Pink Moon; Spring Equinox Story of Coast Salish Longhouse Women

When I was born I was given to my grandmother Ellen of Clem Clem Longhouse of Coast Salish Territory; I was breast fed by 5 longhouse mothers and raised by them and my grandmother Ellen. She is recognized as a Matriarch of the Longhouse and Nation. Having 5 mothers was a wonderful experience, a bit different from Canadian Society and Patriarchal society that is led by men. When I was 3 years old there was a huge Naming Ceremony for me and I was named \"Tzouhalem\" (there are different ways to spell Tzouhalem in the English Language) and the naming ceremony had 12 Mask Dancers, a whole team of singers and drummers, dancers and guests and witnesses for my naming. I sat there wearing a red shawl through-out the whole naming. The Clan Mother gives-away money, blankets, shawls, rice, sugar, and a whole feast is prepared for the peoples for after the naming. I sat there for approximately 6 hours in the longhouse, with 3 huge pit fires going all at once in the middle of the longhouse. There was drumming and singing for hours. My name was given to me in a long beautiful ceremony, from my mother and grandmother (Clan Mother) in the mist of many cultural teachings that come with that name! One teaching is always eat slow and chew your food, never want for nothing else but what is on the plate and leave \"one bite\" on the plate for our ancestors that passed over the rainbow, to always remember them. Teachings of where the food comes from, and what nutrition comes with that food group. Respect is a teaching; never speak only listen to the elder women and family when you are a child. Learn the language and steps of social protocols of the longhouse and community. Learn the language and presentation of each step during a longhouse ceremony. Nothing is written, the training comes from walking through it, and actively participating in those teachings; and listening to the women of the longhouse. All teachings must be remembered, nothing is written. Born to a Clan Mother and Hereditary Chiefs; all the peoples speak to me in a respectful manner, and they are not allowed to get mad at me, or hit me! I am treated especially different, with serious teachings from dawn to dark. I am to drink slowly and carefully, never wasting a single drop. I grew up eating something good from the earth, river, ocean or air that carries a cultural diet for my peoples; salmon, clams, oysters, berries, deer, elk, potatoes, vegetables, and duck. I was not allowed to drink sugary juices or cake, cookies, no pop or junk food is allowed to go through my body; my body is a medicine wheel! I ate only healthy food, my body is sacred not a garbage dump. The medicine wheel is a circular symbol meaning \"eternal\" because it is believed we are an \"eternal peoples\". We believe that Water is Sacred, Children, are Sacred; a strong family means strong medicine. Women carry the economic development of our nation, which is culturally specific to women and men have say and carry no legal weight when it comes to decision making for economic development, lands or naming. Men are the speakers of the longhouse, and speak on behalf of me as a child; the speaker speaks on my behalf because the people cannot talk to me or touch me if they are not my \"mothers or clan mother\". The Clan Mother carries the Word of Laws of the Nation - one granddaughter is picked to learn everything from the nation from lands, water, environmental, health, economy and justice of the nation. I was that child. I learned to walk through the mountains, without shoes on, to learn to walk through the land and forest bare feet \"I am one with the land and world around me, as the world is one with me\". I learned to listen and speak to the animals of the forest, and understand the forest; the forest speaks to us!I was put into the ocean as a baby, to become one with the water and learned to swim before I learned to walk. I am not afraid of the water today. The teachings are hard and not for everyone. Many children are over-looked for those types of teachings because only the child must come from a certain family, it depends on the hierarchy of that child; and that child goes through rigorous teachings of the longhouse from birth. It takes years to learn and walk through teachings like that, which requires time and devotion and dedication. Of course, being a child, how was I to know anything else! When I was in my 30's, after I had children and became a mother myself, I sat down for tea with my mother and I asked her: \"Mom did you love me when I was born, how come I grew up in the longhouse with 5 mothers and a Clan Mother\" she replied \"honey, its not that I did not love you, I loved you the most, you were the last baby born to our family and longhouse and you were the last hope\"...and that is all she said! I interpreted that 100 different ways for years to come! But, when I grew up and decades would pass I realized I was the last baby born with all the Clan Mothers and gained the teachings of the longhouse. This type of upbringing is no more, because colonization and inability to practice our way of life in Canada, under law. I watched my nation lose our culture, our language, our way of life from residential school, jail, child & family services, patriarchal perception from Canadian laws, education, health care sterilizations, longhouse dance being banished under Federal Laws for decades. I watched my nation disappearing. The genocide of Coast Salish Peoples is on-going under the Indian Act of Canada. I am the last baby born and given to the Clan Mother (my grandmother) to learn our culture, our social protocols, our diet, with holistic teachings and given an old name going back over 10,000 years that belonged to my grandfather Chief Tzouhalem. I carry his name with honor! I also have an English Name. Its like I live in two cultures, and two worlds that oppose one another greatly. I am afraid that my peoples of Coast Salish Territory are losing our way of life under the current education system and our words of law are not recognized by Canada! Coast Salish Way; Women are Sacred, Water is Sacred, Children are Sacred. The Medicine Wheel is taught from birth; the inter-connection of all living things is fragile and important for humans to understand, in order to save Mother Earth and all Living Inhabitants! If one of the components of that Medicine Wheel is Broken, it has a huge and negative impact on all living things! If our water is poisoned by toxic waste and dies, human life will die too! If we don't respect animals, and take more than we need, animals will become extinct. I do not like trophy hunters today, but the Provincial and Federal Government permits Trophy Hunting; which is in itself a sacred crime because it breaks the circle of the medicine wheel. The Medicine Wheel is the fragile inter-connection of Lands, Mother Earth, Sky, Water, Air, Winged, Animals, Insects and Humans; We must live in Harmony with all things! I was trained to become a whole human being, and to understand the world around me. When I look back on my childhood, I had 5 mothers! I was a child full of care, teachings, and loved by the many mothers of the longhouse. What child could ask for anything more!

The Celebration of the Spring Equinox when the Pink Moon Rises.

Tonight, we pray and bring in Mother's Earths Rebirth! It is a time to start over again with regrowth! The Pink Moon is Special to Women; a Time of Birth and Renewal; Spring! Its a time of celebration, with longhouse doors closing and Indigenous Time is circular, Mother Earths time is circular; which comes full circle around us to enjoy the rebirth of life!

During the Pink Moon women sing, pray, and smudge; we pray for the winged, four legged creatures, air, earth, water and human kind, and await rebirth of the beauty of Mother Earth coming to life; because she loves us!

All things are re-born, all things begin again...re-birth, renewal, 

Mother Earth is a Women

Please donate to native women's research, help us give voice to native women because they have become invisible and voiceless in Canada, and they are not considered for policy making, which causes a negative impact on their daily lives, having children, marriage, and names. This is no life for them today! We need your care, support and donations: https://gofund.me/fe8cc060

Aho, Sharon