Change of Plans!

Well, guys, Crater's showing off again. And if you don't know what I mean by that, don't panic, because I am going to explain it to you. Long story short, what I thought I was going to share with you while I'm on winter break, turns out that's not what's going to happen. Let's talk about it. Bonjour. Hi, everybody, and Sandy Boucher here once again. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan, a proud member of Seine River first nation in Treaty 3 territory in Northern Ontario. And, yep, I'm still on break. Can't you tell? Don't I look like I'm on vacation? Okay, enough now. I like talking to you. Don't. Don't hate me for that. And on top of that, shooting these videos means I get another week off, so it works out in the end. Now, as I mentioned in the opening, Creator is showing off again. And if you were one of my friends in my inner circle, you would have definitely heard me say that before. And what I mean by that, or when I use it, is when something happens, like puzzle pieces just come perfectly together, totally out of my control, just meant to be serendipity, whatever you want to call it. In my world, it's just Creator putting things together the way they should. And if I'm smart, and I am smart, then I listen. So I released the five videos last week, which were clips from a couple different live events or virtual events. I did. And I told you that's what I was going to be doing this week, because that's what I thought I was going to be doing. But then I realized, because I love my career and I love working with you guys. And so, because I totally believe we're on a journey together, this is not just me talking into a microphone, hoping you watch. We're on this journey together and I'm asking your questions and conversing. And this is a good thing. I hope you think it's a good thing. So I was already thinking about what I'm going to do in the new year and getting really excited about that. And then I remembered the seven grandfather teachings that I had started sharing with you. I shared two with you to start with Love and De Truth. Did you figure it out yet? And five teachings left. I have to do five videos for this week, not including my podcast. I already know what that's going to be. I personally think what an amazing way to not only end off 2023, but start and get prepared for 2024 by knowing all of the grandfather teachings, all seven of them. So it can help you understand how we as Anishinaabe or many of the first nations nations and peoples look at things. Now, again, I'm going to be crystal clear. Not everyone. There is no one size fits all. There is not one mindset. You're going to find as many indigenous people with a group that agree with what I say as disagree. But it's a point of conversation. I was watching this chick on the Internet. She told me about Dave Waywood. Truth. Do you follow that kind of teaching? Does that make sense to you? Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But in the end, you're going to know them better. So that's what I mean by creators showing off. And when I say it in real life, it usually involves me tipping back and looking at the ceiling and saying craters. Showing off again. So we are going to continue with the seven grandfather teachings. Last week, or was it last week? No, two weeks ago, I guess was Dib way when Truth. And remember how I shared how it's explained in Treaty 3, which is my treaty area, and how it's explained in the 1850 Robinson Superior Treaty Area, which is where I live. And by the way, those are both. Well, I guess there's a whole bunch of nations here. There's Ojibwe and Cree in both areas. Heavy on the Ojibwe Cree that have come down from the north. Of course, we have Metis here, so yeah, a lot going on. But today's Now, I'm gonna attempt to say this again. Reclaiming the culture. Decolonizing or reclaiming the language. I should say this week is debasing. Humility teaching. How many times have you heard me talk about humility and how it is the bridge builder. It is a challenge because humility is not preached or promoted in mainstream. But it's going to build you a solid foundation if you come in with humility and working with indigenous peoples not faking it, real human humility. And if I have met many people, not many, quite a few people in my journey who are doing amazing work in their indigenous engagement game is strong, even though they haven't had formal training. But as soon as I meet them, like, duh, they're naturally humble people. Of course it worked out for them. Maybe you have someone like that in your family or on your staff. So divis is a win. Divisiven. Now, when I think humility, me personally, this is only me. I think I have something poking me in the eye. Sorry about that. I have a Very successful life. I have a very successful career. I have four books out. I'm living my dream. I count my blessings. As my mom would say, count your blessings. And if you find that difficult to do, you better count them twice. Let you figure out what that means. But the way I look at humility is remembering that no matter how successful I am, I wouldn't have any of this without a million people that believed in me, a million people that invited me into their community or into their organization, who were willing to listen and learn, who were willing to ask their questions, who are willing to pass me a microphone, who were willing to watch a YouTube video that in my mind is how I ground myself and keep my humility. That this has a whole, very little, whole lot of nada was what I was going to say. It has very little to do with me and has everything to do with Crater putting me here in this time, in this place with these teachings to be able to help build bridges in Canada that we need. That's humility teaching. Now as far as the Seven Generations Educational Institute in Treaty 3, how they explain. To think lower of oneself in relation to all that sustains us. To think lower of oneself in relation to all that sustains us. Now, to mainstream non indigenous people, that may sound like low self esteem. That may sound like putting yourself down, thinking that you're lesser than. It's not. It is realizing that compared to creator who designed our ecosystems to compared to creator who designed our nervous systems and everything that's going on inside of our bodies. To realize that we are not more than any other and that what sustains us, the trees, the water, the air, that we do not contribute as much as they do. Now can you see why we get really upset when people start trashing Mother Earth? Because that is what sustains us. See insight into indigenous worldview. The best thing is a win to think lower oneself in relation to all that sustains us. But now we're going to jump over to Robinson's superior 1850 treaty area and it's in a different order. Oh, humility. They're almost exactly backwards because remember how truth the bwin was the first in seven gens or in treaty three it was the last in 1850 Robinson Superior treaty area. Humility is second last and it's the second one in treaty three. I wonder if this is going to continue. I haven't looked so I'll be as surprised as you. In The Robinson Superior 1850 Treaty Area, humility is to know yourself as a sacred part of creation. To Be able to know that you are equal regardless of age, race or sex. Being able to be assertive, positively making your needs known without becoming angry or withdrawn. Being able to listen to others with an open and non judgmental mind. Remember how I said living the Seven Grandfather teachings isn't easy? The 1850 version. That's not easy. That takes practice. That takes, dare I say it? Humility. I hope this resonated with you. I hope you enjoy this change of plans. I'm running with Creator. What Creator asked me to do this week. Because this isn't about me. This is about you. And what will help you to understand. What will help you to help me build the bridge. That's humility teaching. Until tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed that. I love you. Take care. Bye Bye.