Men stronger with teachings

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Making fire with flint caused the most "excitement" as "the fire's spirituality came to each individual man." Lahwe'nu:nihe' described the pressure he felt when asked to make the fire from flint for a sweat lodge.

"You sit and you strike and strike, and then you start remembering the teachings of being that good person and then calmness comes over you, and when it does, all of a sudden the fire comes to you."

Another course highlight was the making of a bow and arrow, requiring much Indigenous knowledge. Instructor Clayton Brascoupe explained the protocol of asking permission from the trees giving their lives for the bow and the arrow. Further protocol requires the one going hunting with that bow and arrow has to ask for permission from the hunted animal to take its life, followed by the protocol of giving thanks. The result of this teaching was formation of the Traditional Bow-Making Society, a group of men who will meet to discuss ways to empower their communities.

Counselling using the "lifeline" process enabled the men to see how a childhood experience can manifest itself in later life.

Lahwe'nu:nihe' admits, "I was really blessed to be in that first group of men to sit amongst the Elders as a student to learn. Most of them in that group are Elders from their own communities."

He continued, "the biggest thing I learned was the more I get to know about something, the less I actually really know about it. And that's the way our teachings are. There is so much more out there. And the people that do possess a lot of Indigenous knowledge and wisdom reach those plateaus and they keep on going. I have much more respect for them now, knowing this."

For him, "tending the fire means that inside of every man there is a personal fire." It may be just a spark, like the small spark that comes off the flint. "We have to fan it." Learning our culture is like that. Soon, that fire will come up. And when the fire comes up, there is a secondary protocol that we have to do. And that is we have to control that fire. That fire, if it gets out of control, it will hurt people.

"That same teaching comes to us from our eldest brother, the sun. We have to be that nurturing energy that helps to give life. And beside the fire is the water, so we learn a sense of balance from the fire and the water. If the fire is too strong, then we will get rid of the water. And with no water, there will be no life in the world. And that's why we honor the women in the world because they are the water. All life comes from water. All life will continue to grow because of the fire, the sun. And if we don't have those two we don't have anything."

Gord Peters, director of the Centre for Indigneous Sovereignty, spoke at the graduation ceremony of the need to establish relationships that will help to heal our communities. In his own life, he has searched for shared leadership and shared responsibility in relationships and plans to continue this journey by enrolling in the next "Tending the Fire" course.

Following the ceremony, a traditional feast was prepared for the men and their families who came to support them. In the traditional way, the men served all the guests.