Running Head: REFLECTIONS ON A CREE GRANDMOTHERS TEA CEREMONY

EDUC 450 Discovering Diversity Project Reflections on a Cree Grandmothers Tea Ceremony Nicole Zanewick University of Calgary

REFLECTIONS ON A CREE GRANDMOTHERS TEA CEREMONY

For my Discovering Diversity project, I attended a Cree Grandmothers Tea Ceremony in the Red Lodge at the University of Calgarys Native Centre. The main reason that I chose to attend this event was to learn more about Aboriginal culture, as I felt quite ignorant and that I had very little understanding of Aboriginal ways prior to the ceremony. I have been exposed to Aboriginal people minimally in schools that I have visited and in passing mainly in downtown Calgary. In addition to my feelings of ignorance, I also possess many prejudices towards Aboriginal people such as that they have a tendency towards drug and alcohol abuse and criminality. I wanted to confront these prejudices and gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal people so that as a teacher I will be better equipped to connect with all of my students. Before arriving to the tea ceremony, I was feeling very anxious and filled with worry about looking out of place and knew that I might be uncomfortable around Aboriginal people as I have been during brief encounters in my past. My worries were immediately abated upon entrance into the Red Lodge. The elder and the First Nations event coordinator were extremely welcoming and friendly. This atmosphere challenged my perceptions of Aboriginal people and I was surprised to immediately feel a sense of safety and openness at the tea ceremony. Feeling so much at ease, I was far more open to the experience than I thought possible before. Women and children were welcome to attend the tea ceremony which was led by Casey Eagle Speaker, an elder who is also a highly respected Aboriginal Cultural Advisor and Psychologist. I was surprised that less than half of the participants of the ceremony looked to be Aboriginal, though I learned that a few of the participants who appeared to be White were actually Metis. There were three First Nations children attending the ceremony. There were some Mexican and European immigrants present at the ceremony, as well as a few White people.

REFLECTIONS ON A CREE GRANDMOTHERS TEA CEREMONY

The tea ceremony was a highly educational, spiritual, and emotional experience. I learned many things about Aboriginal culture from Casey Eagle Speaker and the Aboriginal people participating in the ceremony. Eagle Speaker described the tea ceremony while conducting it as the ceremony is a way to teach both non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people the ways of her ancestors. The tea ceremony was meant to be a nourishing circle for women and children, yet it also provided an opportunity to engage with Aboriginal culture. Throughout the tea ceremony, Casey Eagle Speaker emphasized the importance of the human spirit. She explained that Western society often neglects this essential part of humanity, instead favoring the intellectual and analytical characteristics of our brains. Eagle Speaker spoke of the necessity of listening to the spirits and to your intuition. This is something that I strongly related to, as I have been taught by my mother to always trust my instincts. While listening to the elder speak about spirituality I came to the realization that I have long been neglecting my own spirit. In these discussions, I learned about Aboriginal spiritual beliefs including the importance of nature and ancestors. Reverence for nature was apparent from the explanation that prayers were said when the sage and lemongrass for the tea were picked and after the ceremony the tea leaves wouldnt be discarded, instead being tossed into the wind to rejoin Mother Earth. The importance of connecting with ancestors was discussed multiple times, such as when Eagle Speaker explained that she speaks to spirits and that there were several ancestors present that day. It was difficult to listen openly to these discussions, as my Catholic beliefs are very different and I have been taught that worshiping nature is wrong. While reflecting on this discomfort, I was reminded of a story told by a classmate of mine who attended a residential school as a child. She spoke of the way that Christianity was instilled in the children through constant Catholic teachings and punishment for expressing Aboriginal beliefs, being told that

REFLECTIONS ON A CREE GRANDMOTHERS TEA CEREMONY these were of the devil. I cant imagine how it would feel for a person so connected with

spirituality to be told that their beliefs are evil and that they must believe something else instead. She spoke of her difficulty in reconnecting with Aboriginal spirituality after having such negative experiences with religion as a child. I have the privilege of belonging to the dominant religious group in Canada and thus have never considered what it would be like for people in other religious groups whose beliefs are treated with contempt. This is something that Aboriginal people have dealt with on a near constant basis since the beginning of colonialization by Europeans. During the tea ceremony, I was struck by how wrong this is. There were multiple times throughout the tea ceremony where Eagle Speaker mentioned the history of colonialism in Canada and its impact on First Nations people. She spoke about the many traumas that Aboriginal people frequently deal with. Canada has a terrible history of oppressing Aboriginal people through forced assimilation policies and residential schools, and the consistent social denial of this history further contributes to their oppression (Haskell & Randall, 2009). This history of prolonged and repeated oppression of Aboriginal people has resulted in cumulative emotional and psychological wounding that carries forward from one generation to the next, a concept known as Historical Trauma (Heart, 2003). Eagle Speaker spoke of the idea of decolonialization, which she explained was a common but unrealistic goal for the movement to end Aboriginal oppression. She stated that colonialization has such deep roots in Canada that it is not possible to end it, rather we need to take smaller steps to earn more respect and rights for Aboriginal people. I never think about myself as a colonizer or contributor to the oppression of Aboriginal people. The way the world works is in favor of people like myself so it is easy to ignore critical issues like this oppression (Carr & Lund, 2009). By recognizing the injustices and negative impact European colonizers have had on Aboriginal

