Wisdom-AllMyRelations

All My Relations
by Andrea Lord

> Ancient Greetings Key To A Better Tomorrow
> "All my Relations." In the sweat lodges where I reconnected to may
> culture, it's uttered by the leader as he splatters water on red-hot
> stone. When the sacred pipe is passed around a circle and the steam
> raised to all directions in benediction, the words are there. When
> the people gather in a good way, each speaker begins with the
> salutatory statement: "All My Relations."
> For Natives across Canada it's the language of communion. It's the
> recognition of unity in the universe, of harmony, balance and the
> invisible bridges that span the diversity of our lives; it's a dedication
> a greeting, a salutation and a prayer.
> I turned 36 in November. As I celebrated with a small circle of friends
> over an old-fashioned stew, bannock, pumpkin pie, presents and laughter,
> it occurred to me how long it has taken me to realize the meaning behind
> this ancient phrase.
> The Old Ones talk of prophets who foretold of the coming of the white
> man. They spoke of the great changes that were to follow and of the
> hardship the people would have to learn to navigate. They spoke of a
> separation from the land and traditional teachings, a time when the young
> would speak the white man's way, the voice of legends would fall silent
> and entire languages would disappear. And they also spoke of healing
> and the importance of remembering.
> With this knowledge, the elders of the aboriginal nations began to look
> for ways to teach their people to deal with the disruption. They looked to
> nature. All around they saw evidence of certain immutable laws within
> the pitch and rythmn of life.
> They perceived that everything in the universe was in relationship with
> everything else. Just as the four-leggeds depended upon the waters so,
> too, did the winged ones, the two-leggeds, the fishes and the plant beings.
> Life itself was a circle and, for a circle to be complete, it must include
> everything. And so it was seen that all things are related.
> With this perception came the ideas of respect, kindness, patience and
> sharing. Not only were the people to behave in these ways with each other
> to create nurturing homes, but they also needed to behave in this manner
> with all things. When a human being lived this way, he or she was said to
> have achieved a harmony and a balance with life itself. Indeed, the path
> of a true human being was the path toward this end.
> The arrival of the Europeans would mean a fracturing of the peoples'
> senses of harmony. Culturally, spriritually and philosophically, the
> people would suffer greatly but the elders reminded them of their focus
> on harmony and balance with all things because many would forget and
> become bitter.
> Quite simply, it meant that respect, kindness, patience and sharing were
> total philosophies. One could not be called a respectful human being,
> for instance, if one were acting in a disrespectful manner towards any-
> thing. Similarly, with all the other virtues. So the Old One told the
> people that, despite the seemingly strange, sometimes confusing and pain-
> ful ways of the new-comers they must show them the courtesy they would
> to any other member of the circle of life. "All My Relations" meant
> everything.
> As I sat at that table a time ago laughing and chatting with my small
> circle of friends I realized how vital this teaching is to my life.
> Because there were many times in the militant days, the days when I
> spent more time incarcerated than I did being free, days I hated more
> than loved. I was far from living as a true human being.
> There were no aboriginal people at this party except for me. But as
> I looked around and felt the respect, love and genuine gratitude for each
> of them, I realized that I've finally begun to practice what I'd been
> given years before. "All my relations."
> Because my life is an often-turblent mixture of the brown and the white,
> there are times when it's the most difficult thing in the world to
> disappear into a mainstream institution five days a week. Days when my
> soul hungers for contact with my people and days when I grow afraid that
> my profession might change me.
> Conversely, there are days when I worry that dedication to my people and
> their concerns might divorce me from friends like these; days when my
> very Indianness is my greatest enemy.
> All my relations. I believe that a life based on this premise is
> salvation for all of us, that political problems are nothing when
> nations remember their relatedness, that there are no colors or
> differences, merely one universal heartbeat echoing for all of us.
> Eagle Feathers: to all my relations of every nation for their contribution
> to this life.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> "All my relations. I believe that a life based on this premise is
> salvation for all of us, that political problems are nothing when
> nations remember their relatedness, that there are no colors or
> differences, merely one universal heartbeat echoing for all of us. "
> =================================================================
> Andrea Lord 1992
> Reproduced from "News from Indian Country" January 1991
> If anyone knows how to reach Andrea Lord, please email us at
> global-dialog@thuntek.net