A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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Submitted by Native North American Travelling College Many winters in the past two giant mosquitoes appeared on the side of a river. These giant creatures were as tall as a good-sized pine tree. As the Native people paddled down the river in their canoes, these giant creatures would bend their heads and attack them with giant beaks. The mosquitoes killed many people. Knowing that these giant mosquitoes were waiting to attack any canoe that floated down the river, the people began to shun this...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College In the time of the Great Tardiness (Feb.) our Elder Brother the Sun brings warmth to Mother Earth. The snow starts to melt and the buds reappear on the trees. The days are warmer and the nights cold. This is the time all the Wahta (Maple) trees reawaken and start their duty of supplying our people with Orontakeri (Sap). As our people observe the warm days, they will gather at the long house to set the “Putting Sap into Trees” ceremony. This ceremony is done a week or two before the tre...
Submitted by NNATC...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College The seventh and final day of Sha’tekohsehkwen is the “Peach Stone Game” (kaientowa:nen) this is also called the “betting game.” This is the last ceremony given to us by the Creator. It is said by our elders that this game pleases the Creator very much. He enjoys watching his people participating in Kaientowa:nen. This is a game of sacrifice. People are to give up their most prized possessions to the Peach Stone Game. It is said by the elders never to be sad if you lose your items because i...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College The sacrifice you will use to solidify this Ceremony (Stirring Ashes) is a White Dog. The dog must be pure white. There can’t be any black spots on it. I will always personally treasure this Ceremony. I expect that since you are related to my father, the Great Turtle, you will always perform this ceremony. “You will dress the dog as you would dress me. This will symbolize my clothing. A man will be selected to throw the White Dog into the sacred fire. Next he will place the oie...
At the End of season ceremony after the Faithkeepers put through the Standing Quiver Dance, the Faithkeepers released the men (hunters) to go out and collect meat for the midwinter ceremonies. The speaker had told the people that the Midwinter Ceremonies will begin five nights after the Teskoha Karahkwa (new moon). The Midwinter Ceremonies are set to take place at the Mohawk Nation Longhouse on Thursday, January 14th, 2016 but prior to this day, the Big Heads (Rotinontsistowanon) will gather...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College Continued from last week… The following day another elderly lady from one of the families gave thanks to the Creator, and then went down to the river to fetch water to prepare the morning meal. When the old lady looked up she saw a bear. Soon afterward Ronikonhrowa:nen approached her and asked her what she had seen that was unusual. The old lady said she saw a bear. From that point on the old lady was informed that she and all her offspring would from then on belong to the clan of the bear....
Many thousands of years ago the population of the humans on the earth was very small. As years passed it increased considerably. Along with this increase many problems began to occur. Many new villages were created and families grew further apart. There was a time when first cousins were considered like brother and sister, but now first cousins had become like strangers. The respect and love family members had for one another diminished, causing social problems in all the villages. With the larger population the number of deaths increased....
Submitted by the NNATC That year, all the planted fields around the village were bad. Although harvest time was drawing near, the squash were still the size of hazel nuts, and the bean pods were empty. The corn, too, was in a sorry state. Ears were devoid of kernels and the beautiful white tassels, which usually stand straight and tall, trailed around the cob, and the husks were dry and yellow. The slightest breeze made them moan. The Chief of the village was very concerned about the unhappiness of the squash, the beans, and the corn. He...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College I will tell you this story as it really happened, just the way I remember it. I truly believe that it was our Grandfathers who came to visit us on June 22, 1970. It was on a very beautiful day. At noon, I was helping my wife wash dishes. We were standing side by side, both facing the kitchen window. Suddenly, we noticed it got even brighter, which surprised us both. It was beautiful to see, a few raindrops fell as if it were starting to rain. There was no sound but in came a light (beam,...
Submitted by NNATC This is a Mohawk story that was told to children. A long, long time ago there was a village on the bend of a river. On one sunny day, a hunter was out in the forest looking for game. While walking along a trail, he stumbled on a hole. He stood back, scratched his head, and thought to himself, "This wasn't here yesterday." He went up hill to get a better look at the hole. His hair stood up. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. That hole was not just any hole, it was the...
Submitted by NNATC Six or eight dice are used, one side being marked the other side white or plain. You throw the dice on a blanket covered table. Forty beans are left in the center of the table from which winnings are drawn until gone, after which players pay the winners. Two to ten can play the game. If a player shoots and all dice show plain side up, he collects ten beans, if all marked show, he collects twenty beans. If one dice shows plain he collects four beans, if one shows marked, he...
The Kaieri Niioriwake, Rotiianeshon and Kanistensera came together to set the date for Kakhowanen starting on Friday, October 16 and ending on Sunday, October 18, 2014. The leadership came to one mind and agreed on how the harvest ceremony will run in the Kanonsesne (Longhouse) for three days. On the first day, the Three Feather Dances are done. The first dance will start at 6:30am for the Kaieri Niioriwake. They, the Faithkeepers, Clan Mothers and Chiefs, will go around once before the people join in the dance. At 9:00am, the ceremony will...
