needed for a healthy life. Her helper Celeste Strikeswithagun equates that with learning kindness: "There are people who say: 'Oh I'll do that, I'll do anything (to get the spirituality).' But they don't know what it takes. It takes your whole life to learn about kindness, about being happy."
Rose says that "once you're on it (the road) you just flow with your life. And the part that most people find difficult is the part to give. To give of their time, of theirselves, to give without expectations. When you give you give from your heart. And you know that the creator sees you and watches you, and the creator's going to give you what you need. And you a lot of the time don't even know what that is. But you just know that you do this and it will be given to you.
"Someone who is always giving away things, he just walks free. He doesn't accumulate a bunch of stuff that weighs him down. They're just free. They're just so free in life. That's how our people were. They just roamed this world, everywhere. Because they never got weighed down by the materialistic world. They just had survival, what that was about - and the most important part is the spirituality, being able to get from here to there anytime.
"I have a car, which was given to me. When I get in my car, I light my smudge, I offer my tobacco for protection from anything harmful. Also for help so I can get where I'm going soon. In that process the police might cross my path, but he's busy with someone else or he fell asleep at that moment I went by there, breaking the speed limit.
"When we're in that power, it's just so awesome. Myself, I don't want to be there alone so I work really hard to teach my children, my grandchildren, and all the people who wish to come and learn. Learn and be free to pursue that lifestyle. In this world, it's all connected. We don't separate ourselves from anything. We venture into life with this kind of support and help from our ways.
"Learning to be in harmony, especially with the water... you have to be in harmony and connected with all these things because should it be that some kind of disaster happens, then you're going to have that knowledge, and the spirit people helping you. It's not going to work to just go and be there on the land, and not be connected."
She has had many good times, teaching the people and bringing the spirit to give guidance. Her way of life and her songs are shared by many people. She describes an experience at Waterhen Reserve in Alberta:
"It was so beautiful... we had just put our pipes up and we were fasting, and it was in September, the leaves were just beautiful and the water was incredible. And so here we were, we were coming down from the fast, and the women had brought the food, we were going to have a feast right on the shore of that lake.
"And a whole school of loons were there because that's where they lived, these loons. And so they started coming, and they were just talking and telling each other what we were about, what we were doing. And they were very pleased, because the loon man was there, that's my son Dale, he has this gift of the loon call. So he started to call, and they just came right to the shore, and they were just going in and talking back and we were all in awe of what these loons were doing before our eyes. This wasn't just loons, this was sacred beings and we were in their territory.
"And my son has the loon song, and then the people sang the loon song and we were in unity with these loons. That was so profound for me, I had never seen that before. That unity, that these beings, these loons, knew who we were. And we had a vague idea what they were about. We know they are very sacred, they are the medicine people of the waters, of the land. We knew that, but there was much more than that between us.
"Most people will never really get to know the extent of what everything is about. But everyone can learn things. You learn to be grateful when you have that opportunity to be passed these songs, these rituals and ceremonies - being able to work with these beings. It's a great gift. Even just one spirit."

Cedar Tea and Native Medicines

Many of us know cedar tea, and baths, are great for cleansing the system and for stopping colds. Here are some facts and links related to cedar tea and its uses, also other Native medicines (now that cold season is here):

Native Foods and Medicines

"If you are suffering from cough and cold and related congestion, you can try Cedar Tea. This is an expectorant and efficiently removes cough and phlegm from the respiratory tract and lungs and thereby relieves congestion. It also gives relief in headache, red and watery eyes and other symptom of cough and cold. It helps having a good sleep when suffering from cough and cold."

CAUTION: If pregnant do not use. Do not overdo it either; it is a medicine and not a daily drink.

Enjoy! I always put some maple syrup in mine... if taken at the onset of a cold, it can knock it out overnight!

Skype is Superior to Teleconferences?

Top Ten Reasons Why Skype is Superior to Teleconferences:

1) With Skype, you can see who is in the call, and who is talking.

2) No annoying clicks and buzzes when people join or leave calls on Skype.

