Guest Blogger, Maskwasis Boysis (Little Bear), is a Traditional Knowledge Keeper from Samson Cree Nation. Today,  he shares his understanding of Wahkohtowin with us. This is the foundational understanding of Cree, Indigenous Worldview. With his explanation, we gain the understanding that spirituality is embedded within Indigenous Culture. Being connected to culture is an important foundational piece for understanding identity, and having a sense of belonging to one’s place in the world. Indigenous people are working towards regaining their cultural identities, as part of the decolonization process of reconciliation.

Thank you for sharing your beautiful teaching Maskwasis! Hiy Hiy!____________________________________________________________________________________

Wahkohtowin (A Cree word that means everything is connected / related). It means that all living things are connected, to each other and to the Creator (the higher power). I cannot exist without you and you cannot exist without me. What I do affects you and others, and what you do affects me. Everything we do has an effect on others and on our world. It means that everything has a spirit and that’s how we are connected to each other as well as to Creator. Native practises and beliefs honor the saying by treating each other, and what Mother Nature and Father Sky has given us with respect. The concept of everything being related is central to the Native culture. The image of the Creator lives inside of us and we need to recognize it in others. We are all children of Mother Earth, we are all brothers, sisters, and cousins. Yesterday, today and tomorrow. The weak, the strong, the rich, the poor, the young, the old. We are all related. We relate through love and hate, joy and pain, life and death. We are related because we share the same breath. We are related because we are from the same place. We have the same Creator.

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