hi patrick, i am baffled at how you arrived at the conclusion that this forum intended to set them selves up as a protector of the Midewiwin, by the simple question EP Grondine asked to start this thread. EP is a valuable scholar and has earned tremendous trust here in this forum, ask him for a copy of his Treatise on Cults, its one of the most fascinated reads i ever encountered. i also am baffled and actually take exception to the statement that there are many people here who have their hearts in the right place but are lacking in the experience and knowledge of the people they intend to safe guard. this couldn't be more far than the truth. we have many in this forum who are authorities on their people, and who live in Native Communities such as I. So it seems you have based this on one personal message you received. As well how did you come to the conclusion that we do not address these issues when ever they appear, as to Historians, Public Schools, Environmental Organizations in fact we do! Heres an example: when the Province of New Brunswick Education Dept. hired a Aboriginal Consultant, who's Native wife was taken in and became a practicer of the fraudulent Medicine Wheel and they managed to insert the Medicine Wheel into the entire public school curriculum with the help of the University of New Brunswick; heres the post on our Forum:
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=1161.0 We here have taken a stand against the University of New Brunswick for their collusion in this.
Finally you came to the conclusion that we are simply to give people a hard time? Let me tell you, there are many here who are not arm-chair theorists, casting judgments here and there; where for them they have replaced the quill with a key-stroke, We are here in the trenches fighting the colonialist imperatives, fighting daily against the assaults on the Native Peoples. It is more than an uphill battle, do you understand in my community of Eskasoni First Nation we have had over 40 youth suicided in the past 2 years, for a community of 2500 that means we have lost 15% of our entire community to suicide! And its directly related to the colonialism we speak out about here. We cry every nite for all the assaults being perpetrated against our people now that we live with the legacy of the Residential Schools, (my mom was sent to the Shubenacadie Residential School). i beg you to you to spend a few days reading ALL the posts in this forum, i did when i first joined, so now when anyone posts, i know fairly well what their place is in our Societies and generally know how they feel about many topics even tho i may have never communicated with them directly because ive read all their posts; and as with any forum we have newcomers who tend to post more, who are here as a result of serendipity not because they are advocates or activists. They bring a freshness and eagerness that is revitalizing to our forum. As well as we are waiting for your introduction in the new members section.
now i want to address some of the topics picked up in this thread.
The translation of Midewiwin. When Madeline brought the Midewiwin Grandmothers and the Little Boy Drum to Wapana'kik (Maritime Canada) for the Grand Unification Gatherings last year, i understand (i didn't attend the gathering, last year was a year of chemo for me) that time was spent on translating the term Midewiwin. Some Wulustukawaj (Maliseet) say the term Mide refers to the sound of the water-drum, and in their language its translated as Metawolin, which in modern day means Medicine Man. The Grandmothers wanted to know how we Mi'kmaw translate it, as the Anishanbek are Mi'kmaq progeny. We translate it as Mekwi'ta'temek (the "Remember-ers" inferring they remember and carry the OLD ways) but this is an archaic Mi'kmaw term thats not really used nowadays, some of my peers who are fluent feel that the theres a sense of that term being more honorific than just a simple noun.
