Miywasin Moment: Let traditions be the foundation for new beginnings

By JoLynn Parenteau on January 5, 2022.

From left, Elder Dan Fox, Chasity Cairns, Brenda Mercer and Elder Charlie Fox. Cairns and Mercer received new Blackfoot spirit names in a December naming ceremony at Medicine Hat Lodge.--PHOTO BY JOLYNN PARENTEAU

“Looking behind, I am filled with gratitude. Looking forward, I am filled with vision. Looking upwards, I am filled with strength. Looking within, I discover peace.”

– Quero Apache prayer

It is a bright new day, in a fresh new year. A time for self-reflection, and if you have a Type A personality like me, you might be making lists of all the ways you’ll become your best self in 2022: you’ll drink more water, boost your retirement savings, double-down on practicing your Downward Dog.

Our intentions are inspired by a blank page and motivated by the drive for personal growth. But what upholds our resolutions? Is our independent will enough, or do we need something more?

It is our collective traditions that lay the groundwork for these new beginnings.

At the stroke of midnight each Dec. 31, we welcome possibilities a new year can bring. Through the lens of social media flows an endless stream of last year’s highlights: Successes, weddings, new births, new paths explored. The sum of which can motivate us to strive to go farther, be greater, stronger, wiser.

For thousands of years and to this day, Indigenous tribes of Turtle Island (a Creation legend’s name for North America) and many cultures living in the Northern hemisphere, have observed the Winter Solstice as a time of renewal.

Dec. 21 on our modern calendar marks the shortest day of the year and the longest night. As sunlight hours and warmer seasons stretch ahead, we look forward to the coming return of sacred foods in abundance – plants and animals both.

Traditional celebration means singing and drumming, dances and prayer, stories passed down over shared meals of wild meat stew and fry bread. This time is marked with shared joy and self-reflection.

“We were raised to honour the land and honour ourselves,” writes Elaine Alec, Syilx and Secwepemc author of Calling My Spirit Back.

It is in this way that our ancestors’ traditions form the bedrock of our modern day ‘new year, new me’ mentality. We vow to stress less and recycle more, to take deeper breaths and tread more lightly on this earth – To ‘walk in a good way’.

This past December I was honoured to attend a traditional Blackfoot pipe ceremony guided by Elders Dan and Charlie Fox of Kainai First Nation. As the pipe was passed hand over hand around the circle, participants touched the pipe to their shoulders four times, offering four prayers to rise with the tobacco smoke up to the Creator. It seemed the perfect moment to set intentions for the coming new year and pray for the wellbeing of loved ones in a turbulent time.

We then learned that on this day, we would bear witness to another venerable tradition: a dual spirit-naming ceremony for two profound change-makers in our community, Brenda Mercer and Chasity Cairns of Miywasin Friendship Centre.

The Elders painted their faces, wrists and moccasined feet with red ochre, then stood facing the assembled group with the two recipients and told stories of blessings the Fox brothers had received in their lifetimes, blessings they now passed on to the two honourees before each received her new Blackfoot name.

Each story was followed with an ululating cheer from the audience. As each received her new name and its meaning, she was gently pushed forward as a symbol of moving into her new identity.

Often in our lives we take on new identities – parent, spouse, business owner, community leader. Titles we give ourselves, names bestowed upon us. Each honorific is a fresh start, a chance to make a change for the better, be it at home or in the world around us.

As I reflect on what I’ll keep the same – doing my part to fight the good fight as a social services frontline warrior, amplifying Indigenous stories, leading by example for the next generation – it is in nurturing my new intentions, to take time for stillness, to listen more than I speak, where I will grow.

May you also walk in a good way along this New Year’s path.