The Four Directions

What I am going to share with you today is only my understanding. Every Elder, every Knowledge Keeper, every Anishinaabe person that you talk to is going to have a different understanding.

South is zhaawanong and it is referred to as the stage of thriving. So, if we think about it, in the summertime, everything is growing quickly and we see how abundant and green everything is. Everything is thriving, as well as the animals.

If we think of ourselves in a holistic way, we are made up of spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual. When we think about the medicine wheel, the southern direction, again this is my understanding, is the emotional quadrant of ourselves.

I feel like the emotional or the social quadrant is so important to the identity of Anishinaabe people because it is our sense of community, it is our sense of belonging and as we know there are so many people that are struggling to find their tribe. They’re struggling to find who they belong with. They’re struggling to find their likeminded people. You can always put down asema or tobacco for the Creator or whoever you pray to for that assistance, to help you find your people. I feel like once it gets started, you’re like a magnet and you get all kinds of people attracted to you. It’s important for us, for our support, we really need that.

Thinking about the medicine wheel, the southern direction, the way that I see it is the colour red. That’s representative of the Anishinaabe people or the Indigenous people around the world.

The medicine in the southern quadrant is giizhik or cedar. It’s so powerful, it has so many uses including protection. If you are at a sweat lodge or another ceremony and there is a Sacred fire going and you sprinkle cedar into the fire, you’ll hear it crackling. They say that’s waking up Spirit and sending those messages directly to Spirit. You can also make a tea with the cedar. It is a good energizer if you need a boost of energy, it’s a good thing to drink in the morning. I wouldn’t drink at night, or it could keep you up! It’s loaded with Vitamin C and it’s very good for any respiratory conditions. Some people, after a fast, might use this as the first medicine that they take. They’ll have a little piece of cedar branch and ingest that to boost their energy.

So, there is a little bit of a debate or a difference in the different tribes how they see the animal associated with this direction. For myself, because I’m a Caribou, I’m going to say that it is the deer or waawaashkeshi which is part of the hoof clan. When we think about the hoof clan, the hoof clan are the gentle people. They are the reconcilers. They are the ones helping to move the reconciliation action steps forward. They’re bringing it to people’s attention. Normally, the hoof clan is also the clan that takes care of the social and the emotional aspects of communities. It’s fitting that I am the hoof clan given the role that I have and the name that I carry!

Cindy Crowe – Standing Strong

Caribou Clan, Red Rock Indian Band

Cindy Crowe is a Lodge Keeper. She holds physical space as well as spiritual space for people. Cindy provides assistance to people with their identities and their life purpose. She also offers tourism opportunities with Blue Sky Community Healing Centre.