Article 2 – Poems on Northern Culture and Aboriginal Tradition
By Liz Tritthart
1. Broken Promises
Hidden,
She climbs
From her bitter bed.
Internal laughter arises
Because she knows they are liars.
Her identity is lost and broken.
Shattered.
She sobs,
Praying her ancestors hear her cries,
But the sky is only filled with false hope
And smog from their industrialization.
Her land, ravished.
She lives a woeful tale,
With an identity that has been
STRIPPED
A
W
A
Y…
Recycled.
Refabricated.
Unrecognizable.
How many more years must she suffer?
They came with a promise of trade
And peace
–but they left with her identity and ideologies.
They ravished her religion,
And stole away her land.
They promised change
They promised ‘improvement’
They promised promises knowing they never intended to keep them.
- We Are One
From the left
Over to the right
And back again.
Body movements going in
S
E
M
I
C
I
R
C
L
E
S
Around the fire as we dance.
We mimic the movements of the smoke
That carries our prayers to the Creator.
We give thanks
And leave offerings
And celebrate our lives with a feast.
We carry forward with our brothers and our sisters
Respecting the earth,
Using the land as a pedagogy
And listening to our traditions
From our elders.
The rhythmic beat of the drums
Takes over our bodies
As we let loose.
Boom
Boom
Boom
Boom
Boom
The beat moves us,
And we move as one.
We are one.
- Sweetgrass
We request only what is needed.
Cutting the stems close to the land,
And never harm the Earth,
Or root systems in the process.
You dry in the sun
Before you go to be braided.
One section to represent each:
Mind,
Body,
Soul.
Weaving together
Love,
Kindness,
Honesty.
We thank you for your sacrifice
And explain to the spirit
Just why we need you,
And how you will be used.
An offering is left in your place
In return for the generosity shown.
We choose to burn you,
To use you for a smudge.
We smell in your sweet, sweet smell
As your smoke rises up and cleanses us.
Sacred sweetgrass,
Cleanse me.
Cleanse me with your beautiful scent.
Note: Information about sweetgrass has been taken from the following website https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/sweetgrass-sacred-plant-aboriginal-ceremonies on December 30, 2018. Full bibliographical entry present at the end.
- Snapshots from the North
Return
Born with your blessing,
Our earthly death transitions
Back to land again.
Northern Lights
Colorful tidings
Dancing across darkened skies.
Thank you, ancestors.
Wind
Caught in the moment –
Listen to the spirits sing,
Their voices calling.
Kokum
Wisdom beyond years,
My Kokum, teach me your ways.
Show me how to live.
Rivers
Raindrops pouring down
Into the already flowing streams.
Visionary reflections offering
Endless paths and advice.
Restless spirits wander aimlessly,
Seeking opportunities to reconnect.
Family
Fed from the land
Amongst the loving eyes of our community.
May our blessings continue
Into further years as we
Love one another like
Yesterdays problems never existed today.
Works Cited
Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. “Sweetgrass –Sacred Plant in Aboriginal Ceremonies.” Indigenous Corporate Training Inc.
Blog, 5 June 2012, www.ictinc.ca/blog/sweetgrass-sacred-plant-aboriginal-ceremonies. Accessed 30 December 2018.
“Vetiver Sweet Grass Commodity Ecoregion Straw.” Photograph. KissCC0.com Public Domain.
www.kisscc0.com/photo/vetiver-sweet-grass-commodity-ecoregion-straw-arj70x/. Accessed 21 March 2019.
About the Poet: Elizabeth (Lyz) Tritthart was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. She moved to The Pas with her husband in November 2017 to attend UCN, and is in her second year of a Bachelor of Arts degree. Lyz is passionate about her education, litter removal, and plastic pollution. She hopes to inspire others to pursue their dreams no matter what their age or circumstances are.
Instructor’s Remarks: Elizabeth Tritthart was in my class of Major Works and Authors of the 20th Century. She took this course through distance education. But she enjoys the recorded lectures where she could see the real classroom setting of this course in another campus. She was inspired by visual poets such as Jeannette C. Armstrong and Beth Cuthand whose poems she learnt from this course. And now she has her own visual poems on Northern Culture and Aboriginal Tradition – Dr. Ying Kong