Sandi L. Boucher (Red Thunderbolt, Loon clan, Seine River First Nation, Treaty 3) presents a short YouTube talk about Gwayakwaadiziwin (Honesty), one of the Seven Grandfather Teachings. She cites definitions from Seven Generations Educational Institute (Treaty 3) — "to live correctly and with virtue" — and the Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre — honesty as "facing a situation" and being "true to self" — then offers her own interpretation emphasizing self-honesty, personal responsibility, self-respect, and practicing all seven teachings in life.
Chapters
Hello again, you absolutely amazing person, you. I am here once again with yet another of the seven grandfather teachings. You and me, we are preparing for an amazing 2024. And I thought it might help if you understood where some indigenous people are coming from, the ones that follow the seven grandfather teachings. I have another one for you today. So let's talk about it. Bonjour, Mishko Paganon Queen Additiona class Mando Dam. Hi, everybody. My name is Sandy Boucher. 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 as promised this week, we are reviewing the rest of the seven grandfather teachings. We've done so many now, we did love and truth and. And humility and respect and I've probably forgotten one, but that's okay. Today we are looking at Wayaqua Dizawin. Wayaqua Dizawin Honesty. Now, in all of these videos, I'm sharing two different perspectives. The information from Seven Generations Educational Institute, which is in Treaty 3 territory. The. The information I share is on their website. And from the 1850 Robinson Superior Treaty Area, I'm sharing information from the Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Center. So for honesty in Treaty 3, where we are blunted, direct and concise, the definition is to live correctly and with virtue. I'm not crazy about the word virtue. To me, that just invokes that Christianity and. And whether you're Christian or not, if you are all the power to you, I am not shaming you or attacking. But Christianity has inflicted a lot of harm on indigenous peoples, including the people that still practice it. So I'm. But to live correctly, I honestly believe. And you could argue with this. Many people have argued with me about this. I believe you know what you're supposed to be doing. You may want to lie to yourself about that, but you know that you should be kind to people. You know, you should be respecting yourself. You know you should be treating your body with care, that you should be getting a good night's sleep, that you should be eating good food. And if you're blaming other people for all of whatever of that you can't do, that is so disempowering. You are in charge of you no one else is creating your life. Just because there's challenges doesn't mean you can't find a way around it. Are you really going to put them in charge of your life? I think not. And that is my honesty, right? That is my truth. So to live correctly and with virtue. Now that was Treaty 37 Gens for the Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Center. Where is it? On here, Honesty is in the same place. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Fifth of the seven. I don't think the order matters. I'm. I'm 99.9% positive. Except for lead with love. The rest, it doesn't matter the order. What matters is that you're living all of these. I just had this discussion with this amazing woman that reached out to me and beautiful. She is crushing humility. But bravery has to come into it. And honesty has to come into it as well. We need to practice all of the seven grandfather teachings. So according to the Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship center, we are looking at honesty. Honesty in facing a situation is to be true to self. It is not backing down when the situation seems too hard. And you know that it needs to be dealt with to make your life easier. By looking at what you do and realizing how it affects you and others either positively or negatively. Making a true decision to try new ways to continue work towards self fulfillment. To approach life situations and challenges with an open mind and heart. So to me, Deb Wayne, truth is sharing truth. Honesty is being honest with yourself about your part in whatever is going on. You're being honest on how you're living your life. Are you respecting yourself? Are you taking care of yourself? In the words of my mother who always preach, teach others how to treat you. If everyone started instantly today like magic started treating you the way you treat you, they started talking to you the way you talk to yourself, would you be in a good place? Most people are not going to be in a good place. You can change that. I was one of those people. Now I'm in a very good place. I wish everyone talked to me the way I speak to me. So that was honesty. We have two more to go. See you tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye bye.
