ePost #6: The Life of the Spirit

This past week, a member of the Hotinonshonni nation, Darren Thomas, spoke with members of the New Media and Literacies classes. His talk was fascinating, on several fronts. As an American, I have learned a little bit about the traditions and history of the First Nations. As a student, I had a vague understanding of the group known as the Iroquois, allied with the British in what Americans call the French and Indian War. Since moving to Canada, I have grown more interested in First Nations religious practices, ironically because of my morning job as a religious studies teacher at a Jewish day school.

Of my several areas of responsibility, I am responsible for running prayer services for grade 7 and 8 students. This means that we spend part of the period praying from the Jewish liturgy, and the remainder of the period learning about prayer, whatever that means (it’s up to the teacher what to teach -- there is no standardized curriculum). As one can imagine, engaging middle school students in a topic like prayer is not necessarily a huge hit. But I welcome the challenge. I see my prayer class a site to explore personal feelings about God, spirituality, gratitude, mindfulness. I believe that dedicating time every day to check in with oneself, without pressures, in a safe and open space, is something much needed in the lives of adolescents. 

just breathe - kids being mindful

The BBC on teaching mindfulness in classrooms: https://www.facebook.com/BBCSouthToday/videos/934795656611025/ 

While I teach my class from a Jewish perspective, using mostly Jewish texts, I have sought to connect these ideas with universal needs and longings -- peace, good health, sustainable earth, compassion. 

For this reason, the teachings of First Nations resonate very much with me. Even before I heard from Darren Thomas, I felt like my students could very much benefit from hearing about the tremendously spiritual and connected ideas of the First Nations. I invited my husband’s friend--a white guy who serves as a lobbyist for First Nations-- to speak with my class about prayer and spirituality in the First Nations. It really brought many of those ideas alive for my students.

But hearing from Darren Thomas himself about these ideas took things to a whole new level. Throughout his talk, even though I took notes and pictures, I kept wishing I could have him come speak to my class. I was blown away by some of the ideas he expressed about the native way of intimate connection with the spirit of things and expressions of acknowledgment and gratitude to the creator. Although I will not be able to do his words and ideas justice in my own classroom, with the help of my notes and further inquiry I hope to transmit some of my learning to my students. 

Thomas talked about “ganikwiyo,” good mind, which forms the basis for the Hotinonshonni worldview. Ganikwiyo would dictate that even if rival groups came together for talks, they began their meeting with “ganohonyohk,” words that come before all else: a sense of wonder and gratitude for what is shared and appreciation for the bounty given to human beings. 

The profundity of these First Nations ideas really moved me, and I continue to think of ways to have my students incorporate some of these ideas in their prayer practice.