THE SEVEN SACRED TEACHINGS RESPECT First Nations people

THE SEVEN SACRED TEACHINGS

RESPECT First Nations people lived in a sustainable relationship with the buffalo and saw themselves as the true caretakers of the great herds. From this, the spirit of respect and the value of life was understood. Respect must be earned – and once it is given, it is to be returned.

BRAVERY To have courage is to have the strength to listen to your heart and be proud of who you are. Courage is facing daily challenges with strength of character. The bear is gentle by nature, but a mother bear’s ferociousness when a cub is approached, is the true definition of courage.

LOVE The Eagle flies highest and is closest to the Creator. To know true love is to know one’s Creator. To love others, one must love themselves. You are never alone if you have love for yourself. Love all people and creatures of the world, and this love will be returned to you.

HONESTY The more honest you are, the more bigger you become as a person; your spirit is the size of the Sabe. We must be honest with others and ourselves. An honest person is trustworthy. Their lives have purity and simplicity. To be honest with yourself is to live in the spirit of how you were created.

HUMILITY The wolf lives within a pack that operates as a team. Each wolf has an important role in that pack that is not any better or lesser than the others. The wolf bows his head in humility, not fear, when meeting a larger creature. The wolf will share it’s food with the pack before eating it. We must also show humility and respect for our community and the roles within it.

WISDOM Showing wisdom is using your gifts to build a healthy family and community. The beaver knows his gifts and uses it to build a community. Wisdom means listening to other’s ideas and not insisting that your ideas are better. The clash of different ideas brings forth truth.

TRUTH Living in the truth is living the Seven Sacred Teachings, living from the heart. If you live out these laws, you will know truth. The turtle carries the teachings with her and teaches us patience. As one of the slowest moving creatures on Earth, she makes it to her destination no matter how long it takes her.

Art: 7 Sacred Teachings Wheel by Native Reflections Inc. White Buffalo by Micqaela Jones Soapstone Bear by Henry Evaluardjuk Eagle by William Monague, Anishnabek Sasquatch by Sue Coccia Timber Wolf by Richard Shorty Haida by Robert Davidson Turtle Island by Norval Morrisseau Music: Snowforms by R. Murray Schafer Teachings: The Calgary Board of Education, Piitoayis Family School, The Seven Sacred Teachings with excerpts taken from: George Martin, Lillian Pitawanakwat, Cindy Crowe, Dave Courchene Jr: http: //schools. cbe. ab. ca/b 244/seven. html