A Reflection
By: Leanne Hennessy
In 2003, the late Ojibway Elder/Grandmother and founder of the Mother Earth Water Walkers Josephine Mandamin began a series of journeys for the water, eventually walking over 25,000 kilometres around the shorelines of all the Great Lakes and other waterways of North America. Grandmother Josephine knew that the water was alive. She knew that it needed to be respected as a living entity; it needed to be prayed for and protected. Walking in ceremony with great love and respect for the water, Grandmother Josephine helped me to understand my relationship to the water and taught me to care for it as a living relative. She helped to bring awareness to the waters that had become sick with pollution, and she has become an important, influential role model in my life. Through Josephine’s example and teachings, and paddling through countless lakes and rivers, I have learned many things.
I hear
Paddling the river, I listen carefully to the sounds of its rushing waters up around the bend. I hear the voice of life, the voice of Being.
I understand
Observing the swift-moving currents and swirling eddies of the water over the river rocks from my canoe, I understand that with persistent effort over time, I too can affect change, just as the action of the water sculpts the rocks over millennia.
I sense
Leisurely paddling the river or sitting silently on its banks, I intuitively sense that there is no such thing as time. I know that the river is everywhere at this moment. It is at the source, the waterfalls, the confluence; at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains.
I touch
Offering my hand to the water, I feel its gentle and loving caress. I touch its essence – it never turns its back on anyone or anything, giving life to all things equally and without discrimination.
I know
Traveling the length of the river, I know that it is not just water, but a living, breathing entity; my relative. It carries the blood of my ancestors. It holds human memory, emotions, and consciousness. I close my eyes and envision generations of people before me passing this way; holding their hopes and dreams in their hearts and paddles.
I drink
Pausing to quench the thirst of the mid-day sun, I drink the first medicine provided for all human beings and all living things on Earth. I taste its sacredness; imprinted with the energy of creation from human existence and human emotions. I offer my love, prayers, and asema in gratitude.
I heal
Breathing in the early morning mist rising off the river, I heal. I am renewed, refreshed, reborn; connected to all living things; ever-flowing, giving life – medicine. I am You and You are Me.
From the river, I learned all of these things. Following Grandmother Josephine’s example, I sing to the river…
Ne-bi Gee Zah gay-e-goo Water, we love you
Gee Me-gwetch-wayn ne-me-goo We thank you
Gee Zah Wayn ne-me-goo We respect you
