Ohenton Karihwatehkwen

Whenever people come together, words are said; good words of greetings and acknowledgment are said.

First we acknowledge each other. We thank the Creator for allowing us to meet here today safely.

Next we thank Mother Earth, we walk upon her, and she has never failed to support us. She is the mother, we are her children. With our kindest words, and our purest thoughts, we thank you mother earth. Now we are of one mind.

Next we thank the bodies of water. The ocean, lakes and rivers which bring energy to mother earth.

The waters are always there to quench the thirst of all plants and animals. It was also given the power to move, to flow from one place to another. Now with our kindest words and our purest thoughts we give thanks to the bodies of water. Now we are of one mind.

Now we will address the fish. The Creator made them all shapes colors and sizes, and they were instructed to come to us, and give themselves to us when we got hungry. They were also instructed to swim about in the water and keep the waters clean and pure. And even though the watery are getting more and more polluted, the fish still go about their duties and never fail when we require them for food. With our kindest words, and our most sincere thoughts, we thank the fish for never failing us, even though their tasks get more difficult as the years pass. Now we are of one mind.

Next we will address the three leaders of the food. They being the corns, beans and squash, the three sisters. You have never failed the give nourishment to us since the beginning of time. For this we thank you, with our kindest words, and our most grateful thoughts. Now we are of one mind.

Now we will direct our attention to the berries of the world. The Creator put berries on this earth for many reasons and chose the strawberry as the leader. The strawberry is used to make juice, which must be made at all gatherings; it is also used to make medicine. When the strawberry can no longer be found, the red leaves of the plant can be used as a substitute, and that will suffice. Now we will direct all our appreciation towards the berries of the world for always being there to make the juices and the medicines of our people. We thank you. Now we are of one mind.

Now we will direct our attention to the two sons. The sun, which the Creator said is our eldest brother, was given a great purpose. Its purpose was to watch over siblings and the shine on our gardens to help our food grow, and to keep the earth warm. After the days end, it reports to the Creator all of the activities we’ve done for the day. We now give thanks to our eldest brother, the sun for never failing to shine upon us, and for aiding in the growth of our gardens. Now we are of one mind.

We will now address the moon. The Creator named the night time sun Grandmother Moon.

Continued next issue