Can some one born and educated in a modern privileged western country be indigenous? Is it possible to reclaim relatedness to our ancestors and connectedness to the places in which we live? If so, how do we go about it? This is a search I have embarked during the autumn of 2015. It is possibly to soon to emphatically respond to these questions. Having been somewhat 'foie grased' with ceremony, ritual, story, sacred experiences, practical skills and much more I can't even begin to put into words how I am feeling or if I have become indigenous. My body/mind/sense are full to the brim. My mind is swirling with experiences, memories and information. It takes time for all of this to settle. Spirits and ancestors have been invoked at such an intensity I do not yet know what the effect will be on them or me. I am told our ancestors are always nearby and wanting, nee extremely willing to help. To be initiated we need to ask the ancestors for their advise, help and support or even give them out worries, problems and woes when they become to big or heavy to carry.
I have set up alters,
I have made offerings,
smoked a peace pipe,
been smudged,
smudged others,
been steamed,
made offerings to the elements of fire, water, earth and air,
I have called out for a vision,
I have called in the four directions,
I have prayed and patled,
I have sung and danced a lot,
I have walked, pilgrimaged and vigiled,
I have spoken to the one legged, winged and four legged,
I have shed tears, shouted and screamed,
I WANT MY LIFE!
I have made sacred instruments,
I have been blessed and made blessings,
And I have sat in circle endlessly.
I am aware that my life is constantly in ceremony.
Everything is sacred.
Life is at the centre of all things.
Where do I go from here?
I have to embody and live this way of being for myself
And for my family, friends and community.
It starts with honouring the new moon and the full moon.
It is followed by seeing in the solstices and equinoxes.
I will practice ceremony at key moments, such as the birth of our son.
I will seek to visit the sacred sites near to me.
I will develop my ability to listen deeply to the land, the ancestors, the elements.
I will find my activism, my gift back to my people.
And I will develop my crafting.
I will honour and open up simple circles for others.
If this is not becoming indigenous I don't know what is.
I feel it is less a destination and more a conversation.
Once opened my commitment is to show up, nurture and continue.
That is the relatedness, the connection and the relationship
with everything, with life that nourishes me and
My hope and wish is it also nourishes all of life in return.
This is a radical and regenerative act.
And in time, if it is meant to be,
I may become a river to my people.
Then I would feel truly indigenous and wild again.
Woven back into my lineage and the land upon which I live.