Submitted by NNATC 1 branch (approx. 12” long) 1 gallon of water Chop up entire branch and add to water. Bring to a boil, let simmer for 15-20 minutes, cool and strain. Drink 4 cups a day until finished for the first batch and then decrease dosage to 1-2 cups a day if you continue to drink on a daily basis. The Benefits of “Pycnogenol” or “Pine Tea” when taken daily: Reduces the risk of: Heart Disease, Cancer, Accelerated Aging and Arthritis. Oxidative stress – antioxidant; more than 70 other oxidant or radical related diseases Strengthens...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College For thousands of years the knowledge of traditional medicines was relative to our environment and people (Rotinonhshon:ni) and have been vitally important for our survival as a distinct people. The medicine family is called Ononhkwa’shon:’a and is properly honored and respected in our Ohenton Karihwatehkwen or Thanksgiving Address. It’s these traditional medicines that assist or enable us to maintain the good mind, body, and spirit that the Creator intended us to possess throughout our d...
Harriet LaFrance Mohawk Name: Karihwaieri:ton (She fulfilled her obligation.) Snipe Clan Mohawk Elder Former Mohawk Teacher Singer in the Mohawk Choir of the St. Regis Church The way my mother told us, there are six clans here in Ahkwesahsne. Those clans are the Snipe, the Wolf, Rotishennakehte, (the name carriers), the Deer, the Turtle, and the Bear Clan. In recent times we have mixed with other people and so we have more clans than before. Long ago, at a certain time of the year and on a special day, an event took place in the village of...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College When Teharonhiawako created all the waters, plants, trees and animals of the world, he decided that he should create a being in his likeness from the natural world. He wanted this being to have a superior mind so it would have the responsibility of looking after his creations. Then he decided that it would be better if he created more than one being and give to each similar instructions and see if over a period of time, they would carry them through. The first being Teharonhiawako made was...
Tonawanda Reservation March 30, 1937 Long time ago, when animals were still in their natural form as the Good Spirit had created them, our friend the common Rabbit, often called “Cotton-tail” looked like all other animals: he had a nice bushy tail, and his forelegs were just like any other animal. The only peculiar habit of the Rabbit was his love for green leaves and buds, or the tasty inner bark of the Black birch, and his desire or love for running. He had an idea, in his own way, that he was the fastest runner of the animal world. Thus it...
Cultural Corner...
A young man of the Bear Clan and a young woman of the Wolf Clan plan to get married. This is proper, and their children will become good candidates to become Faithkeepers, Clan Mothers, or Rotiianehson. A couple cannot marry unless they have the consent of both their mothers. In traditional marriages, you can be forty years old, but you would still need the consent of your mother. A couple desiring to get married must make a request to the Council of Chiefs and together set a date for the wedding. When the Council of Chiefs and the couple agree...
A long time ago, there lived a group of Ojibway people who had a bountiful harvest of corn. So plentiful was this crop that the people became boastful. Their pride and arrogance made them wasteful. So wasteful were they, that they ate more than necessary. They threw good corn to their dogs. Worst of all they left much of their corn to rot in the fields. They allowed their children to use the corn as play things. After eating all they could, the people would bury the leftovers and then go out hunting. Even though they saw plenty of game they...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College In the olden times when my people lived more or less with nature's own way, when they were able to converse with animals, when strange things happened, when great beasts and birds were common, these little people lived in their various modes of habitation; they were very close friends of the "Ong-weh-onh-weh" or "Real Humans" as we are called. They made contact with our people in many different ways. To us, they are known as "Djo-geh-onh,"...
Amongst the Rotinonhsen:ni nations each of the clans have specific names that belong to each clan. A Bear Clan person must have a Bear Clan name. It is not proper for a Bear Clan person to have a Wolf or Turtle Clan name. A person begins his or her life with a name and that name begins one’s identity. A baby is born into a clan. This is another step to one’s identity. Another identification is the baby’s gender, a boy or a girl. Retrieving of a Name There is a procedure to correct or retrieve a name if taken by another clan. The women of the c...
Submitted by Native North American Travelling College Along time ago, there was an old lady who lived in a village. This old lady was very helpful to her community because she knew the medicines. She was always more than willing to help the other people in her village. Whenever someone needed some medicine they would always go to the old woman to get it. One day she decided she was getting weaker in her old age but she still went out on her path to pick her medicines. As she proceeded to walk...
Many summers in the past, a family was working in their garden when they noticed the dark clouds in the sky. When the big rain came, their daughter ran towards the Longhouse with her family. Before she got safely into the Longhouse, two bolts of lightning came out of the sky and struck the ground at her feet. Something strange began to happen: the young girl felt herself being lifted up into the sky, and fearfully she covered her eyes with her hands. When she took her hands away from her eyes, she looked about only to find that she wasn’t near...