3) When people leave or join a call, everyone can see.

4) Can send files, photos and share webpages with Skype. Much more interactive. More like "being there" than a phone (limited to audio).

5) Multiple modes of communication on Skype, can send IMs, emoticons etc. while talking. Several conversations can happen on different levels at once without "interfering" with meeting flow; like passing notes in class/meetings.

6) Skype has video, phones do not.

7) Skype is free. Teleconferences cost money for long distance and technical help.

8) Using Skype encourages people to stay in touch in smaller groups, teleconference does not.

9) Skype and online communication are way of the present and future, telephones are limited, usually locked to a desk or location, and miss the whole nature of cyberspace.

10) When distance communicators in remote locations can be trained in Skypesmanship, they become empowered and included in knowledge networks in cyberspace. Elders in particular can communicate with friends, family, research interests, and the world, for free. Teleconferences do not open these doors.

11) Skype is way more funner! (Oprah uses Skype!!)

Medicine Wheels

An Anishnabek Medicine Wheel, from Lillian Piktawanakwat, Birch Island


Teachings of the Wheel and Circle, and circular concepts of life, thought and spirituality, are universal to Natives in North America. The Anishnabek Medicine Wheel is used to teach a way of life and understanding, emphasizing the need for balance and harmony. Medicine wheels and the circle operate on many levels, incorporating many different elements.
The Wheel shown above is used by an Ojibwe elder from Birch Island, Ontario. The Rainbow colors are: Yellow, Red, Black, White, Blue, Green and Purple. Yellow is in the East, Red in the South, Black in the West and White in the North.
These four colours are not fixed. They depend on the teaching being given, on the personal colours of the wheel's carrier, or on traditional colours of a group. Another medicine wheel from Le Pas, Manitoba has the colours (from the East) red, green, blue and white, while the wheel from the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre is yellow, blue, white and red - surrounded by green.
The four colours and four directions in each wheel are the basis of its teachings. If one of the four elements of the wheel is too strong or weak, the wheel is thrown out of balance.
Much of the imbalance in the world today stems from the inability of the four colours or races of the Medicine Wheel to recognize each other and cooperate in the circle. The mainstream perceives that Natives have wisdom when it comes to living with and preserving the land, which is true; but the Medicine Wheel, in the age of the Seventh Fire, also shows that all peoples have their own wisdom, and that the circle that is earth cannot survive unless each group shares its knowledge with the others (William Commanda). These ideas have been with the Anishnabek since long before the time of contact, but they shared them with white visitors early on. Kohl remarked, on visiting a Midewiwin lodge in 1854:

The four human figures at the sides of the sanctuary are the four great spirits sitting to the north, south, east and west... they (the Anishnabe) recognize four quarters of the world, and place a great and powerful spirit in each of them (1985: 152).

Mike Dashner is a teacher and dancer from Walpole Island. In Sound of the Drum, he gives this teaching of the Medicine Wheel:

The medicine wheel (represents) basically the message that I try to get across when I do educational outreach programs. There are four sacred colours of mankind on the planet. And... the medicine wheel is out of balance, because there's input from all three of the other races; and the Indians are just now starting to come into their responsibility to get their message out - about the environment, the greenhouse effect. But also I think that a humane kind of life is missing (in the non-Native world)... When you're there in full dance regalia, you have all these young minds just locked into everything you say - so I feel there's a real responsibility, you have to take care in the message you get across (in Cronk 1990: 21).

"The Ripple in a Pond" is a teaching from Linda Smith, at the Odawa Native Friendship Centre:

As the name implies, this circle is a series of concentric circles. The purpose of this circle is very basic. Healing is accomplished by helping the individual understand the universe and his place in it. This understanding promotes a sense of belonging. Each of the ripples is distinct and complete. However, at no time, do any of the ripples cease to be water, nor do they cease to be part of the greater picture in the pond. The circles radiate from the center in the following order: spirit, self, partner (spouse), family, extended family, community, nation, world, world views, universe/environment, spirit.