REFLECTIONS ON A CREE GRANDMOTHERS TEA CEREMONY people, I hope that I can make positive changes in my attitude and actions that can help reduce Aboriginal suffering. As a teacher, I hope that learning more about Aboriginal culture and ways of knowing will help me connect with Aboriginal students so that I can help them be successful in school. I can also teach my non-Aboriginal students to be aware of these invisible privileges and oppression so that they too might make a difference. One of my prejudices going into this project related to substance abuse in Aboriginal people. I was reminded of this when the children at the ceremony spoke of their mother, who was struggling with drug addiction and not doing so well. It was extremely sad to see children

speak about these issues. Part of me secretly hoped that at the tea ceremony I would discover that my idea that many Aboriginal people were addicted to drugs and alcohol was wrong. Unfortunately, Aboriginal people do have high rates of substance abuse. The common societal judgment, of which I too am guilty of, is that this is due to a character or individual deficit. This belief ignores the effect of Historical Trauma that contributes to the epidemic prevalence of substance abuse in Aboriginal people (Heart, 2003). Similarly, another prejudice I had about Aboriginal people was that they are dangerous, specifically men. This fear is related to a belief that Aboriginal people are often intoxicated, impulsive, and violent. I have frequently heard of violent acts committed by Aboriginals in the news, as well as violence occurring on Reserves. Similar to substance abuse, Aboriginal people do have disproportionately higher rates of incarceration and are charged with violent crimes more frequently than non-Aboriginal people (Brzozowski, Taylor-Butts, & Johnson, 2006). This is yet another effect of Historical Trauma due to oppression of Aboriginal people (Heart, 2003). There were parts of the tea ceremony when I was uncomfortable, especially during the singing of songs in First Nations languages. I was surprised to see an Aboriginal women who

REFLECTIONS ON A CREE GRANDMOTHERS TEA CEREMONY looked as uncomfortable as I felt. She also was not singing, simply observing like I was. A First Nations child spoke of her feelings of emptiness and lack of connection her culture. Loss of culture is another result of Historical Trauma (Heart, 2003). It saddened me that these people were so separated from their culture that they had to attend the ceremony to learn about Aboriginal culture. I was touched by the spirituality of the ceremony and feel that losing Aboriginal culture would be devastating. As a psychologist, Casey Eagle Speaker spoke of the ineffectiveness of modern mental health for Aboriginal people as it is yet another form of colonialism, forcing Western ways of

thought on Aboriginal people. She explained the necessity of connecting with Aboriginal culture, the spirit and ancestors for healing. Aboriginal students can also benefit from engaging with their culture in a school setting, as suggested by McKeough et al. (2008) who found that oral storytelling traditions are a foundation for literacy in Aboriginal children. Though statistics show higher prevalence of substance abuse and violence in Aboriginal people, not all Aboriginal people are substance abusers or violent criminals, a fact which embarrassingly I did not considered before. It is wrong to judge all Aboriginal people negatively because of the problems that they face, especially because they are related to Historical Trauma due to our societys oppression of Aboriginal people. Eagle Speaker spoke about how people are surprised to find out that she is a psychologist because she is Aboriginal, and mentioned that she knows many others who are academics. The Aboriginal people I met at the tea ceremony did not fit my previous conceptions of who I thought Aboriginal people were. They were friendly, intelligent and kind. I know that I will always remember the lessons that Ive learned from Casey Eagle Speaker and this tea ceremony and intend to use them to inform my teaching practices to embrace diversity and work towards a better tomorrow.

REFLECTIONS ON A CREE GRANDMOTHERS TEA CEREMONY References

Brzozowski, J., Taylor-Butts, A. & Johnson, S. (2006, June). Victimization and offending among the Aboriginal population in Canada. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 85-002-XIE, 26(3). Retrieved from http://caid.ca/Juristat2006v26n3.pdf Carr, P. R. & Lund, D. E. (2009). The unspoken color of diversity: Whiteness, privilege, and critical engagement in education. In S. R. Steinberg (Ed.), Diversity and multiculturalism: A reader (pp. 45-55). New York, NY: Peter Lang. Correctional Service Canada. (2003). Demographic overview of Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Aboriginal offenders in Federal Corrections [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/aboriginal/002003-1008-eng.shtml Haskall, L. & Randall, M. (2009). Disrupted attachments: A social context complex trauma framework and the lives of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Journal of Aboriginal Health, 5(3), 48-99. Heart, M. Y. H. B. (2003). The historical trauma response among Natives and its relationship with substance abuse: A Lakota illustration. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 35(1), 7-13. McKeough, A., Bird, S., Tourigny, E., Romaine, A., Graham, S., Ottmann, J., & Jeary, J. (2008). Storytelling as a foundation to literacy development for Aboriginal children: Culturally and developmentally appropriate practices. Canadian Psychology, 49(2), 148-154