NANABOOZHOO TEACHINGS - WISDOM OF THE GREAT DEER: MIDE GAA-IZHINIKAADIZOD - The First Man Is Named Mide

FROM THE

GREAT TEACHING

LODGE OF THE MIDEWIWIN   Midewiwin Gichi-Gikinoo'amaadiiwigamig

EXCERPT FROM THE

MAZINA'IGAN — NANABOOZHOO AADIZOOKAAN

The Record — The Sacred Stories of Nanaboozhoo

MAAWACH GEGO BIMAADIZIWIN — WHAT WAS ALREADY GIVEN

The Way of Life that existed before instruction

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MIDE GAA-IZHINIKAADIZOD - The First Man Is Named Mide

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After Nanaboozhoo learned that the ancestors remained within Creation and that the Trail continued beyond what the eye could see, he carried another question within his heart.

If all things arose from the same Light,

and if all things listened to the same Song,

and if all things belonged to the same Creation,

why were human beings given such a difficult path?

The pine did not struggle to become pine.

The river did not struggle to become river.

The deer did not struggle to become deer.

Yet the people often struggled to become what they were created to be.

One morning Nanaboozhoo walked with Mishoomis Waawaashkeshi and Ma'iingan beside a grove of maple trees.

Spring had arrived.

The sap was running.

The people had gathered to collect it.

Nanaboozhoo watched them carefully.

The sap emerged clear as water.

Yet through patience, fire, and care, it became sweetness.

The Great Deer stopped.

"What do you see?"

"I see sap."

The Deer nodded.

"And what does it become?"

"It becomes sweetness."

The Deer smiled.

"Does the sweetness come from somewhere else?"

"No."

"It was already within."

The Deer lowered his head.

"Remember this."

They continued walking.

As they traveled, they saw many things.

A child learning to walk.

An elder teaching stories.

A hunter sharing meat.

A woman tending a fire.

Each was giving something.

Each was receiving something.

Each depended upon another.

Finally Nanaboozhoo spoke.

"Mishoomis, what makes a person truly Anishinaabe?"

The Great Deer was silent for a long while.

Then he said:

"Look at Ma'iingan."

The Wolf raised his head.

"What makes Wolf a wolf?"

Nanaboozhoo smiled.

"He follows his nature."

The Deer nodded.

Then he pointed toward a pine.

"What makes Pine a pine?"

"It follows its nature."

The Deer nodded again.

Then he looked directly at Nanaboozhoo.

"And what is the nature of the people?"

Nanaboozhoo remained silent.

The Deer touched his chest gently.

"The heart."

They continued walking.

At sunset they came to a hill overlooking forests, rivers, and lakes.

The whole world seemed to stretch before them.

The Great Deer sat upon the earth.

Ma'iingan lay beside him.

Nanaboozhoo sat between them.

Then Mishoomis began to speak.

"When the Creator made the standing ones, they were given roots."

"When the Creator made the swimmers, they were given waters."

"When the Creator made the flyers, they were given winds."

"When the Creator made the four-legged ones, they were given trails."

"But when the Creator made the people, they were given a choice."

Nanaboozhoo listened carefully.

The Deer continued.

"The people can follow the Trail."

"Or they can leave it."

"They can listen."

"Or they can refuse."

"They can remember."

"Or they can forget."

For a long time only the wind could be heard.

Then the Great Deer drew a circle in the earth.

In the center he placed a small stone.

"This stone is the heart."

Around it he drew many lines.

Like rivers.

Like roots.

Like trails.

Like the lines within a person's palm.

Then he said:

"When the heart remains at the center, the trails remain straight."

"When the heart is forgotten, the trails become lost."

Nanaboozhoo watched closely.

The Deer placed his hoof over the stone.

"This is why the First Man was called Mide."

The evening became still.

"The First Man was not named for strength."

"He was not named for power."

"He was not named for wealth."

"He was named for the good heart."

"Mino Ode'."

Nanaboozhoo felt the truth of the words.

The Deer continued.

"The Tree stands because its center is sound."

"The lodge stands because its center is sound."

"The people stand because their hearts are sound."

Then Mishoomis pointed toward the stars.

Each appeared separate.

Yet all belonged to one sky.

"To have a good heart is to see as Creation sees."

"To remember that no being stands alone."

"To remember that every choice enters the Trail."

"To remember that every word enters the Song."

The stars brightened.

The rivers below reflected them.

The Deer spoke softly.

"The people will think Mino Ode' means kindness alone."

"It is more than kindness."

"It is seeing rightly."

"It is remembering rightly."

"It is walking rightly."

"It is knowing that the same Light lives within all things."

Nanaboozhoo looked toward the forests.

Toward the lakes.

Toward Ma'iingan.

Toward Mishoomis Waawaashkeshi.

He saw the teaching everywhere.

The river gave itself.

The tree gave itself.

The earth gave itself.

The deer gave itself.

Creation was held together through giving.

Not taking.

The Great Deer nodded.

For Nanaboozhoo was beginning to understand.

Then Mishoomis spoke one final teaching before the night grew deep.

"The Trail begins in the heart."

"When the heart forgets, the feet wander."

"When the heart remembers, the Trail appears."

"That is why Mide was first."

"And that is why Midewiwin will endure."

"For as long as one person carries a good heart, the Trail can be found again."

The moon rose.

The stars filled the heavens.

The wind moved gently through the trees.

And Nanaboozhoo understood that before a people can guide a nation,

before a nation can guide a world,

before a person can guide another,

they must first learn to guide their own heart.

Thus the teaching of Mide, the First Man, was remembered.

And the people learned that the longest trail in Creation is the one that leads from the mind to the good heart.

Chi-Megwetch - Thank you from my heart spirit