Circles, and Medicine Wheels, can also be seen to move in a spiral fashion, expanding with time. Thus, when one comes 'full circle,' it is often with increased awareness or understanding.

Google Docs

Hi all,

Since we are using google for the Listserv and Blog, I though we could also use Google Docs -- you can collaborate on documents in real time or over time, including Word and Powerpoint. It is a Beta app (under construction) but looks pretty useful. Talking through documents on Skype could be a good way to go, and spare a lot of emails back and forth and so on...

Take a look: Google Docs

Remember that all communication goes through offshore servers (US) and is viewable by Google themselves (although we can restrict public access on Blog, Listserv and Docs -- make them by invitation only). For that matter, everything sent through cyberspace is (potentially) viewable by any number of parties. So for that reason, no confidential data regarding project participants, etc., should be posted at Google.
It is more a tool for sharing information, planning, stories etc... it can really help get things done more quickly and efficiently. And can be fun!

MIP Toolkit

For those interested, here is an online toolkit for Multiple Intervention Programs designed at uOttawa. We all know that there are many factors associated with each community health issue; and that many health issues can be related; could we be thinking in terms of MIPs as wholistic approaches?

MIP Online Toolkit

Skype FAQ: Tips and Tricks

Although Skype is a great communication program, the simple commands for getting it to do what you want are not easy to figure out, and their support pages don't always help. Sooo... here is a blog for IKN members who want to look up answers, or post questions. This is a blog in progress, please contribute ideas and suggestions, as well as questions.
We can start with the Compact View of Skype (1st button top right, at end is the X (close)). Looks like this:



Q: What type of internet connection do I need?
A: Skype will work with almost any connection, including dialup (phone line).

Q: Do I need a headset?
A: Your laptop has an integrated camera, mic and speakers, so headset is not needed. It's a matter of preference. If not using headset, talk toward the bottom/back of the laptop where mic is.

Q: What do different colours mean on my Contacts list?
A: If you go to the top left menu, Skype, the first choice is Online Status. There you can choose whether to be seen as active online (green), Away (yellow) do not disturb etc. Even if you choose to be Away when online, others may still call or send you a PM (personal message). Usually, green Online status indicates the person is free and is inviting others to contact them; however, they may be busy on another call (your status should be Online to use video).

Q: What is a call? A conversation?
A: You can call your contacts with or without video. A conversation is the type interface where u can 'chat' via Instant Messaging, send files, links and other info (you do this by clicking on Share, beside the Smiley icon just above the chat window).
There is a toggle switch (small blue button) on the bottom right of the screen -- that can be used to bring up the conversation (chat) window or close it.
People often start out by typing a message to someone, to see if they want to do a call or video call, or just chat using the keyboard, smileys, etc.

Q: How many people can we get on a conference call?
A: Skype says up to ten can talk, but we can try more. Only two people can use video, or share their screen, at a time.

Q: How do mute my mic or adjust volume?
A: Click on the mic icon beside your name (which appears after the call starts). There are also three silver buttons at back of yr computer to adjust sound or mute it.

Q: What is screen sharing?
A: Allows other to see your screen, to show documents, slideshows, presentations or cybertreks...

Q: What is the best application for screen sharing?
A: Yugma seems to be rather slow, it may be better to go to Skype 4.1 BETA (see below), or Oneeko, another third party app.

Q: Should I get Skype Beta 4.1?
A: This new version allows for screen sharing, very useful, without need for Yugma or other third party software. Seems to be a robust platform. It is however an 'experimental' version, I had some trouble with Video but got it going.

Q: Any fancy video tricks?
A: I now use a third party VH Multi Camera Studio to link up various applications, including 2 cameras, pictures, animations etc. It is freeware but they accept donations: http://www.hmelyoff.com/index.php?section=33. I link the studio to Skype in the Video settings (Tools/Options/Video). It works better than the onboard Skype video in 4.1 BETA. If this sounds too techie or complicated, but you want to try, Skype me and I can take u through it!